Page "Abraxas" Paragraph 6

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: