Did Hegesippus Bury a Slight Against Anicetus?

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Secret Alias
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Did Hegesippus Bury a Slight Against Anicetus?

Post by Secret Alias »

Philosophumena: Βύθιος καὶ Μῖξις, Ἀγήρατος καὶ Ἕνωσις, καὶ Ἡδονή, Ακίνητος καὶ Σύγκρασις, Μονογενὴς καὶ Μακαρία.

Panarion (copying out Irenaeus): Βύθιος καὶ Μῖξις, Ἀγήρατος καὶ Ἕνωσις, Αὐτοφυὴς καὶ Ἡδονή, Ἀκίνητος καὶ Σύγκρασις, Μονογενὴς καὶ Μακαρία

Against the Valentinians: Bythios et Mixis, Ageratos et Henosis, Autophyes et Hedone, Acinetos et Syncrasis, Monogenes et Macaria

Panarion 31.2 (before the citation of Irenaeus) Βύθιος καὶ Μῖξις, Ἀγήρατοςκαὶ Ἕνωσις, Αὐτοφυὴς καὶ Σύγκρασις, Μονογενὴς καὶ Ἑνότης, Ἀκίνητος καὶ Ἡδονή.
Ἀκίνητος = Unmovable (Valentinian aeon)
Ἀνίκητος = Unconquered (name of alleged bishop of Rome at the time of Hegesippus).

These terms are conjectured to have been exchanged by scribal error in a number of examples - Sophocles https://books.google.com/books?id=ENvzC ... 82&f=false Proclus https://www.google.com/books/edition/Pr ... frontcover

If you look at all the 'females' in the list they all implying mixture - Μῖξις Ἕνωσις, Σύγκρασις and then Irenaeus gives the very positive Μακαρία and Epiphanius's independent source Ἑνότης 'unity.' But Ἡδονή is necessarily negative in this tradition. Philo spends a lot of time understanding the Genesis myth in terms of Ἡδονή:
Philo is here in complete accord with Plato . In the mood of high moral enthusiasm he denounces pleasure as utterly evil , but in other moods , he recognizes its place in human life . It is described as the cause of activity among men , a princess and a queen.' Many pleasures are necessary ... In this shrinking from the word Ἡδονή, Philo is at one with Plato.
So not only in Philo but in the Valentinian schema Ἡδονή is now a queen - married to either Ἀκίνητος or Αὐτοφυὴς. But what a curious 'aeon' to have in the Valentinian heavens with little in the way of commentary! Of all the aeons the presence of Ἡδονή among the 30 is most curious. One would expect Ἡδονή to be the fallen aeon but instead Irenaeus (in the various forms of the surviving polemic) concentrates on the story of the fall of Sophia.

There are some curious references in Tertullian's preservation of what we have already determined was the oldest version of the lost Greek original of the treatise. He makes reference to 'Lucifer' (Φωσφόρος) declaring:
"I have returned to you noble citizens from battle accompanied by my Lady Victory, by your Lady Joy, along with Nobility, Glory, Luck, Heroism, and Triumph." Immediately the students shouted Hooray! to Phosphorus' family. You have heard about Fortunatus, Hedone, Acinetus, Theletus. Yell Hooray! to Ptolomaeus' family. This family is that secret pleroma, the fullness of its thirty-fold divinity."
Theletus is the 'husband' of Sophia in the traditional narrative. Notice of course that Ἀκίνητος καὶ Ἡδονή are side by side here. Also there is a reference to Gaius as some sort of 'Pope' like figure (if one and the same with Gaius of Rome 'the bishop to the nations'):
we will be happy to be counted with our god [the Demiurge] from whom we received our soul-like origin. Nothing is admitted into the palace of the Pleroma except the spirit-like swarm of Valentinus. These men then, men destined to enter the Pleroma, are unclothed first; to be unclothed means to put aside the souls with which they are only apparently endowed. They return to the Demiurge these souls which they received from him. They become spirits entirely metaphysical, immune to restraint or detection; in this fashion they are received invisibly into the Pleroma-- secretly, if this is the way it is! What then? They are handed out to the angels who accompany Saviour. As sons, do you suppose? No. As valets perhaps? Not even this. As ghosts? I wish even this were the case! What, then, if you are not ashamed to say? As wives! For marriages they will play "Rape the Sabines" among themselves. This is the reward for being "spirit-like"; this is the prize for believing.

