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Zostrianos is a Sethian Gnostic text.[1] It is the first tractate of two in Codex VIII of the Nag Hammadi library.[2] It takes up 132 of the 140 pages in the codex, making Zostrianos the longest tractate of the entire library.[3][4] However the text is extensively damaged, especially in the center,[2][3] making the document difficult to fully understand.[3][4] The Coptic manuscript is a translation of a Greek original, likely written in Alexandria in c. 200 AD.[5] In the text, Zostrianos goes on a heavenly journey and receives divine knowledge from the aeons.[2][4]
The work is likely the same Zostrianos that Porphyry criticized in Life of Plotinus.[2][4][6] Like other Sethian Gnostic texts Marsanes, Allogenes, and Three Steles of Seth, its ideas appear more Middle Platonic or Neoplatonic than Christian.[5][7] However, Porphyry said that these works belonged to Christian heretics.[7] Bentley Layton explains this apparent contradiction with the belief that Zostrianos was written by a Gnostic Christian author who was fascinated with Eastern religious heroes who had special knowledge relating to the divine, such as Zoroaster.[5]
- ^ Suciu, Alin. "A Conversation with John D. Turner on Sethian Gnosticism". AlinSuciu.com. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
- ^ a b c d Sieber, John H. "Zostrianus". The Coptic encyclopedia, volume 1. Claremont Graduate University. School of Religion. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
- ^ a b c Sieber, John H. (1973). "An Introduction to the Tractate Zostrianos from Nag Hammadi". Novum Testamentum. 15 (3): 233–40. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
- ^ a b c d Sieber, John H. (March 1981). The Nag Hammadi library in English. San Francisco: Harper & Row. p. 368. ISBN 9780060669294. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
- ^ a b c Kirby, Peter. "Zostrianos". Early Christian Writings. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
- ^ Porphyry. "On the Life of Plotinus and the Arrangement of his Work". Porphyry, "Life of Plotinus". Retrieved 18 February 2023.
- ^ a b Majercik, Ruth (May 2005). "Porphyry and Gnosticism". The Classical Quarterly. 55 (1): 277–292. doi:10.1093/cq/bmi020. Retrieved 18 February 2023.