THE EGYPTIAN FOUNDATIONS OF GNOSTIC THOUGHT

I have not been deaf to the words of truth...
I have not transgressed my nature, I have not washed out (the picture of) a
god...
I have not made conjuration against the king...
I have neither misconducted myself nor copulated with a boy...
(Spell BD 125) 17
There is a strong, though indirect, link between Egyptian and Manichaean
apocalypticism. This link has been well-established in many instances. For our
purposes this influence can be considered a priori as contrasted with possible a
posteriori influences effected upon Manichaeism following its inception. Apocalyptic
Egyptian influences, alongside Zoroastrian for instance, were a part of the cultural
warp and woof of the area of Mesopotamia in which Mani grew up. One particular
point can be mentioned here however. The eschatological depiction of the cosmic
conflagration which burns for 1,468 years exists in Manichaean and Egyptian Gnostic
texts. In the Middle Persian Shabuhragan the length of the conflagration is 1468
years, essentially an Egyptian Sothis period of 1460 years. 18
This calendrical figure
of 1,460 also finds its expression in other Egyptian Gnostic eschatologies as we shall
see. The eschatological import here is that of a fulfilled cycle of time, one which was
based upon astrological observation. This essential Egyptian conception became part
of the personal teachings of Mani before Manichaean missionaries arrived in Egypt
and it survived for half a millennium in China, long after Manichaeism disappeared in
Egypt ca. 1000 C.E.
The distinction between a priori and a posteriori Egyptian influences upon
Mani and Manichaeism can only be tentatively sketched out. Certainly, the abovementioned
apocalyptic influences had found their way into Mani’s milieu prior to his
formulation of the Manichaean creed. Specific Egyptian heliolatrous sentiments, on
the other hand, were more likely to have been grafted onto the Manichaean
heliocentric cosmology following its transmission into Parthia and Egypt, homelands
of Mithras and Re.
Mani was the self-proclaimed “Apostle of Light” and the imagery of light in
his teachings is pronounced. The sun, for obvious reasons, was the most powerful
symbol of his realm of Light in the world; as well, it was a vehicle for various divine
functionaries who descended from the realm of Light, and it was a transporter of
saved souls back to this realm. As his message spread out from Mesopotamia, east
and west, it naturally fused with the heliolotrous sentiments of traditions with ancient
and venerable histories. The Persian Mithras and the Egyptian Re stand dominant at
this time as manifestations of heliocentrist religiosity. The Egyptian jurisdiction over
the eastern Mediterranean at various points in history, and the subsequent Persian
subjugation of Egypt in the late pre-Ptolemaic phase, allowed ample opportunity for
16
Coptic transcription from M.P., 86.
17
Faulkner, The Book of the Dead, 31-32.
18
See L. Koenen, “Manichaean Apocalypticism at the Crossroads of Iranian, Egyptian, Jewish
and Christian Thought,”in Codex Manichaicus Coloniensis:Attit del Simposio
Internazionale, Rende-Amantea 3-7 settembre 1984, eds. A. Roselli and L. Cirillo (Cosenza:
Marra Editore, 1986), 285-332.