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The Barbelo Aeon As Sophia in Zostrianos and Related Tractates

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The Barbelo Aeon As Sophia in Zostrianos and Related Tractates THE BARBELO AEON AS SOPHIA IN ZOSTRIANOS AND RELATED TRACTATES BY JOHN H. SIEBER THE heavenly world visited by Zostrianos, in the tractate of that name (CG VIII,]), is dominated by the Invisible Spirit as the true god. Below the Spirit range four aeons: Barbelo, Kalyptos, Protophanes, and Autogenes. The latter three are in turn identified with the more philosophical terms of Existence, Mind, and Life. Previous studies by John Turner and James M. Robinson have demonstrated that this heavenly world is shared by the tractates Allogenes (CG XI,3) and the Three Ste/es of Seth (CG VII,5), and that the philosophical triad is related to Neoplatonic philosophy. 1 In Plotinus's system the cosmos has three levels: the first is occupied by the One; in the second is the hypostasis Intellect; the third level comprises the physical or material world. In our Sethian gnostic documents Spirit represents the One of Plotinus. His Intellect, which is sometimes tripartite, is represented by the Barbelo aeons. 2 The present paper attempts to advance this line of research in two ways. First, it provides a more detailed analysis of the cosmology in Zostrianos, using the model suggested by Robinson and Turner and showing how the Barbelo aeon of Zostrianos contains within herself the other three aeons. Second, it explores the ways in which the role of this Barbelo aeon may be related to the figure of Sophia who plays a prominent role in other types of gnostic systems. 1 James M. Robinson, 'The Three Steles of Seth and the Gnostics of Plotinus," in G. Widengren, ed., Proceedings of the International Colloquium on Gnosticism (Leiden: Brill, 1977) 132-42. John Turner, "The Gnostic Threefold Path to Enlightenment," unpublished paper, 1975. Turner's list correctly includes also the Apocryphon of John from codex II, and the Trimorphic Protennoia from codex XIII. The Gospel of the Egyptians should be added to this list also. Cf. Hans-Martin Schenke, "Das sethianische System nach Nag Hammadi Handschriften," Studia Coptica (1974) 165-72. 2 Turner, "Gnostic Path," 6-8, 12-21. See also Pierre Hadot, "La metaphysique de Porphyre," Les sources de Plotin (Fondation Hardt, Entretiens 12; Geneva: Fonda­ tion Hardt, 1966) 127-63. Pierre Hadot, "Etre, Vie, Pensee chez Plotin et avant Plotin," Les sources de Plot in (Fondation Hardt, Entretiens 5; Geneva: Fondation Hardt, 1966) 159-90. Michael Tardieu, "Les Trois Steles de Seth," RSPT 57 (1973) 545-75. THE BARBELO AEON AS SOPHIA 789 In the Three Ste/es of Seth and Allogenes Barbelo is the name given to the first aeon of the Invisible Spirit. Other epithets ascribed to her include triple-power (thrice-power), first thought, the male-virgin, perfect, shadow of the holy Father. As the first aeon, she is derived from the one Spirit and retains the quality of oneness. 3 Although references to Barbelo are not numerous in the extant text of Zostrianos, her position and importance in the cosmos are the same as that reported for the other two tractates. She is regularly called the Virgin Barbelo or the Male-Virgin Barbelo. 4 Two passages near the end of the tractate identify her as the first emanation of the Spirit. In the first she is named as the gnosis of the Spirit ( 118: 9- I 3): "when she strengthened the one who knew her, Barbelo the aeon, the knowledge of the Invisible Triple-Power Perfect Spirit, gave[ ... ] to her saying[ ... ]." The second text, which is part of a description of Zostrianos's descent to leave his gnosis for the elect of Seth, occurs in a blessings formula ( 129: 8-12): "I joined with all of them and blessed the Kalyptos Aeon and the Virgin Barbelo and the Invisible Spirit." Similar passages can be found elsewhere. 5 The most important characteristic of the Barbelo aeon in Zostrianos is that she is the source of the three aeons of the Neoplatonic triad. A key passage occurs early in the account of Zostrianos's ascent (14: 1-6): "He (Ephesech) said, Zostrianos, listen about these [... ], for the first [... ] origins are three because they appeared from a single origin, the aeon Barbelo." The order of the emanation can be determined both from the accounts of the ascent and descent and from the various liturgical blessings that occur throughout the text. 6 Her first aeon is Kalyptos, or the Hidden One, who is in turn the source of Protophanes, or the First-Appearing One, and Autogenes, or the Self-Begotten One. 7 It is these three who are identified in turn with the philosophical triad from Neoplatonic thought, Kalyptos with Existence, Protophanes with Mind (often also called Blessedness), and Autogenes with Life (15: 4-17): 8 3 Robinson, "Three Steles," 132-34. 4 The meaning of the name Barbelo is not known. See the discussion in Alexander Bohlig and Frederik Wisse, Nag Hammadi Codices 1/l,2 and !V,2: The Gospel of the Egyptians (The Holy Book of the Invisible Spirit) (NHS 4; Leiden: Brill, 1975) 40-41. 5 See also VIII 63: 6-9; 87: 10-16; et al. 6 A fuller account of this evidence is given in my unpublished paper "What's in a Name? A Study of the Names of Some Heavenly Beings in Zostrianos and Related Writings from Nag Hammadi," 1-18. 7 VIII 20: 5-18. 8 See also Robinson, "Three Steles," 135-38. .
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