Abraxas
Encyclopedia
The word Abrasax was a word of mystic meaning in the system of the Gnostic
Basilides
, being there applied to the “Great Archon
” (Gk., megas archōn), the princeps of the 365 spheres (Gk., ouranoi). In Gnostic cosmology, the 7 letters spelling its name represent each of the 7 classic planets—Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
The word is found in Gnostic texts such as the Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit
, and also appears in the Greek Magical Papyri
. It was engraved on certain antique gemstones, called on that account Abraxas stones, which were used as amulets or charms. As the initial spelling on stones was 'Abrasax' (Αβρασαξ), the spelling of 'Abraxas' seen today probably originates in the confusion made between the Greek letters Sigma
and Xi in the Latin transliteration
. The word may be related to Abracadabra
, although other explanations exist.
There are similarities and differences between such figures in reports about Basilides' teaching, ancient Gnostic texts, the larger Greco-Roman magical traditions, and modern magical and esoteric writings. Opinions abound on Abraxas, who in recent centuries has been claimed to be both an Egypt
ian god and a demon
. The Swiss Psychologist Carl Jung
wrote a short Gnostic treatise in 1916 called The Seven Sermons to the Dead
, which called Abraxas a God higher than the Christian God and Devil, that combines all opposites into one Being.
, as our authorities often show no direct acquaintance with the doctrines of Basilides
himself.
In the system described by Irenaeus
, "the Unbegotten Father" is the progenitor of Nous
, and from Nous Logos
, from Logos Phronesis, from Phronesis Sophia and Dynamis, from Sophia and Dynamis principalities, powers, and angels, the last of whom create "the first heaven." They in turn originate a second series, who create a second heaven. The process continues in like manner until 365 heavens are in existence, the angels of the last or visible heaven being the authors of our world. "The ruler" [principem, i.e.. probably ton archon
ta] of the 365 heavens "is Abraxas, and for this reason he contains within himself 365 numbers."
The name occurs in the Refutation of all Heresies (vii. 26) by Hippolytus, who appears in these chapters to have followed the Exegetica of Basilides. After describing the manifestation of the Gospel in the Ogdoad and Hebdomad, he adds that the Basilidians have a long account of the innumerable creations and powers in the several 'stages' of the upper world (diastemata), in which they speak of 365 heavens and say that "their great archon
" is Abrasax, because his name contains the number 365, the number of the days in the year; i.e. the sum of the numbers denoted by the Greek letters in ΑΒΡΑΣΑΞ according to the rules of isopsephy
is 365:
(Haer
. 69, 73 f.) appears to follow partly Irenaeus, partly the lost Compendium of Hippolytus. He designates Abrasax more distinctly as "the power above all, and First Principle," "the cause and first archetype" of all things; and mentions that the Basilidians referred to 365 as the number of parts (mele) in the human body, as well as of days in the year.
The author of the appendix to Tertullian De Praescr. Haer. (c. 4), who likewise follows Hippolytus's Compendium, adds some further particulars; that 'Abraxas' gave birth to Mind (nous), the first in the series of primary powers enumerated likewise by Irenaeus and Epiphanius; that the world, as well as the 365 heavens, was created in honour of 'Abraxas;' and that Christ was sent not by the Maker of the world but by 'Abraxas.'
Nothing can be built on the vague allusions of Jerome
, according to whom 'Abraxas' meant for Basilides "the greatest God" (De vir. ill. 21), "the highest God" (Dial. adv. Lucif. 23), "the Almighty God" (Comm. in Amos iii. 9), and "the Lord the Creator" (Comm. in Nah. i. 11). The notices in Theodoret
(Haer. fab. i. 4), Augustine (Haer. 4), and 'Praedestinatus' (i. 3), have no independent value.
It is evident from these particulars that Abrasax was the name of the first of the 365 Archons, and accordingly stood below Sophia and Dynamis and their progenitors; but his position is not expressly stated, so that the writer of the supplement to Tertullian had some excuse for confusing him with "the Supreme God."
, the identity of Abrasax remains unclear. The Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit, for instance, refers to Abrasax as an Aeon
dwelling with Sophia and other Aeons of the Pleroma
in the light of the luminary Eleleth. In several texts, the luminary Eleleth is the last of the luminaries (Spiritual Lights) that come forward, and it is the Aeon Sophia, associated with Eleleth, who encounters darkness and becomes involved in the chain of events that leads to the Demiurge's rule of this world, and the salvage effort that ensues. As such, the role of Aeons of Eleleth, including Abrasax, Sophia, and others, pertains to this outer border of the Pleroma that encounters the ignorance of the world of Lack and interacts to rectify the error of ignorance in the world of materiality.
from fourth century Norfolk, UK. The subjects are mythological, and chiefly grotesque, with various inscriptions, in which ΑΒΡΑΣΑΞ often occurs, alone or with other words. Sometimes the whole space is taken up with the inscription. In certain obscure magical writings of Egyptian origin ἀβραξάς or ἀβρασάξ is found associated with other names which frequently accompany it on gems; it is also found on the Greek metal tesseræ among other mystic words. The meaning of the legends is seldom intelligible: but some of the gems are amulets; and the same may be the case with nearly all.
In a great majority of instances the name Abrasax is associated with a singular composite figure, having a Chimera
-like appearance somewhat resembling a basilisk
or the Greek primordial god Chronos
(not to be confused with the Greek titan Cronus
). According to E. A. Wallis Budge
, "as a Pantheus, i.e. All-God, he appears on the amulets with the head of a cock (Phœbus) or of a lion (Ra
or Mithras), the body of a man, and his legs are serpents which terminate in scorpions, types of the Agathodaimon
. In his right hand he grasps a club, or a flail, and in his left is a round or oval shield." This form was also referred to as the Anguipede
. Budge surmised that Abrasax was "a form of the Adam Kadmon
of the Kabbalists
and the Primal Man whom God made in His own image."
Some parts at least of the figure above mentioned are solar symbol
s, and the Basilidian Abrasax is manifestly connected with the sun. J. J. Bellermann has speculated that "the whole represents the Supreme Being, with his Five great Emanations, each one pointed out by means of an expressive emblem. Thus, from the human body, the usual form assigned to the Deity, forasmuch as it is written that God created man in his own image, issue the two supporters, Nous and Logos, symbols of the inner sense and the quickening understanding, as typified by the serpents, for the same reason that had induced the old Greeks to assign this reptile for an attribute to Pallas. His head—a cock's—represents Phronesis, the fowl being emblematical of foresight and vigilance. His two hands bear the badges of Sophia and Dynamis, the shield of Wisdom, and the scourge of Power."