These are proper little stories; for example, you, Marcus, or you, Gaius, at present bearded in this body and in this soul a stern husband (severus maritus), father, grandfather, or great-grandfather-- certainly masculine enough--then, in this harem of a Pleroma, by some angel you might be (in nyphone Pleromatis ab angelo). . . ; by my silence I have already said it. Anyway perhaps you might give birth to some new aeon (et forsitan parias
aliquem novissimum Aeonem). In place of the usual torch and veil I imagine that famous mysterious fire will blaze out to solemnize the ceremony, and will devastate the entire universe, then be reduced to nothing, after it has incinerated everything. That will be the end of their myth. But I am certainly the rash one for betraying, even in jest, such a great mystery. I should be afraid that Achamoth (i.e. Sophia), who wanted to be unrecognized even by her own son, may rage; that Theletus may become angry; that Fortunata may be irritated. But why worry? I am the Demiurge's man. It will be my fate to return after death to a place where there is no giving in marriage, where we are to be further clothed rather than unclothed (II Cor. 5); where even if I were unclothed of my sex, I would be classified as an angel, neither male nor female. No one will do anything to me since he will not find me as male then.
Am I reading too much in here that Ἀκίνητος or Ἀνίκητος may have had a similar role to Marcus or Gaius insofar as he was a bishop seated alongside a spiritual 'wife' - Ἡδονή? 'Anicetus' only comes to us from the Hegesippus/Irenaeus reporting. Polycarp and Hegesippus himself seem to have met the bishop. But what if Polycarp was Hegesippus (Joseph is after all 'the fruitful' = many-fruit bough or son). Then the reporting about Valentinus might also come from this source too. The name is ascribed to a bishop of Rome who was understood to be a heavenly aeon.
“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
Secret Alias
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Re: Did Hegesippus Bury a Slight Against Anicetus?

Post by Secret Alias »

Another consideration. By the time of Victor the issue of whether Easter should be celebrated as an immovable feast (ακίνητος εορτή) i.e. the fourteenth of Nisan as opposed to a κινητή εορτή based on the calculation of the sun is worth considering. Is the gnostic myth a criticism of the Roman prelate? The churches of Asia Minor were necessarily opposed to moving the date. Victor seemed to be 'unmovable' in his position which was later softened by Irenaeus.

ADDITION: It just occurred to me that Anicetus was also 'immovable' with respect to his position on Easter. Irenaeus mentions that Polycarp, when he was at Rome, disagreed with Anicetus (apparently about when to celebrate Easter), and neither could persuade the other – so they agreed to disagree.
Last edited by Secret Alias on Wed Apr 29, 2020 11:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
Secret Alias
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Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:47 am

Re: Did Hegesippus Bury a Slight Against Anicetus?

Post by Secret Alias »

Apparently the interchangeability of the terms is well known:
F.M. Cornford (Plato's cosmology) follows Burnet's text (ἀνιϰήτοις) and concludes (ad loc): ‘The uncertainty of the reading does not affect the sense.’ This may be true, but it does affect the image. Taylor, A.E. (A commentary on Plato's Timaeus (1928))Google Scholar also favours ἀνιϰήτοις: ‘The ἀνιϰήτοις of A in b8 is shown to be more probable than the ἀνιϰήτοις of F by the ancient versions. The inexpugnabilis of Chalcidius might represent either word … but Cicero's neque convinci potest is unambiguous. Here again we may suspect that the common archetype of A and F probably had a marginal variant.’ Archer-Hind, R.D. (The Timaeus of Plato (1888))Google Scholar opts for ἀνιϰήτοις and translates: ‘so far as it lies in words to be incontrovertible and immovable’. Because of the image established by μονίμους, I also favour ἀνιϰήτοις. In support of this reading, one may observe the same play on ἀνίϰητος/ἀϰίνητος in Bacchylides 5.57 and 200, while against the reading one may note the double pairings in this Tim. passage: μονίμους with ἀμεταπτώτους (abiding/unchangeable) and ἀνελέγϰτοις with ἀνιϰήτοις (incontrovertible/irrefutable).
that the gate-destroying unconquerable (ἀνίκατον) son of Zeus of the flashing thunderbolt went down to the halls of slender-ankled Persephone ... may the great father Zeus guard them, undisturbed (ἀκινήτους), in peace.
On the interchangeability in Plato https://books.google.com/books?id=FbePD ... 82&f=false
“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
Secret Alias
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Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:47 am

