Monad (Gnosticism) - Historical Background

Historical Background

According to Hippolytus, this view was inspired by the Pythagoreans, for whom the first thing that came into existence was referred to as the Monad, which begat the dyad, which begat the numbers, which begat the point, begetting lines, etc. Pythagorean and Platonic philosophers like Plotinus and Porphyry condemned "Gnosis" that would later characterize Gnosticism (see Neoplatonism and Gnosticism) for their treatment of the monad or one.

For a long time, legend persisted that a young man by the name of Epiphanes was the leader of the Monadic Gnosticism who died age 17. However, scholars think the legend may have come from misunderstanding of the Greek word epiphanēs which may have been mistaken as a personal name if in text, when in fact the Greek means distinguished, as in a distinguished teacher.