, Sabaoth, Adonai, Eloai
. The name ΙΑΩ, to which ΣΑΒΑΩΘ is sometimes added, is found with this figure even more frequently than ΑΒΡΑΣΑΞ, and they are often combined. Beside an Abrasax figure the following, for instance, is found: IAΩ ABPAΣAΞ AΔΩN ΑΤΑ, "Iao Abrasax, thou art the Lord". With the Abrasax-shield are also found the divine names Sabaoth Iao, Iao Abrasax, Adonai Abrasax, etc.
reflect the same ideas as the Abrasax-gems. The following example will suffice: "Iao Sabaoth, Adonai . . . Abrasax". The patriarchs are sometimes addressed as deities; for which fact many instances may be adduced. In the group "Iakoubia, Iaosabaoth Adonai Abrasax," the first name seems to be composed of Jacob
and Ya.
The Leyden papyrus recommends that this invocation be pronounced to the moon:
The magic word "Ablanathanalba," which reads in Greek the same backward as forward, also occurs in the Abrasax-stones as well as in the magic papyri. This word is usually conceded to be derived from the Hebrew (Aramaic), meaning "Thou art our father" (אב לן את), and also occurs in connection with Abrasax; the following inscription is found upon a metal plate in the Carlsruhe Museum:
АВРАΣАΞ
ΑΒΛΑΝΑΘ
ΑΝΑΛΒΑ
While it would be rash to assert positively that no existing gems were the work of Gnostics, there is no valid reason for attributing any or all of them to such an origin. The fact that the name occurs on these gems in connection with representations of figures with the head of a cock, a lion, or an ass, and the tail of a serpent was formerly taken in the light of what Irenaeus says about the followers of Basilides:
Incantations by mystic names were characteristic of the hybrid Gnosticism planted in Spain
and southern Gaul
at the end of the fourth century and at the beginning of the fifth, which Jerome
connects with Basilides, and which (according to his Epist., lxxv.) used the name Abrasax.
It is therefore not unlikely that some Gnostics used amulets, though the confident assertions of modern writers to this effect rest on no authority. Isaac de Beausobre
properly calls attention to the significant silence of Clement
in the two passages in which he instructs the Christians of Alexandria
on the right use of rings and gems, and the figures which may legitimately be engraved on them (Paed. 241 ff.; 287 ff.). But no attempt to identify the figures on existing gems with the personages of Gnostic mythology has had any success, and Abrasax is the only Gnostic term found in the accompanying legends which is not known to belong to other religions or mythologies. The present state of the evidence therefore suggests that their engravers and the Basilidians received the mystic name from a common source now unknown.
Having due regard to the magic papyri, in which many of the unintelligible names of the Abrasax-stones reappear, besides directions for making and using gems with similar figures and formulas for magical purposes, it can scarcely be doubted that many of these stones are pagan amulets and instruments of magic.
(Fab. 183) gives Abrax Aslo Therbeeo as names of horses of the sun mentioned by 'Homer
us.' The passage is miserably corrupt: but it may not be accidental that the first three syllables make Abraxas.
The proper form of the name is evidently Abrasax, as with the Greek writers, Hippolytus, Epiphanias, Didymus (De Trin. iii. 42), and Theodoret; also Augustine and 'Praedestinatus'; and in nearly all the legends on gems. By a probably euphonic inversion the translator of Irenaeus and the other Latin authors have Abraxas, which is found in the magical papyri, and even, though most sparingly, on engraved stones.
The attempts to discover a derivation for the name, Greek, Hebrew, Coptic, or other, have not been entirely successful:
Perhaps the word may be included among those mysterious expressions discussed by Adolf von Harnack
, “which belong to no known speech, and by their singular collocation of vowels and consonants give evidence that they belong to some mystic dialect, or take their origin from some supposed divine inspiration.”
Yet we may with better reason suppose that it came originally from a foreign mythology, and that the accident of its numerical value in Greek merely caused it to be singled out at Alexandria for religious use. It is worth notice that ΜΕΙΘΡΑΣ and ΝΕΙΛΟΣ
have the same value. The Egyptian author of the book De Mysteriis
in reply to Porphyry
(vii. 4) admits a preference of 'barbarous' to vernacular names in sacred things, urging a peculiar sanctity in the languages of certain nations, as the Egyptians and Assyrians
; and Origen (Contra Cels. i. 24) refers to the 'potent names' used by Egyptian sages, Persian Magi
, and Indian Brahmin
s, signifying deities in the several languages.
:
by Thomas More
, the island called Utopia once had the name "Abraxa", which scholars have suggested is a related use.
's novel, Demian
, such as:
's story Favola di Venezia - Sirat Al-Bunduqiyyah (Fable of Venice), Corto Maltese
encounters several Abraxas in Venice.
'Charcoal' Abraxas is a lightning-singed philosopher who claimed that 'The Gods like an atheist - it gives them something to aim at'
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
it is revealed that Draco Malfoy
's grandfather is named Abraxas.
In Dan Simmons
's science fiction novella "Muse of Fire", the setting is thousands of years in the future, and Abraxas is the predominant religion amongst humans, synonymous with God.
In the play Les Mouches (the flies) by Sartre, "An awe-inspiring, blood-smeared image of Zeus occupies a prominent position." The self-professed fly-charmer who waves his arms and recites ridiculous chants ("Abraxas, galla, galla, tsay, tsay" and "Poseidon, carabou, carabou, roola") is a far cry from the statues which dominate the stage setting of The Flies (1.1.85, 2.1.91)."
is a fictional cosmic entity
from Marvel Comics
that was introduced in Galactus: The Devourer
.
In Alan Moore
's series Miracleman
, the word "abraxas" is shown to transform the titular character back to his original human form.
in a verse that is recited by Ohtori Academy Student Council members before meetings:
The name of the song that typically plays during this sequence is Legend: That God's Name is Abraxas.
Abraxas (played by Walter Phelan) appears as a demon who destroys witches by demonizing their powers in the second season premier of the TV series Charmed
; the episode is entitled "Witch Trial"
In the television series, Babylon 5
, "Abraxas79713" is Captain John Sheridan's password to arm the tactical nukes aboard his ship.
In the television series The L Word
, Abraxas is referred as the demon of lies and deceit.
In Puella Magi Madoka Magica
, the ending was reminiscent of the last line of the verse in Demian.
is entitled Abraxas
. The album has the following quote from Demian on the album cover: "We stood before it and began to freeze inside from the exertion. We questioned the painting, berated it, made love to it, prayed to it: We called it mother, called it whore and slut, called it our beloved, called it Abraxas...."
