THE EGYPTIAN FOUNDATIONS OF GNOSTIC THOUGHT

disciples is flattened by the ideational weight of the pre-Christian cosmological
“fugue” of the emanationist system pressing down from above. In particular the
presence of Sophia contends with Christ as a cosmic-player – a typical result of this
fusion of Christ-myth with Barbelo/Sophia systems – and the disciples are predictably
wooden, or stock characters. Interestingly enough, while Sophia is not allowed to
directly address the congregation, her archetype can be seen to be at work in the
epicentre of disciplic action, symbolised by the consummate dominance of Mary
Magdalene over all the other disciples in the work, indeed in a characterisation of her
that is more 3-dimensional than that of Jesus himself.
It is not possible to appreciate what is going on in the cosmic drama presented
in the Pistis Sophia unless one has an appreciation of the larger setting. The text
moves about this vast cosmic stage with a flashlight, illuminating various parts of the
whole without attempting to backlight the entire mise en scène – most curious. I
would attempt then to reverse a process that is forced upon the unwary reader and
proceed from the whole to the parts. In this the themes of light and darkness are
ubiquitous in the text, and the entire effect of this dualism is to present the upper
reaches of Zone 1 as being blindingly brilliant, whereas the lowest reaches of Zone 9
are of unredeemable blackness. Between the four zones which make up the realms of
light and darkness respectively, is The Treasury of Light (Zn. 4), a transition zone
where particles of light are processed downwards and upwards.
It is interesting to note that there is no primary theogonic process developed
with respect to this elaborate set-up: it simply is. It is the starting point for a drama
that takes place in a localised setting in the 13th aeon of Zone 7. Here, Pistis Sophia
suffers a Fall down into Zone 9 which activates an eventual response in Zone 2. This
directs the Saviour in Zone 3 to descend to her aid.
The text goes to great lengths to make it clear that the entire series of
existential levels are peopled with innumerable spirits. The historical Jesus, located in
Zone 8 along with all of humankind, is thus one player upon a vast multi-dimensional
stage, situated here within the dimension of kosmos. Like the chorus in a
Shakespearean drama or Greek tragedy, he leads the disciple/reader into various
“scenes”. His ascent into “heaven” (as humans conceive it) is, on the scale of things in
the Pistis Sophia, a relatively localised movement from Zone 8 to Zone 7. His return
and subsequent teachings form the historical premise of the entire work. Jesus
attempts to teach the disciples about the entire system we have briefly sketched. This
is the essential plot of the Pistis Sophia – it is also the literary function of the piece,
insofar as the reader/listener is expected to identify with the disciples. This will be
taken up again further on.
At this point the nature of each zone might be described to some extent by
drawing from various descriptions that are found throughout the entire text. 27
A
schematic and description of the zones is as follows:
Zone 1
27
There are some minor inconsistencies throughout the text which I have “editorialized” in the
interests of pursuing a managable discussion. In particular, Book Four of the Pistis Sophia
stands apart from the others in form and substance to some extent, offering a somewhat
simpler cosmology. These amount more to omissions than anything else, and no radical
changes in the system have been noticed by myself.