In Gnosticism, the “Fall” didn’t happen with Adam and Eve. It happened before the world’s creation, through a mistake made by a heavenly being called Sophia, meaning “wisdom” in ancient Greek. There are many different schools of thought in Gnosticism that have different understandings of Sophia. In some, she is considered the human soul, others the feminine aspect of god, and others the female twin, or syzygy, of Jesus. This article will provide a general overview of Sophia and her place in Gnostic cosmology.
Who is Sophia?
Sophia was one of the “aeons,” divine entities who were descended from God the Father and who were roughly equivalent to angels. Of the many aeons, Sophia was the last to arise from God. Like the other aeons, Sophia was the child of a male-female pair of aeons, known as syzygies, that had come before her, who had given birth with the Father’s blessing. Sophia and the rest of the aeons formed the “Pleroma,” Greek for “Fullness,” the Gnostic name for Heaven, representing the complete divine realm.
Sophia wanted to have a child, too. But she went about it in the wrong way: she conceived without the involvement of her male partner or the approval of the Father. This act, driven by an impetuous desire to create independently and understand the Father’s creative power, introduced an element of deficiency into the perfect Pleroma. Her child was the “demiurge,” a misshapen, belligerent creature that was utterly unlike the other heavenly beings.
Sophia immediately realized her horrible mistake and cast her child out of the Pleroma. The demiurge, now alone, believed that he was the only being who had ever existed, and created the material world out of his ignorance, foolishness, and malevolence, trapping sparks of divinity within Adam and Eve along the way, that spark being Sophia’s own essence. This act established a perpetual conflict between the divine light and the material realm, as the demiurge, often identified with the Old Testament God, sought to maintain control over his ignorant creation.
Sophia is also sometimes credited with elements of creation, creating matter through her own imperfection. Therefore, she is sometimes called the mother of the living. This dual role highlights her complex nature: the source of both the fallen material world and the divine spark within humanity, actively involved in the cosmic drama.
The Fall and Purgatory
As a consequence of her actions, Sophia became a flawed being. Her deficiency, a spiritual impurity or loss of divine light resulting from her unauthorized act, rendered her unable to remain in the perfect “Fullness” of the Pleroma. So she was placed just outside of the Pleroma, in a distinct intermediary realm above that of her malevolent son. The seven planetary powers were placed under her world. This makes her the highest ruler over the visible universe and the intermediary between the material world and the divine, serving as a spiritual bridge.
In anguish, Sophia repented, her tears forming cosmic waters, a common motif in Gnostic texts. God the Father, recognizing her remorse, agreed to bring her back to the Pleroma once what had become lacking in her was restored to its natural fullness. This redemption is often a central theme, symbolizing the human journey back to divine knowledge (gnosis).
In some Gnostic traditions, Sophia is in a form of Purgatory, and Christians who die but do not achieve “gnosis” pass time in the realm of Sophia before moving on to the Pleroma. This concept underscores Sophia’s role in the spiritual ascent of humanity. In the Pistis Sophia, Christ is sent to bring Sophia back to the Pleroma, often depicted as a process of enlightening her with further revelations. He is then sent to earth in the form of Jesus to show men the way to spiritual salvation through gnosis, directly linking Sophia’s redemption to humanity’s path to enlightenment.
Sophia in Irenaeus’s Account
Irenaeus was a Greek bishop in the 2nd century CE who was a significant critic of Gnosticism, but also recorded some of its core principles in the Syrian tradition. While his accounts are polemical, they offer invaluable insight into early Gnostic beliefs that might otherwise be lost. He describes Sophia as the great mother principle and the first woman, the holy spirit that moves over the waters, and the mother of all living.
Under her are the four material elements: water, darkness, abyss, and chaos. These combine themselves into two supreme masculine lights, and the first and the second man, the father and son. His union with the first results in a third man, the imperishable light, who is Christ. But Christ’s light was so great that when she gave birth, a portion of the light overflowed on the left side. While Christ ascended to the heavens, the rest of the light descended into the lower world and produced matter. This leads to the creation of the seven archons, or rulers, who collectively govern the material world and seek to keep humanity ignorant of their divine origin.