The Swedish symphonic metal band Therion
has a song named Abraxas.
The Grindcore band Cephalic Carnage has a song called "Abraxas of Filth" on the album Misled By Certainty.
The band Integrity
also has a song called "Abraxas Annihilation" on their album "Humanity is the Devil," and a song titled "Seven Sermones Ad Mortuos" on their album "Seasons in the Size of Days."
The Anglo-German band, Seelenlicht, refer to Abraxas in their song "Demian" (Cold Spring Records, 2008). One verse runs: "Our god is Abraxas / Both God and Devil at the same time,"
Boyd Rice & Death in June also include references to Abraxas in their song, titled The Cruelty of the Heavens, from their 1996 album, titled Scorpion Wind.
The album 'Hysterics' (Hassle Records, 2008) by Sheffield based band Rolo Tomassi
features a song called 'Abraxas'.
Australian metal band Deströyer 666
released an EP entitled "Terror Abraxas" in 2003.
The Disco Biscuits
wrote a song "Abraxas" and debuted it on April 14, 2006 at Higher Ground in South Burlington Vermont. A biscuit was thrown from the stage, and broke into 7 large pieces, but no one noticed this. To date, the atoms that made up the original biscuit have not been reported as having transmuted to other elements or been converted directly into energy. They are expected to last until the speculated end of the universe.
Abraxas was also mentioned in the song, "Lead Poisoning," off of Alkaline Trio
's latest album, "This Addiction
". In the chorus of the song, Matt Skiba sings "Lay my heavy head here down to sleep, and I pray to Abraxas, my soul to keep."
referred to himself as "Abraxas", both God and the Devil, in his 1986 letter to his parole
board.
In the anime, 11 Eyes, Kukuri Tachibana's guardian angel is called Abraxas. His appareance is of a chained angel.
In the 1970s, a group of Unitarian Universalists formed a group called the "Congregation of Abraxas."
The 1986 point-and-click adventure video game Uninvited
features a set of spells that can be cast by the player, all of which end in the word "Abraxas".
In the Shadowrun
role-playing game
, the late great dragon
Dunkelzahn leaves 100 million nuyen to Abraxas Industries, which is one of the few elements of his last will and testament to never receive mention in any other Shadowrun content.
In the computer video game Sacrifice, there is a supporting character within the campaign named Abraxas.
The computer adventure game "The Longest Journey" (1999) features a character called "Abnaxus". He is portrayed as a chimairic creature that sees all times as one. His name is probably a variation of Abraxas.
In Amsterdam
, there is a coffee shop named "Abraxas."
In the East of Paris, Ricardo Bofill
built a housing project named Espaces d'Abraxas.
Founded in 1977, Abraxas Petroleum Corporation is an independent San Antonio, Texas, energy company. (Oil and natural gas development and production in the U.S.) Listed on Nasdaq, symbol AXAS.
Abraxas is the name of an international journal of esoteric studies published by Fulgur Limited
embracing art, essays and poetry.
In the 2009 film A Serious Man
, a reference to Abraxas is made by way of reference to the Santana album mentioned above. In one scene, the financially troubled main character argues over the phone with a Columbia Records employee, over his having to pay for records he had never asked for, including the aforementioned Santana LP, saying he "does not want Abraxas, does not need Abraxas and will not listen to Abraxas".
In the video game Tron: Evolution
, the main antagonist is called Abraxas.
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
Basilides
Basilides
Basilides was an early Gnostic religious teacher in Alexandria, Egypt who taught from 117–138 AD, notes that to prove that the heretical sects were "later than the catholic Church," Clement of Alexandria assigns Christ's own teaching to the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius; that of the apostles,...
, being there applied to the “Great Archon
Archon
Archon is a Greek word that means "ruler" or "lord", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem ἀρχ-, meaning "to rule", derived from the same root as monarch, hierarchy, and anarchy.- Ancient Greece :In ancient Greece the...
” (Gk., megas archōn), the princeps of the 365 spheres (Gk., ouranoi). In Gnostic cosmology, the 7 letters spelling its name represent each of the 7 classic planets—Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
The word is found in Gnostic texts such as the Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit
Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians
Two versions of the formerly lost Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit, also inappropriately called the Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians , were among the codices in the Nag Hammadi library, discovered in 1945.The main contents concern the Sethian Gnostic understanding of how the earth came into...
, and also appears in the Greek Magical Papyri
Greek magical papyri
The Greek Magical Papyri is the name given by scholars to a body of papyri from Graeco-Roman Egypt, which each contain a number of magical spells, formulae, hymns and rituals. The materials in the papyri date from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD...
. It was engraved on certain antique gemstones, called on that account Abraxas stones, which were used as amulets or charms. As the initial spelling on stones was 'Abrasax' (Αβρασαξ), the spelling of 'Abraxas' seen today probably originates in the confusion made between the Greek letters Sigma
Sigma
Sigma is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, and carries the 'S' sound. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 200. When used at the end of a word, and the word is not all upper case, the final form is used, e.g...
and Xi in the Latin transliteration
Transliteration
Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another...
. The word may be related to Abracadabra
Abracadabra
Abracadabra is an incantation used as a magic word in stage magic tricks, and historically was believed to have healing powers when inscribed on an amulet...
, although other explanations exist.
There are similarities and differences between such figures in reports about Basilides' teaching, ancient Gnostic texts, the larger Greco-Roman magical traditions, and modern magical and esoteric writings. Opinions abound on Abraxas, who in recent centuries has been claimed to be both an Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian god and a demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
. The Swiss Psychologist Carl Jung
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...
wrote a short Gnostic treatise in 1916 called The Seven Sermons to the Dead
The Seven Sermons To The Dead
Seven Sermons to the Dead was written in 1916 by the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung and ascribed to the gnostic teacher Basilides...
, which called Abraxas a God higher than the Christian God and Devil, that combines all opposites into one Being.
Sources
It is uncertain what the actual role and function of Abrasax was in the Basilidian systemBasilideans
The Basilidians or Basilideans were a Gnostic sect founded by Basilides of Alexandria in the 2nd century. Basilides claimed to have been taught his doctrines by Glaucus, a disciple of St...
, as our authorities often show no direct acquaintance with the doctrines of Basilides
Basilides
Basilides was an early Gnostic religious teacher in Alexandria, Egypt who taught from 117–138 AD, notes that to prove that the heretical sects were "later than the catholic Church," Clement of Alexandria assigns Christ's own teaching to the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius; that of the apostles,...
himself.