Re: Did Hegesippus Bury a Slight Against Anicetus?

Post by Secret Alias »

The 'birth of the aeon' in Alexandria was timed to the Epiphany (or vice versa) - i.e. the birth of Jesus = the birth of the aeon:
22,3 For the Savior was born during the forty-second year of the Roman emperor Augustus — in the thirteenth consulship of the same Octavian Augustus and the consulship of Silanus, as the Roman consul lists indicate. (4) For these say as follows: “During their consulships,” I mean Octavian’s thirteenth and the consulship of Silanus, “Christ was born on the eighth before the Ides of January, thirteen days after the winter solstice and the increase of the light and the day.” 111 (5) Greeks, I mean the idolaters, celebrate this day on the eighth before the Kalends of January, which Romans call Saturnalia, Egyptians Cronia, and Alexandrians, Cicellia.

(6) For this division between signs of the zodiac, which is a solstice, comes on the eighth before the Kalends of January, and the day begins to lengthen because the light is receiving its increase. And it completes a period of thirteen days until the eighth before the Ides of January, the day of Christ’s birth, with a thirtieth of an hour added to each day. (7) The Syrian sage, Ephrem, testified to this calculation in his commentaries when he said, “Thus the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, his birth in the flesh or perfect incarnation which is called the Epiphany, was revealed after a space of thirteen days from the beginning of the increase of the light. For this too must needs be a type of the number of our Lord Jesus Christ and his twelve disciples, since, [added to the disciples], he made up <the> number of the thirteen days of the light’s increase.” 112

22.8 And how many other things have been done and are being done because of, and in testimony to this calculation, I mean of Christ’s birth? Indeed, those who guilefully preside over the cult of idols are obliged to confess a part of the truth, and in many places deceitfully celebrate a very great festival on the very night of the Epiphany, to deceive the idolaters who believe them into hoping 113 in the imposture and not seeking the truth.

22.9 First, at Alexandria, in the Coreum, as they call it; it is a very large temple, the shrine of Core. They stay up all night singing hymns to the idol with a flute accompaniment. And when they have concluded their nightlong vigil torchbearers descend into an underground shrine after cockcrow (ro) and bring up a wooden image which is seated naked < on > a litter, ft has a sign of the cross inlaid with gold on its forehead, two other such signs, [one] on each hand, and two other signs, [one] actually [on each of] its two knees — altogether five signs with a gold impress. And they carry the image itself seven times round the innermost shrine with flutes, tambourines and hymns, hold a feast, and take it back down to its place underground. And when you ask them what this mystery means they reply that today at this hour Core — that is, the virgin — gave birth to Aeon.

22, n This is also done in the same way in the city of Petra, in the temple of the idol there. (Petra is the capital city of Arabia, the scriptural Edom.) They praise the virgin with hymns in the Arab language calling her, in Arabic, Chaamu — that is, Core, or virgin. And the child who is born of her they call Dusares, that is, “the Lord’s only-begotten.” And this is also done that night in the city of Elusa, as it is there in Petra, and in Alexandria.
“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
Secret Alias
Posts: 18362
Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:47 am

Re: Did Hegesippus Bury a Slight Against Anicetus?

Post by Secret Alias »

Mistake
“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
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