Adam Meets the Evil Archon

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The first world religion wasn’t Judaism, Christianity or Islam. It was Manichaeism. Today, even the name of this long-dead religion is unfamiliar. But its foundation story will not be—or at least not entirely. For here, Adam, Eve and the other beloved characters of Genesis are woven into an alien account of a primal battle between the Father of Greatness and the Sons of Darkness. Here, the biblical forefather Seth, the son of Adam and Eve, appears as the spiritual ancestor of Mani, the third-century C.E. Babylonian prophet who founded Manichaeism.

Manichaeism’s unusual blend of Judeo-Christian and Persian thought developed along the banks of the Euphrates River, where Mani was born. Our most important source of biographical information about Mani is the Cologne Mani Codex, a miniature parchment book (only 4.5 centimeters tall) now owned by the University of Cologne.¹ Deciphered by German scholars only in 1970, the mid-first-millennium C.E. codex is apparently a Greek translation of an ear036text that purports to be Mani’s autobiography.² In addition to the codex, there are thousands of fragments of hagiographical and biographical texts that were discovered by German and British archaeological teams working in central Asia in the early decades of the 20th century.

Other information about Mani comes from Christian and Muslim sources that denounce his religion as heretical. The most informative of these are the writings compiled by the eighth-century Nestorian^a patriarch Theodore bar Konai and by the tenth-century Muslim scholar Ibn al-Nadiµm,^b who included an essay on Manichaeism in his encyclopedia, the Fihrist.³ By using the least tendentious parts of these sources in conjunction with the Codex and other Syriac and Arabic testimonies, we can produce a reasonably complete account of Mani’s life:

Born in 216 C.E., Mani was destined to be a prophet. His father was a pious man named Pattikios who lived with his wife near the Parthian^c capital city of Ctesiphon, just across the Euphrates from Babylon. Not long after Mani’s birth, Pattikios visited a temple where he heard a voice commanding him to abstain from meat, wine and sex, and to join a communitarian sect (called the Baptists in the Codex and later known as the adherents of Elkesai) that resided in the marshes south of the city. Pattikios obeyed the mysterious oracle. Abandoning his wife, he went to live among this sect, taking along his four-year-old son.

Growing up, Mani occasionally experienced “revelations” through an angelic figure known as the Twin. Because of the disruptive content of these revelations, which criticized and disparaged certain doctrines of the sect, Mani was forced to leave the sect at age 24. Although he left the Elkesaites, this sect may nevertheless have had a profound effect on Mani’s teachings because he was apparently introduced to extrabiblical 037Jewish literature there—including one text known today only from the Dead Sea Scrolls (see the first sidebar to this article).

Emboldened by the messages received from the Twin, Mani began to travel throughout the Persian realm promulgating a new religion that would come to be known as Manichaeism. His teachings are often described as an example of gnosticism and dualism^d: Mani asserted a fundamental enmity between the forces of light and darkness, disparaged material life and its obsession with sensual gratification, and claimed to possess knowledge (based on revelation) regarding how humanity should conduct their lives. (The mythological and behavioral aspects of the Manichaean religion are discussed in more detail below.)

It was probably during the mid-third century C.E. that most of the Manichaean scriptures were written down, all (save one) reputedly authored by Mani himself in his native Aramaic. As Manichaeism expanded beyond Mesopotamia, its scriptures were translated from the local Aramaic into Greek and Coptic (used in the eastern Roman empire and Egypt). For those who couldn’t read, Mani prepared an illustrated synopsis (now lost) of his revelatory teachings, called the 038Ardahang, reportedly stating: “Let the one who hears about them orally also see them in visual form, and the one who is unable to learn them (the teachings) from [words] learn them from picture(s).”⁴

Mani soon won the favor of the Sassanian ruler Shaµpuµr I of the Persian empire, who tolerated Manichaeism alongside the traditional Persian religion Zoroastrianism.^e The religion expanded rapidly as Mani dispatched disciples to the West, initially to Arabia and Egypt, to gain converts.

The death of Shaµpuµr I in 272 C.E., however, deprived Mani and his movement of their royal protector. Shaµpuµr’s immediate successor was Hormizd, who ruled for less than a year before he was replaced by the decidedly less tolerant Bahraµm I. Mani rapidly lost favor under the new regime. Summoned to the royal court at Gundesshaµpuµr, he was arrested, imprisoned and executed as an offender against Zoroastrianism. Legend has it that Mani’s corpse was flayed, stuffed with straw and exposed to public ridicule at the city’s main gate. Later generations of the Manichaean faithful would portray Mani as a martyr.