As an archon
Irenaeus
Saint Irenaeus , was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, then a part of the Roman Empire . He was an early church father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology...
, "the Unbegotten Father" is the progenitor of Nous
Nous
Nous , also called intellect or intelligence, is a philosophical term for the faculty of the human mind which is described in classical philosophy as necessary for understanding what is true or real, very close in meaning to intuition...
, and from Nous Logos
Logos
' is an important term in philosophy, psychology, rhetoric and religion. Originally a word meaning "a ground", "a plea", "an opinion", "an expectation", "word," "speech," "account," "reason," it became a technical term in philosophy, beginning with Heraclitus ' is an important term in...
, from Logos Phronesis, from Phronesis Sophia and Dynamis, from Sophia and Dynamis principalities, powers, and angels, the last of whom create "the first heaven." They in turn originate a second series, who create a second heaven. The process continues in like manner until 365 heavens are in existence, the angels of the last or visible heaven being the authors of our world. "The ruler" [principem, i.e.. probably ton archon
Archon
Archon is a Greek word that means "ruler" or "lord", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem ἀρχ-, meaning "to rule", derived from the same root as monarch, hierarchy, and anarchy.- Ancient Greece :In ancient Greece the...
ta] of the 365 heavens "is Abraxas, and for this reason he contains within himself 365 numbers."
The name occurs in the Refutation of all Heresies (vii. 26) by Hippolytus, who appears in these chapters to have followed the Exegetica of Basilides. After describing the manifestation of the Gospel in the Ogdoad and Hebdomad, he adds that the Basilidians have a long account of the innumerable creations and powers in the several 'stages' of the upper world (diastemata), in which they speak of 365 heavens and say that "their great archon
Archon
Archon is a Greek word that means "ruler" or "lord", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem ἀρχ-, meaning "to rule", derived from the same root as monarch, hierarchy, and anarchy.- Ancient Greece :In ancient Greece the...
" is Abrasax, because his name contains the number 365, the number of the days in the year; i.e. the sum of the numbers denoted by the Greek letters in ΑΒΡΑΣΑΞ according to the rules of isopsephy
Isopsephy
Isopsephy is the Greek word for the practice of adding up the number values of the letters in a word to form a single number. The early Greeks used pebbles arranged in patterns to learn arithmetic and geometry....
is 365:
- Α = 1, Β = 2, Ρ = 100, Α = 1, Σ = 200, Α = 1, Ξ = 60
As a god
EpiphaniusEpiphanius of Salamis
Epiphanius of Salamis was bishop of Salamis at the end of the 4th century. He is considered a saint and a Church Father by both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches. He gained a reputation as a strong defender of orthodoxy...
(Haer
Panarion
In early Christian heresiology, the Panarion , to which 16th-century Latin translations gave the name Adversus Haereses , is the most important of the works of Epiphanius of Salamis...
. 69, 73 f.) appears to follow partly Irenaeus, partly the lost Compendium of Hippolytus. He designates Abrasax more distinctly as "the power above all, and First Principle," "the cause and first archetype" of all things; and mentions that the Basilidians referred to 365 as the number of parts (mele) in the human body, as well as of days in the year.
The author of the appendix to Tertullian De Praescr. Haer. (c. 4), who likewise follows Hippolytus's Compendium, adds some further particulars; that 'Abraxas' gave birth to Mind (nous), the first in the series of primary powers enumerated likewise by Irenaeus and Epiphanius; that the world, as well as the 365 heavens, was created in honour of 'Abraxas;' and that Christ was sent not by the Maker of the world but by 'Abraxas.'
Nothing can be built on the vague allusions of Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
, according to whom 'Abraxas' meant for Basilides "the greatest God" (De vir. ill. 21), "the highest God" (Dial. adv. Lucif. 23), "the Almighty God" (Comm. in Amos iii. 9), and "the Lord the Creator" (Comm. in Nah. i. 11). The notices in Theodoret
Theodoret
Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus was an influential author, theologian, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus, Syria . He played a pivotal role in many early Byzantine church controversies that led to various ecumenical acts and schisms...
(Haer. fab. i. 4), Augustine (Haer. 4), and 'Praedestinatus' (i. 3), have no independent value.
It is evident from these particulars that Abrasax was the name of the first of the 365 Archons, and accordingly stood below Sophia and Dynamis and their progenitors; but his position is not expressly stated, so that the writer of the supplement to Tertullian had some excuse for confusing him with "the Supreme God."
As an Aeon
With the availability of primary sources, such as the those in Nag Hammadi libraryNag Hammadi library
The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. That year, twelve leather-bound papyrus codices buried in a sealed jar were found by a local peasant named Mohammed Ali Samman...
, the identity of Abrasax remains unclear. The Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit, for instance, refers to Abrasax as an Aeon
Aeon
The word aeon, also spelled eon or æon , originally means "life", and/or "being", though it then tended to mean "age", "forever" or "for eternity". It is a Latin transliteration from the koine Greek word , from the archaic . In Homer it typically refers to life or lifespan...
dwelling with Sophia and other Aeons of the Pleroma
Pleroma
Pleroma generally refers to the totality of divine powers. The word means fullness from comparable to πλήρης which means "full", and is used in Christian theological contexts: both in Gnosticism generally, and by Paul of Tarsus in Colossians Colossians 2:9 KJV .Gnosticism holds that the...
in the light of the luminary Eleleth. In several texts, the luminary Eleleth is the last of the luminaries (Spiritual Lights) that come forward, and it is the Aeon Sophia, associated with Eleleth, who encounters darkness and becomes involved in the chain of events that leads to the Demiurge's rule of this world, and the salvage effort that ensues. As such, the role of Aeons of Eleleth, including Abrasax, Sophia, and others, pertains to this outer border of the Pleroma that encounters the ignorance of the world of Lack and interacts to rectify the error of ignorance in the world of materiality.
Abrasax stones
A vast number of engraved stones are in existence, to which the name "Abrasax-stones" has long been given. One particularly fine example was included as part of the Thetford treasureThetford treasure
The Thetford Hoard is a hoard of Romano-British metalwork found at Gallows Hill, near Thetford in Norfolk, England, in November 1979, and now in the British Museum...
from fourth century Norfolk, UK. The subjects are mythological, and chiefly grotesque, with various inscriptions, in which ΑΒΡΑΣΑΞ often occurs, alone or with other words. Sometimes the whole space is taken up with the inscription. In certain obscure magical writings of Egyptian origin ἀβραξάς or ἀβρασάξ is found associated with other names which frequently accompany it on gems; it is also found on the Greek metal tesseræ among other mystic words. The meaning of the legends is seldom intelligible: but some of the gems are amulets; and the same may be the case with nearly all.
