Page "Aeon" Paragraph 14

In many Gnostic systems, the various emanations of God, who is also known by such names as the One, the Monad, Aion teleos ( " The Broadest Aeon "), Bythos (" depth or profundity ", Greek ), Proarkhe (" before the beginning ", Greek ), the Arkhe (" the beginning ", Greek ), are called Aeons.

In the different systems these emanations are differently named, classified, and described, but the emanation theory itself is common to all forms of Gnosticism.

In the Basilidian Gnosis they are called sonships ( υἱότητες huiotetes ; sing.

: huiotes ); according to Marcus, they are numbers and sounds ; in Valentinianism they form male / female pairs called " syzygies " ( Greek, from σύζυγοι syzygoi ).