Sophia creates mankind, imbuing them with the divine spark, as a way to deprive the Archons of their share of light, starting a perpetual conflict. This continues until Christ comes to her assistance, reflecting his role as the ultimate redeemer. He proceeds to draw all the sparks of light to himself, and then unites with Sophia to create Jesus, who descends to Earth. When he ascends again after the crucifixion, he takes Sophia up to heaven with him, signifying her complete restoration to the Pleroma and the triumph of divine wisdom over ignorance and material bondage.
Sophia in Jewish Thought
In Jewish thought, particularly within the tradition of Wisdom Literature, Sophia (corresponding to the Hebrew word Hokhmah, חָכְמָה) is not portrayed as a divine being, but rather as an attribute of God, occasionally personified as an entity active in divine creation and revelation.
At its most fundamental, Hokhmah represents God’s inherent wisdom. It’s the divine intelligence, skill, and insight that orders the cosmos and guides creation. Jewish wisdom literature emphasizes Wisdom’s active role alongside God in the act of creation. She is depicted as God’s master builder, companion, or even the blueprint for the universe.
Wisdom is also the source of moral and ethical order in the world. Living wisely, according to Jewish thought, means aligning oneself with this divine wisdom, which is rooted in the “fear of the Lord” (reverence and obedience to God). While divine, wisdom is also accessible to humanity. It can be sought, learned, and applied to daily life. It’s often equated with the Torah (God’s instruction/law) as the embodiment of divine wisdom revealed to humanity.
In later Jewish thought, particularly in Alexandria (where Greek influence was strong), the concept of Wisdom became even more pronounced and personified, influenced by Hellenistic philosophical ideas. Works like the Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), part of the Apocrypha/Deuterocanon, develop this personification further, depicting Wisdom as God’s breath, a pure emanation, and a mirror of God’s power.
In the Jewish Kabbalah, Hokhmah or Sophia is the second of the ten sefirot, located immediately after Kether. While Kether represents the original, pure will or intent of the Divine, the Hochmah is the first point at which that intent begins to take form. Hokhmah is the flash of insight, the seed of creativity, and the raw, unformed idea that emerges from the depths of Kether. In the Tree of Life, Hokmah is located on the right side, symbolizing active, giving power. It is associated with the dynamic, expansive energy of the universe. It is the force that initiates creation and drives the flow of Divine energy.
The Book of Proverbs is the quintessential example of Wisdom Literature in the Hebrew Bible, and it famously personifies Wisdom as a woman, Lady Wisdom.
Main Schools of Gnosticism
Below is a list of the main schools of Gnosticism and their key beliefs about Sophia. Their different beliefs reflect that Gnosticism was not an organized and centralized religion like Catholicism, but rather people with similar beliefs who followed the teachings of different religious leaders.
Valentinianism
This was arguably the most widespread and influential Gnostic school, founded by Valentinus (c. 100-160 CE). Valentinians had a highly elaborate cosmology featuring a complex hierarchy of divine beings (Aeons) and three types of humanity: pneumatic (spiritual, capable of gnosis), psychic (soul-oriented, potentially saved through faith and good works), and hylic (material, incapable of salvation).
Sophia is central to Valentinian cosmology. She is typically portrayed as the youngest and last of the Aeons in the Pleroma. Her “fall” or “passion” – a misguided attempt to comprehend or create without her syzygy or the consent of the Father – is the primordial event that leads to the creation of the material world and the Demiurge. Her subsequent yearning for restoration and the bringing forth of Christ and the Holy Spirit (or sometimes specific forms of Christ) to redeem her are the driving forces behind the entire cosmic drama, ultimately aiming for her return to the Pleroma and the restoration of divine order.
Sethianism (and Barbeloites)
Often considered older and more overtly dualistic than Valentinianism, Sethian Gnosticism is named after Seth, the third son of Adam, whom they often saw as a divine figure or ancestor of the spiritual race. Their myths often feature a supreme, ineffable God, a series of emanations (including Barbelo, a divine feminine principle), and a Demiurge who mistakenly creates the material world. Texts like the Apocryphon of John and the Gospel of the Egyptians are key to understanding Sethian thought.