Anguipede
Chimera (mythology)
The Chimera or Chimaera was, according to Greek mythology, a monstrous fire-breathing female creature of Lycia in Asia Minor, composed of the parts of multiple animals: upon the body of a lioness with a tail that ended in a snake's head, the head of a goat arose on her back at the center of her...
-like appearance somewhat resembling a basilisk
Basilisk
In European bestiaries and legends, a basilisk is a legendary reptile reputed to be king of serpents and said to have the power to cause death with a single glance...
or the Greek primordial god Chronos
Chronos
In Greek mythology, Chronos in pre-Socratic philosophical works is said to be the personification of time. His name in Greek means "time" and is alternatively spelled Chronus or Khronos.Chronos was imagined as an incorporeal god, serpentine in form, with three heads—those of a man, a bull, and...
(not to be confused with the Greek titan Cronus
Cronus
In Greek mythology, Cronus or Kronos was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, divine descendants of Gaia, the earth, and Uranus, the sky...
). According to E. A. Wallis Budge
E. A. Wallis Budge
Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge was an English Egyptologist, Orientalist, and philologist who worked for the British Museum and published numerous works on the ancient Near East.-Earlier life:...
, "as a Pantheus, i.e. All-God, he appears on the amulets with the head of a cock (Phœbus) or of a lion (Ra
Ra
Ra is the ancient Egyptian sun god. By the Fifth Dynasty he had become a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the mid-day sun...
or Mithras), the body of a man, and his legs are serpents which terminate in scorpions, types of the Agathodaimon
Agathodaemon
In ancient Greek religion, Agathos Daimon or Agathodaemon was a daemon or presiding spirit of the vineyards and grainfields and a personal companion spirit, similar to the Roman genius, ensuring good luck, health, and wisdom....
. In his right hand he grasps a club, or a flail, and in his left is a round or oval shield." This form was also referred to as the Anguipede
Anguipede
The Anguiped is a divinity that is often found on magical amulets from the Greco-Roman period.The Anguiped is depicted as a creature with the head of a rooster and snakes for legs, symbolism thought to be of Persian origin. Sometimes inscribed below is Iao, a form of the Tetragrammaton - the four...
. Budge surmised that Abrasax was "a form of the Adam Kadmon
Adam Kadmon
In the religious writings of Kabbalah, Adam Kadmon is a phrase meaning "Primal Man". The oldest rabbinical source for the term "Adam ha-Ḳadmoni" is Num. R. x., where Adam is styled, not as usually, "Ha-Rishon" , "Ha-Kadmoni" ....
of the Kabbalists
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
and the Primal Man whom God made in His own image."
Some parts at least of the figure above mentioned are solar symbol
Solar symbol
A solar symbol is a symbol which symbolises the Sun. Solar symbols can have significance in psychoanalysis, symbolism, semiotics, astrology, religion, mythology, mysticism, divination, heraldry, and vexillology, among other fields.Some solar symbols include:...
s, and the Basilidian Abrasax is manifestly connected with the sun. J. J. Bellermann has speculated that "the whole represents the Supreme Being, with his Five great Emanations, each one pointed out by means of an expressive emblem. Thus, from the human body, the usual form assigned to the Deity, forasmuch as it is written that God created man in his own image, issue the two supporters, Nous and Logos, symbols of the inner sense and the quickening understanding, as typified by the serpents, for the same reason that had induced the old Greeks to assign this reptile for an attribute to Pallas. His head—a cock's—represents Phronesis, the fowl being emblematical of foresight and vigilance. His two hands bear the badges of Sophia and Dynamis, the shield of Wisdom, and the scourge of Power."
Hebraic names
These Abrasax-stones often bear Hebraic names of God: IaoIao
Iao may refer to:* a Greek form of Yahweh* the purported secret name or abbreviation of a deity in Gnosticism, Greek mystery cults, and magic* Iao Valley, a popular tourist attraction on Maui, Hawaii* another name for the Wattlebird...
, Sabaoth, Adonai, Eloai
Elohim
Elohim is a grammatically singular or plural noun for "god" or "gods" in both modern and ancient Hebrew language. When used with singular verbs and adjectives elohim is usually singular, "god" or especially, the God. When used with plural verbs and adjectives elohim is usually plural, "gods" or...
. The name ΙΑΩ, to which ΣΑΒΑΩΘ is sometimes added, is found with this figure even more frequently than ΑΒΡΑΣΑΞ, and they are often combined. Beside an Abrasax figure the following, for instance, is found: IAΩ ABPAΣAΞ AΔΩN ΑΤΑ, "Iao Abrasax, thou art the Lord". With the Abrasax-shield are also found the divine names Sabaoth Iao, Iao Abrasax, Adonai Abrasax, etc.
Magical papyri
The magic papyriGreek magical papyri
The Greek Magical Papyri is the name given by scholars to a body of papyri from Graeco-Roman Egypt, which each contain a number of magical spells, formulae, hymns and rituals. The materials in the papyri date from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD...
reflect the same ideas as the Abrasax-gems. The following example will suffice: "Iao Sabaoth, Adonai . . . Abrasax". The patriarchs are sometimes addressed as deities; for which fact many instances may be adduced. In the group "Iakoubia, Iaosabaoth Adonai Abrasax," the first name seems to be composed of Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
and Ya.
The Leyden papyrus recommends that this invocation be pronounced to the moon:
The magic word "Ablanathanalba," which reads in Greek the same backward as forward, also occurs in the Abrasax-stones as well as in the magic papyri. This word is usually conceded to be derived from the Hebrew (Aramaic), meaning "Thou art our father" (אב לן את), and also occurs in connection with Abrasax; the following inscription is found upon a metal plate in the Carlsruhe Museum:
ΑΒΛΑΝΑΘ
ΑΝΑΛΒΑ
Origin
In the absence of other evidence to show the origin of these curious relics of antiquity the occurrence of a name known as Basilidian on patristic authority has not unnaturally been taken as a sufficient mark of origin, and the early collectors and critics assumed this whole group to be the work of Gnostics. During the last three centuries attempts have been made to sift away successively those gems which had no claim to be considered in any sense Gnostic, or specially Basilidian, or connected with Abrasax. The subject is one which has exercised the ingenuity of many savants, but it may be said that all the engraved stones fall into three classes:- Abrasax, or stones of Basilidian origin
- Abrasaxtes, or stones originating in ancient forms of worship, and adapted by the Gnostics
- Abraxoïdes, or stones absolutely unconnected with the doctrine of Basilides
While it would be rash to assert positively that no existing gems were the work of Gnostics, there is no valid reason for attributing any or all of them to such an origin. The fact that the name occurs on these gems in connection with representations of figures with the head of a cock, a lion, or an ass, and the tail of a serpent was formerly taken in the light of what Irenaeus says about the followers of Basilides:
Incantations by mystic names were characteristic of the hybrid Gnosticism planted in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and southern Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
at the end of the fourth century and at the beginning of the fifth, which Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
connects with Basilides, and which (according to his Epist., lxxv.) used the name Abrasax.
It is therefore not unlikely that some Gnostics used amulets, though the confident assertions of modern writers to this effect rest on no authority. Isaac de Beausobre
Isaac de Beausobre
Isaac de Beausobre was a French Protestant churchman, now best known for his history of Manichaeism, Histoire Critique de Manichée et du Manichéisme in two volumes ....
properly calls attention to the significant silence of Clement
Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens , known as Clement of Alexandria , was a Christian theologian and the head of the noted Catechetical School of Alexandria. Clement is best remembered as the teacher of Origen...
in the two passages in which he instructs the Christians of Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
on the right use of rings and gems, and the figures which may legitimately be engraved on them (Paed. 241 ff.; 287 ff.). But no attempt to identify the figures on existing gems with the personages of Gnostic mythology has had any success, and Abrasax is the only Gnostic term found in the accompanying legends which is not known to belong to other religions or mythologies. The present state of the evidence therefore suggests that their engravers and the Basilidians received the mystic name from a common source now unknown.
Having due regard to the magic papyri, in which many of the unintelligible names of the Abrasax-stones reappear, besides directions for making and using gems with similar figures and formulas for magical purposes, it can scarcely be doubted that many of these stones are pagan amulets and instruments of magic.
Etymology
Gaius Julius HyginusGaius Julius Hyginus
Gaius Julius Hyginus was a Latin author, a pupil of the famous Cornelius Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was by Augustus elected superintendent of the Palatine library according to Suetonius' De Grammaticis, 20...
(Fab. 183) gives Abrax Aslo Therbeeo as names of horses of the sun mentioned by 'Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
us.' The passage is miserably corrupt: but it may not be accidental that the first three syllables make Abraxas.
The proper form of the name is evidently Abrasax, as with the Greek writers, Hippolytus, Epiphanias, Didymus (De Trin. iii. 42), and Theodoret; also Augustine and 'Praedestinatus'; and in nearly all the legends on gems. By a probably euphonic inversion the translator of Irenaeus and the other Latin authors have Abraxas, which is found in the magical papyri, and even, though most sparingly, on engraved stones.
The attempts to discover a derivation for the name, Greek, Hebrew, Coptic, or other, have not been entirely successful:
Egyptian
- Claudius SalmasiusClaudius SalmasiusClaudius Salmasius is the Latin name of Claude Saumaise , a French classical scholar.-Life:Salmasius was born at Semur-en-Auxois in Burgundy. His father, a counsellor of the parlement of Dijon, sent him, at the age of sixteen, to Paris, where he became intimate with Isaac Casaubon...
thought it Egyptian, but never gave the proofs which he promised. - Friedrich MünterFriedrich MünterFriedrich Christian Carl Heinrich Münter was a German-Danish scholar, professor of theology at the University of Copenhagen, orientalist, church historian, archaeologist, Danish bishop of Zealand, and freemason...
separates it into two Coptic words signifying “new fangled title.” - J. J. Bellermann thinks it a compound of the Egyptian words abrak and sax, meaning “the honorable and hallowed word,” or “the word is adorable.”
- Samuel SharpeSamuel Sharpe (scholar)Samuel Sharpe was an English Unitarian Egyptologist and translator of the Bible.-Life:He was the second son of Sutton Sharpe , brewer, by his second wife, Maria , and was born in King Street, Golden Square, London, on 8 March 1799, baptised at St. James's, Piccadilly...
finds in it an Egyptian invocation to the Godhead, meaning “hurt me not.”
Hebrew
- Abraham Geiger sees in it a Grecized form of ha-berakhah, “the blessing,” a meaning which C.W. King declares philologically untenable.
- J. B. Passerius derives it from abh, “father,” bara, “to create,” and a- negative—“the uncreated Father.”
- Giuseppe Barzilai goes back for explanation to the first verse of the prayer attributed to Rabbi Nehunya ben ha-KanahNehunya ben ha-KanahNehunya ben ha-Kanah was a Tanna of the 1st and 2nd centuries. It appears from B. B. 10b that Neḥunya was a contemporary, but not a pupil, of Johanan b. Zakkai. He was the teacher of Ishmael b. Elisha...
, the literal rendering of which is “O [God], with thy mighty right hand deliver the unhappy [people],” forming from the initial and final letters of the words the word Abrakd , with the meaning “the host of the winged ones,” i.e., angels. But this extremely ingenious theory would at most explain only the mystic word Abracadabra, whose connection with Abrasax is by no means certain.
Greek
- Wendelin discovers a compound of the initial letters, amounting to 365 in numerical value, of four Hebrew and three Greek words, all written with Greek characters: ab, ben, rouach, hakadōs; sōtēria apo xylou (“Father, Son, Spirit, holy; salvation from the cross”).
- According to a note of Isaac de Beausobre’s, Jean HardouinJean HardouinJean Hardouin , French classical scholar, was born at Quimper in Brittany.Having acquired a taste for literature in his father's book-shop, he sought and obtained admission into the order of the Jesuits in around 1662...
accepted the first three of these, taking the four others for the initials of the Greek anthrōpoussōzōn hagiōi xylōi, “saving mankind by the holy cross.” - Isaac de BeausobreIsaac de BeausobreIsaac de Beausobre was a French Protestant churchman, now best known for his history of Manichaeism, Histoire Critique de Manichée et du Manichéisme in two volumes ....
derives Abrasax from the Greek habros and saō, “the beautiful, the glorious Savior.”
Perhaps the word may be included among those mysterious expressions discussed by Adolf von Harnack
Adolf von Harnack
Adolf von Harnack , was a German theologian and prominent church historian.He produced many religious publications from 1873-1912....
, “which belong to no known speech, and by their singular collocation of vowels and consonants give evidence that they belong to some mystic dialect, or take their origin from some supposed divine inspiration.”