The combination of imperial support, active disciples and quickly produced scriptural translations led to the rapid spread of Manichaeism. Before Mani’s death in 276 C.E., his religion had expanded well beyond the confines of the Persian empire. At its height, roughly from the fourth century through 039the tenth century C.E., Manichaeism had attracted numerous followers stretching from China to Spain, making it the first world religion, that is, a religion aggressively marketed to and simultaneously embraced by the widest collection of distinct cultures. (One of the most famous converts was Augustine of Hippo, later known as St. Augustine, who for nine years adopted Manichaeism, a religion he later condemned in his Confessions.)

The movement had its detractors. By the end of the third century, Manichaeism’s rapid growth and its claims to spiritual primacy had gained the attention of both state and ecclesiastical authorities in the Roman empire. The emperor Diocletian officially proscribed Manichaeism in 297 C.E., lumping Manichaeans with “astrologers,” “sorcerers” and other despicable deviants.⁵ Around the same time, an anonymous Christian fabricated a fictional account of a debate between Mani and a Christian bishop named Archelaus. The resultant Acta Archelai (Acts of Archelaus), with its portrayal of Mani as a scheming and deceitful opportunist, would influence the negative portrayal of Mani and his religion in almost all subsequent Christian discussions.⁶

Mani’s followers understood him to be the last in a long line of prophets who transmitted messages from the deity to the community. The line of Manichaean prophets begins with the biblical forefathers Adam, Seth, Enoch, Enosh and Shem. The list includes the religious leaders Zoroaster, Buddha and Jesus, and culminates with the self-declared “seal of the prophets,” Mani himself. Although these prophets bore different names and prophesied at different times and among different peoples, they were believed to be the same divine figure (called the Apostle of Light) proclaiming the same message. Thus, when Mani was publicly executed for his beliefs, his followers did not simply liken his death to Jesus’ 040martyrdom, they interpreted it as a reenactment or recurrence of Jesus’ death. They believed Mani was Jesus—and Seth and the Buddha and every other figure deemed a prophet in Manichaean tradition.

Each of these Manichaean prophets is said to have ascended to the heavenly realm. Each prophet’s authority is grounded in his written account of this ascent. The Cologne Mani Codex supplies an ascent account for all the biblical forefathers mentioned above, claiming that it has excerpted these testimonies from the prophets’ own writings. Mani is credited with a roster of books that purportedly relate heavenly secrets revealed to him during his ascent and during his sessions with the Twin.

Given the importance of the biblical forefathers to Manichaeism, it is not surprising that its scripture offers a rendition of the Creation story based in part on the Book of Genesis. The Manichaean account reworks the stories of Genesis in such a way as to suggest that the distinctive message of Mani was already encoded in this “primitive” text.

According to the Manichaean myth, the universe once consisted of two perfectly balanced yet separate “realms”: the Realm of Light (or of Goodness) and the Realm of Darkness (or of Evil). The Realm of Light, home to the sons of Light, is a paradisiacal locale, filled with pleasant fragrances and abundant fruits. The Realm of Darkness is foul and filthy and populated by an unruly horde of monstrous fiends known as the sons of Darkness.

Consumed with lust for violence and sensual gratification, the sons of Darkness attack the Realm of Light. The battle goes back and forth. The Father of Greatness, the ruler of the Realm of Light, creates Primal Man to fight off the enemy, but the sons of Darkness quickly capture Primal Man and devour his shining armament, called the “five sons of Primal Man.”

Primal Man is soon rescued. Although certain sons of Darkness, known as the “archons” or “demons,” are captured, the shining five sons of Primal Man remain in thrall to the enemy. To regain these particles of light, the heavens and earth must be created, as well as the sun, moon and stars, plants and animals, and, finally, Adam and Eve.

The canopy of the heavens is formed from the skins of some captured archons, who have been killed, flayed and dismembered. Their carcasses are transformed into the surface of the earth. Sun, moon and stars are then created in order to draw the particles of light from their captors back to the Realm of Light.

The remaining captive archons are responsible for the creation of animals, vegetation and human beings. First, an androgynous entity known as the Messenger promenades nude before these remaining archons. Uncontrollably excited by the sight, the male archons ejaculate semen that falls to the earth and becomes the origin of vegetable life. The female archons suffer miscarriages; their fetuses fall to earth to become animal life as well as other monstrous beings simply termed “abortions.” These monsters long to re-create on earth facsimiles of the desirable male and female forms seen by their “parents” in the heavens above. By a sordid process of cannibalism and sexual activity, they succeed in producing the first human couple—Adam and Eve.

Despite its alien formulation, the Manichaean Creation account often intersects with the more familiar biblical myths of Creation. These connections include identical names for prominent characters (for example, Adam and Eve); discernible interpretations of themes or motifs present in the Genesis narrative (the desire to replicate the “Image of God” [Genesis 1:26–27, 5:1] is given as a reason for the monsters’ creation of the 041primal couple; multiple monsters are mentioned in order to explain the puzzling plural subject [“let us make…”] of Genesis 1:26); and wordplays based on the Hebrew text of Genesis (the nephilim of Genesis 6:4 [“fallen angels”] are re-read as nephalim [“abortions”]; the zera‘ of Genesis 1:11–12 [“seed; botanical life”] is simultaneously understood as “male seed” or “semen”).

Alarmed by the archons’ activities, the Father of Greatness dispatches a heavenly messenger to educate Adam about the true nature of the created order. Adam is given specific instructions on how to help restore the Realm of Light: He must abstain from sexual activity, observe strict dietary regulations and devote himself to the performance of elaborate prayers and purifying rituals—the core practices of Manichaeism.^f

Not surprisingly, the Manichaean Adam—like his biblical model—fails to heed the divine prohibition. Adam’s fall and rehabilitation are recounted in a unique narrative credited to Mani.

This narrative drastically alters its biblical precursor by changing the order of events (the Fall of Adam and Eve follows the birth of Cain and Abel); by rewriting the stories (Abel is the incestuous offspring of Cain and his mother, Eve); and by adding several episodes and characters.

Perhaps the most intriguing of these new characters is the sinister figure who creates Adam and Eve, an evil archon called al-Sindiµd, identified elsewhere as a son of the Ruler of Darkness. This malevolent entity, who simultaneously plays the roles of the biblical creator deity and the serpent, first corrupts Eve (by fathering Cain) and then schemes with her to lead Adam astray:

Mani said, “…al-Sindiµd then taught Eve magical syllables in order that she might infatuate Adam. She proceeded to act (by) presenting him with a garland from a flowering tree, and when Adam saw her, he lustfully united with her, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a handsome male child of radiant appearance. When al-Sindiµd learned about this, he was distressed and fell ill, and said to Eve, ‘This child is not one of us; he is a stranger.’”⁷

Beneath the strange imagery of the Manichaean tale lies the biblical story of the temptation and fall 051of Adam in Eden. The “garland from a flowering tree” that Eve presents to the unsuspecting Adam is of course the “forbidden fruit” that the biblical Eve gave to her husband (Genesis 3:6), and the irresistible “magical syllables” correspond to the convincing arguments apparently employed by Eve in persuading Adam to transgress the divine prohibition.

The subsequent narrative identifies the child produced by the first human coupling as Seth. But even if the name were not specified, we would still be able to identify him based on al-Sindiµd’s use of the label “stranger”—a deliberate allusion to Genesis 4:25, which identifies Seth as zera‘ ’aher, “an other (different) seed,” an expression that is in turn rendered by the Septuagint (an ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) as allogeneµs, meaning “stranger (or foreigner).”

Eve and al-Sindiµd plot together to rid themselves of the alien child, but Adam saves his son:

[Mani said,] “Then she (Eve) wished to kill him, but Adam seized him and said to Eve, ‘I will feed him cow’s milk and the fruit of trees!’ Thus taking him he departed.

“But al-Sindiµd sent the archons to carry off the trees and cattle, moving them away from Adam.”

Frustrated by these repeated assaults, Adam now resorts to an unusual defense: He engages in a circle-magic ritual that simultaneously shields the young child from demonic attack and invokes supernatural assistance for quelling the forces of Darkness:

[Mani said,] “When Adam saw this, he took the infant and encircled him within three rings. He pronounced over the first (ring) the name of the King of the Gardens, over the second the name of Primal Man, and over the third the name of the Living Spirit. He spoke to and implored God, may His name be glorified, saying, ‘Even though I have sinned before You, what offense has this infant committed?’”

The practice of circle magic is known from various Near Eastern religious sources.⁸ Jewish legend ascribes the use of circle magic to Moses, the prophet Habakkuk, the wonder-worker Honi, the Circle-drawer (Hebrew ha-Me‘aggel) whose nickname suggests the magical technique he reportedly used to control the weather, and the messianic pretender Abuµ ‘Isaµ Al-Isfahaµniµ.⁹ The Jewish magical text Ma’aseh Merkavah records its protective aspect: “And he (the adept) shall make for himself a circle [on the ground] and remain within it, so that the demons might not come…and kill him.”¹⁰ This is precisely the purpose of Adam’s circles: They are a barrier that prevents al-Sindiµd and his legions from physically harming Seth.

In the Book of Genesis, Seth’s life is never threatened and Adam never makes use of circle magic. Although many details of the Manichaean Creation story have parallels in extrabiblical Jewish and Christian literature, no version of this particular episode of circle magic is found in any of the traditional commentaries, collections of midrash, or extant apocryphal and pseudepigraphical sources, whether Jewish or Christian in origin.^g It is a uniquely Manichaean tale. (Surprisingly, the story of Adam’s circle magic does appear several centuries later in what might be a Jewish context; see the second sidebar to this article).

Adam’s magic works. A deity appears and drives al-Sindiµd and his allies away:

[Mani said,] “Then one of the three (invoked deities) hurried (to Adam bearing) a crown of radiance, extending it in his hand to Adam. When al-Sindiµd and the archons saw this, they departed (and went) away.”

He [Mani] said, “Then there appeared to Adam a tree called the lotus, and milk flowed from it, and he fed the boy with it. He named him [the boy] after its name, but sometime later he renamed him Shaµthil [Seth].”

This legend explains why Seth bears the unusual longer name Sethel in Manichaean circles: Sethel is simply formed by reversing and manipulating the consonants used in the name Adam originally gave his son, Lts, or “Lotus,” after the marvelous, nourishing tree. (That is, L-t-s becomes S-t-l, with S becoming Sð and t becoming th to accord 052with the consonants of Genesis 4:25, where Sðeth = Seth.) This type of wordplay is typical of both Jewish and Christian traditions, although this specific midrash is found in neither.

Adam’s remarkable deliverance of Seth angers al-Sindiµd:

[Mani said,] “Then that al-Sindiµd declared enmity against Adam and those who were born, and said to Eve, ‘Reveal (yourself) to Adam; perhaps you may restore him to us.’ Then she made haste and seduced Adam, who lustfully united with her.”

When we recall that the chief archon does double-duty in this narrative as both creator deity and serpent, we recognize in this passage a distortion of Genesis 3, in which God establishes an adversarial relationship between the offspring of humanity and the spawn of the serpent: “The Lord God said to the serpent:…I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers” (Genesis 3:14–15). Enlisting Eve’s aid once again, Adam falls a second time, but this time the righteous Seth is present to admonish and upbraid his errant parent:

[Mani said,] “When Shaµthil (Seth) saw him (Adam), he admonished and rebuked him, and said to him, ‘Arise, let us go to the East, to the Light and Wisdom of God.’ So he left with him and resided there until he died and came to the Gardens (of Paradise). Then Shaµthil…practiced siddiµquµt [the Manichaean precepts]…but Eve [and] Cain went to Gehenna [Hell].”

Seth and Adam’s departure for the land east of Eden is based on Genesis 3:24 (“He [the Lord God] drove out the man; and at the east of the Garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life.”) In Genesis, however, Adam and Eve are expelled from Eden; here Adam and Seth willingly and consciously separate themselves from further temptation and corruption. Adam remains pure until his death, and Seth achieves fame as a pious devotee to the Manichaean precepts (siddiµquµt).

In the early Christian era, the church fathers wrote tractates against Mani’s religion in order to combat what they perceived as the pernicious influence of Persian dualism. Later scholars dismissed Manichaeism as simply one of the formidable opponents that the church overcame in its triumphal march toward religious dominance. Both groups viewed Manichaeism as a Persian aberration, an offshoot of Zoroastrianism. The time has come to recognize the biblical roots of the first world religion.

The first world religion wasn’t Judaism, Christianity or Islam. It was Manichaeism. Today, even the name of this long-dead religion is unfamiliar. But its foundation story will not be—or at least not entirely. For here, Adam, Eve and the other beloved characters of Genesis are woven into an alien account of a primal battle between the Father of Greatness and the Sons of Darkness. Here, the biblical forefather Seth, the son of Adam and Eve, appears as the spiritual ancestor of Mani, the third-century C.E. Babylonian prophet who founded Manichaeism. Manichaeism’s unusual blend of Judeo-Christian and Persian thought developed […]