While not always explicitly named “Sophia” as a singular, fallen Aeon in the same dramatic way as Valentinianism, Sethian thought often features a divine feminine principle involved in creation and the emanation of spiritual entities. Often, this role is taken by Barbelo, the first emanation from the unknowable God, a powerful, multi-faceted divine thought or image that precedes the other Aeons. However, some Sethian texts do depict a later divine figure, sometimes identified with a form of Sophia or Eve, whose partial fall or interaction with the lower realms leads to the creation of the Demiurge (Yaldabaoth) and the material world. So, the “fall” motif is present, but Sophia’s specific identity and direct actions might be absorbed into the broader functions of other divine feminine figures or principles.
Marcionism
Founded by Marcion of Sinope (c. 85-160 CE), this school is distinct for its radical rejection of the Old Testament and its God. Marcion believed in two gods: a cruel, vengeful creator god (the God of the Old Testament) and a benevolent, loving supreme God (the Father of Jesus Christ) who was entirely unknown before Jesus. Marcion emphasized salvation through faith in Christ and rejected the material world and its creator. He also compiled his own canon of scripture, which included a modified Gospel of Luke and ten Letters of Paul.
Marcionism has no concept of Sophia in its cosmology. Marcion vehemently rejected the Old Testament God and the material world as the creation of a lesser, ignorant, and vengeful deity, distinct from the supreme, good, and unknown God revealed by Jesus. There is no elaborate Pleroma, no fallen Aeon, and no divine feminine figure like Sophia contributing to or seeking redemption from the creation of matter. The dualism is straightforward: a bad creator god vs. a good, unknown god.
Basilideans
Associated with Basilides of Alexandria (early 2nd century CE), this school had a highly complex and philosophical system, often involving numerical emanations and a vast hierarchy of heavens. Their cosmology emphasized a supremely transcendent, “non-existent” God from whom all reality emanated.
Sophia’s role in Basilidean Gnosticism is less consistent and prominent than in Valentinianism. While Basilides had a very complex cosmological system involving 365 heavens and emanations, the specific myth of a fallen Sophia leading to creation is not as central. Instead, creation often arises from a chain of intellectual and spiritual principles. However, some later Basilidean texts or interpretations did incorporate a figure of Sophia, sometimes as a divine principle or wisdom that influences the lower realms, but not always as the direct cause of the material world’s flawed existence through a primordial error.
Thomasine Traditions
While not a “school” in the same organized sense, a body of Gnostic texts associated with the apostle Thomas (like the Gospel of Thomas) presents unique Gnostic perspectives. These texts often emphasize sayings of Jesus, self-knowledge, and the realization of one’s divine light.
Texts like the Gospel of Thomas are collections of sayings, and they generally focus on individual gnosis and the “light within.” They do not present an elaborate cosmic drama with a specific, fallen Sophia figure as the cause of the material world or as the central figure of redemption. While “wisdom” is a recurring theme, it’s typically an internal, guiding principle for the individual seeking understanding rather than a personified Aeon whose cosmic error shapes reality.
Mandaeism
This is a distinct Gnostic religion that has survived to the present day, primarily in parts of Iraq and Iran. Mandaeans venerate John the Baptist as their chief prophet and have a complex mythology involving a world of light and a world of darkness. They practice frequent ritual baptisms for purification and spiritual ascent.
Mandaean cosmology is highly dualistic, but it does not feature a Sophia figure in the Gnostic sense of a fallen divine emanation from a supreme God. Instead, they have a complex pantheon of light beings (Uthras) and emphasize the “Great Life” as the supreme principle. The material world is seen as a place of darkness and evil, created by a separate, malevolent entity (often identified with Ptahil or the Lord of Darkness), not as the result of a divine error from a higher realm.
Manichaeism
Founded by the prophet Mani (c. 216-276 CE), Manichaeism was a highly organized world religion that spread widely, even rivaling Christianity for a time. It’s characterized by a strong cosmic dualism, positing two eternal, opposing forces: a Kingdom of Light and a Kingdom of Darkness, constantly at war. Human beings contain particles of light trapped within their material bodies, and salvation involves releasing these light particles through ascetic practices and knowledge.
Similar to Marcionism and Mandaeism, Manichaeism operates on a strict, cosmic dualism of two eternal, uncreated principles: Light and Darkness. There is no Sophia figure or myth of a divine fall that precipitates the creation of the material world. Instead, the material world is seen as a battlefield where particles of Light have been trapped by the Kingdom of Darkness, and salvation involves the liberation of these light particles through knowledge and asceticism. Mani’s system is highly original and does not borrow the Gnostic Sophia myth.