Yet we may with better reason suppose that it came originally from a foreign mythology, and that the accident of its numerical value in Greek merely caused it to be singled out at Alexandria for religious use. It is worth notice that ΜΕΙΘΡΑΣ and ΝΕΙΛΟΣ
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
have the same value. The Egyptian author of the book De Mysteriis
De Mysteriis Aegyptiorum
The Theurgia, or De Mysteriis Aegyptiorum , was attributed to Iamblichus Chalcidensis, a Neoplatonic philosopher who studied under Porphyry....
in reply to Porphyry
Porphyry (philosopher)
Porphyry of Tyre , Porphyrios, AD 234–c. 305) was a Neoplatonic philosopher who was born in Tyre. He edited and published the Enneads, the only collection of the work of his teacher Plotinus. He also wrote many works himself on a wide variety of topics...
(vii. 4) admits a preference of 'barbarous' to vernacular names in sacred things, urging a peculiar sanctity in the languages of certain nations, as the Egyptians and Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
; and Origen (Contra Cels. i. 24) refers to the 'potent names' used by Egyptian sages, Persian Magi
Magi
Magi is a term, used since at least the 4th century BC, to denote a follower of Zoroaster, or rather, a follower of what the Hellenistic world associated Zoroaster with, which...
, and Indian Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
s, signifying deities in the several languages.
Other uses
Carl Jung (Seven Sermons to the Dead)
Abraxas is an important figure in Seven Sermons, a representation of the driving force of individuation (synthesis, maturity, oneness), referred with the figures for the driving forces of differentiation (emergence of consciousness and opposites), Helios God-the-Sun, and the Devil.Aleister Crowley
Abrasax is invoked in the The Gnostic Mass of the Ecclesia Gnostica CatholicaEcclesia Gnostica Catholica
Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica , or the Gnostic Catholic Church, is the ecclesiastical arm of Ordo Templi Orientis , an international fraternal initiatory organization devoted to promulgating the Law of Thelema. Thelema is a philosophical, mystical and religious system elaborated by Aleister Crowley,...
:
Utopia
In the novel UtopiaUtopia (book)
Utopia is a work of fiction by Thomas More published in 1516...
by Thomas More
Thomas More
Sir Thomas More , also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and, for three years toward the end of his life, Lord Chancellor...
, the island called Utopia once had the name "Abraxa", which scholars have suggested is a related use.
Demian
Several references to the god Abraxas appear in Hermann HesseHermann Hesse
Hermann Hesse was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature...
's novel, Demian
Demian
Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair's Youth is a Bildungsroman by Hermann Hesse, first published in 1919; a prologue was added in 1960. Demian was first published under the pseudonym "Emil Sinclair", the name of the narrator of the story, but Hesse was later revealed to be the author.-Plot summary...
, such as:
Hugo Pratt
In Hugo PrattHugo Pratt
Hugo Eugenio Pratt was an Italian comic book creator who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as Corto Maltese...
's story Favola di Venezia - Sirat Al-Bunduqiyyah (Fable of Venice), Corto Maltese
Corto Maltese
Corto Maltese is a comics series featuring an eponymous character, a complex sailor-adventurer. It was created by Italian comic book creator Hugo Pratt in 1967...
encounters several Abraxas in Venice.
Terry Pratchett
In Small Gods by Terry PratchettTerry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
'Charcoal' Abraxas is a lightning-singed philosopher who claimed that 'The Gods like an atheist - it gives them something to aim at'
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth and penultimate novel in the Harry Potter series by British author J. K. Rowling...
it is revealed that Draco Malfoy
Draco Malfoy
Draco Malfoy is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. He is a Slytherin student in Harry Potter's year. He is frequently accompanied by his two accomplices, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, who act as henchmen...
's grandfather is named Abraxas.
In Dan Simmons
Dan Simmons
Dan Simmons is an American author most widely known for his Hugo Award-winning science fiction series, known as the Hyperion Cantos, and for his Locus-winning Ilium/Olympos cycle....
's science fiction novella "Muse of Fire", the setting is thousands of years in the future, and Abraxas is the predominant religion amongst humans, synonymous with God.
In the play Les Mouches (the flies) by Sartre, "An awe-inspiring, blood-smeared image of Zeus occupies a prominent position." The self-professed fly-charmer who waves his arms and recites ridiculous chants ("Abraxas, galla, galla, tsay, tsay" and "Poseidon, carabou, carabou, roola") is a far cry from the statues which dominate the stage setting of The Flies (1.1.85, 2.1.91)."
Comics
AbraxasAbraxas (comics)
Abraxas, sometimes called the Dark Man, is a fictional cosmic entity in the Marvel Multiverse. He first appeared in Fantastic Four 2001...
is a fictional cosmic entity
Cosmic entities (Marvel Comics)
Cosmic entities, also referred to as cosmic beings, are a type of fictional character in the . They possess power on a stellar, galactic, universal, or even multiversal level, far beyond those of humans or conventional superheroes, and frequently serve some natural function in the...
from Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
that was introduced in Galactus: The Devourer
Galactus
Galactus is a fictional character appearing in comic books and other publications published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Jack Kirby, the character debuted in Fantastic Four #48 , the first of a three-issue story later known as "The Galactus...
.
In Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
's series Miracleman
Miracleman
Marvelman, also known as Miracleman for trademark reasons in his American reprints and story continuation, is a fictional comic book superhero created in 1954 by writer-artist Mick Anglo for publisher L. Miller & Son. Originally intended as a United Kingdom home-grown substitute for the American...
, the word "abraxas" is shown to transform the titular character back to his original human form.
Television
The Abraxas passage in Demian is later adapted in the anime Revolutionary Girl UtenaRevolutionary Girl Utena
is a manga by Chiho Saito and anime directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara. The manga serial began in the June 1996 issue of Ciao and the anime was first broadcast in 1997. The anime and manga were created simultaneously, but, despite some similarities, they progressed in different directions. A movie, was...
in a verse that is recited by Ohtori Academy Student Council members before meetings:
The name of the song that typically plays during this sequence is Legend: That God's Name is Abraxas.
Abraxas (played by Walter Phelan) appears as a demon who destroys witches by demonizing their powers in the second season premier of the TV series Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
; the episode is entitled "Witch Trial"
In the television series, Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
, "Abraxas79713" is Captain John Sheridan's password to arm the tactical nukes aboard his ship.
In the television series The L Word
The L Word
The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...
, Abraxas is referred as the demon of lies and deceit.
In Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
is a Japanese anime television series produced by Shaft and Aniplex. The series is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo and written by Gen Urobuchi with original character designs by Ume Aoki, character design adaptation by Takahiro Kishida and music by Yuki Kajiura...
, the ending was reminiscent of the last line of the verse in Demian.
Music
The second album of the musical group SantanaSantana (band)
Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...
is entitled Abraxas
Abraxas (album)
Abraxas is the second studio album by the Latin influenced rock band Santana. Consolidating their highly acclaimed live performance at the Woodstock Festival in August of 1969, and the interest generated by their first album, Santana , the band took some time to issue a follow-up...
. The album has the following quote from Demian on the album cover: "We stood before it and began to freeze inside from the exertion. We questioned the painting, berated it, made love to it, prayed to it: We called it mother, called it whore and slut, called it our beloved, called it Abraxas...."
The Swedish symphonic metal band Therion
Therion (band)
Therion is a Swedish symphonic metal band founded by Christofer Johnsson in 1987. The word "therion" comes from the Greek therion , meaning "Beast," i.e., that of the Christian Book of Revelation...
has a song named Abraxas.
The Grindcore band Cephalic Carnage has a song called "Abraxas of Filth" on the album Misled By Certainty.
The band Integrity
Integrity (band)
Integrity is a metallic hardcore band formed in 1988. Their lyrical themes include religion, the supernatural, mental illness, individualism, and the occult.- Discography :*Harder They Fall - Demo cassette - 1989...
also has a song called "Abraxas Annihilation" on their album "Humanity is the Devil," and a song titled "Seven Sermones Ad Mortuos" on their album "Seasons in the Size of Days."
The Anglo-German band, Seelenlicht, refer to Abraxas in their song "Demian" (Cold Spring Records, 2008). One verse runs: "Our god is Abraxas / Both God and Devil at the same time,"
Boyd Rice & Death in June also include references to Abraxas in their song, titled The Cruelty of the Heavens, from their 1996 album, titled Scorpion Wind.
The album 'Hysterics' (Hassle Records, 2008) by Sheffield based band Rolo Tomassi
Rolo Tomassi
Rolo Tomassi are a British mathcore band from Sheffield, England. Their name is taken from the fictional character in the film L.A. Confidential. On 22 September 2008, the band released their debut album, Hysterics, through Hassle Records....
features a song called 'Abraxas'.
Australian metal band Deströyer 666
Destroyer 666
Deströyer 666 is a black/death/thrash metal band formed in 1994 by guitarist K.K. Warslut. The group originated in Melbourne, Australia however moved to Europe.- History :...
released an EP entitled "Terror Abraxas" in 2003.
The Disco Biscuits
Disco Biscuits
The Disco Biscuits are a band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania known for their live performances and light shows. The band consists of Allen Aucoin , Marc Brownstein , Jon Gutwillig , and Aron Magner ....
wrote a song "Abraxas" and debuted it on April 14, 2006 at Higher Ground in South Burlington Vermont. A biscuit was thrown from the stage, and broke into 7 large pieces, but no one noticed this. To date, the atoms that made up the original biscuit have not been reported as having transmuted to other elements or been converted directly into energy. They are expected to last until the speculated end of the universe.
Abraxas was also mentioned in the song, "Lead Poisoning," off of Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band that formed in McHenry, Illinois, in 1996. The band's line-up consists of Matt Skiba , Dan Andriano , and Derek Grant...
's latest album, "This Addiction
This Addiction
This Addiction is the seventh studio album by the punk rock band Alkaline Trio, released February 23, 2010 as the first release by their newly formed record label Heart & Skull, a joint venture with Epitaph Records...
". In the chorus of the song, Matt Skiba sings "Lay my heavy head here down to sleep, and I pray to Abraxas, my soul to keep."
Other
Charles MansonCharles Manson
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
referred to himself as "Abraxas", both God and the Devil, in his 1986 letter to his parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
board.
In the anime, 11 Eyes, Kukuri Tachibana's guardian angel is called Abraxas. His appareance is of a chained angel.
In the 1970s, a group of Unitarian Universalists formed a group called the "Congregation of Abraxas."
The 1986 point-and-click adventure video game Uninvited
Uninvited (game)
Uninvited is a haunted house "point-and-click" adventure video game originally for the Apple Macintosh, released in 1986 by ICOM Simulations. The unnamed hero must find the way through an abandoned house in order to rescue a sibling...
features a set of spells that can be cast by the player, all of which end in the word "Abraxas".
In the Shadowrun
Shadowrun
Shadowrun is a role-playing game set in a near-future fictional universe in which cybernetics, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy and crime, with occasional elements of conspiracy fiction, horror, and detective fiction.The original game has spawned...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, the late great dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
Dunkelzahn leaves 100 million nuyen to Abraxas Industries, which is one of the few elements of his last will and testament to never receive mention in any other Shadowrun content.
In the computer video game Sacrifice, there is a supporting character within the campaign named Abraxas.
The computer adventure game "The Longest Journey" (1999) features a character called "Abnaxus". He is portrayed as a chimairic creature that sees all times as one. His name is probably a variation of Abraxas.
In Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, there is a coffee shop named "Abraxas."
In the East of Paris, Ricardo Bofill
Ricardo Bofill
Ricardo Bofill, also Ricard Bofill Leví is a Catalan Spanish postmodernist architect.He studied at the School of Architecture in Geneva, Switzerland...
built a housing project named Espaces d'Abraxas.
Founded in 1977, Abraxas Petroleum Corporation is an independent San Antonio, Texas, energy company. (Oil and natural gas development and production in the U.S.) Listed on Nasdaq, symbol AXAS.
Abraxas is the name of an international journal of esoteric studies published by Fulgur Limited
Fulgur Limited
Fulgur Limited is an independent English publishing house founded in 1992 that produces fine press esoteric titles.- History :Originally an informal business partnership, Fulgur was set up by Robert Ansell, Gavin W. Semple and Hayley Tong at 13 Park Crescent, Worthing on August 8, 1992...
embracing art, essays and poetry.
In the 2009 film A Serious Man
A Serious Man
A Serious Man is a 2009 dark comedy written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film stars Michael Stuhlbarg as a Minnesota Jewish man whose life crumbles both professionally and personally, leading to questions about his faith...
, a reference to Abraxas is made by way of reference to the Santana album mentioned above. In one scene, the financially troubled main character argues over the phone with a Columbia Records employee, over his having to pay for records he had never asked for, including the aforementioned Santana LP, saying he "does not want Abraxas, does not need Abraxas and will not listen to Abraxas".
In the video game Tron: Evolution
Tron: Evolution
Tron: Evolution is a third-person action-adventure, tie-in video game for the film Tron: Legacy by Propaganda Games, published by Disney Interactive. It was officially announced at the Spike Video Game Awards and was released for the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and Xbox...
, the main antagonist is called Abraxas.