The Shelves · Philosophy
Exegetica (24 books on the Gospel)
Ἐξηγητικά
◇ Doubted: the attribution is uncertain. The Exegetica are his; the two ancient accounts of his system disagree so sharply that at least one is not his teaching.
I · The entry, in his form
In the table of Philosophy
Conjectured · Our reconstructionour placementfl. c. 120–140 CE. Taught in Alexandria under Hadrian and Antoninus Pius and wrote twenty-four books of Exegetica on the gospel. Irenaeus and Hippolytus give two incompatible accounts of his system; the fragments Clement quotes are the surest guide.
Exegetica
Ἐξηγητικά
Opening words not preserved.
Length: not counted
◇ Doubted: the attribution is uncertain. The Exegetica are his; the two ancient accounts of his system disagree so sharply that at least one is not his teaching.
Above, his entry form, filled from what we know. Below, ours.
II · Does it survive? Where to read it
Survives in fragments
A few fragments in Clement and the Acts of Archelaus; two incompatible accounts of his system, by Irenaeus and Hippolytus.
Was it in Alexandria?
Known · ProbableWritten in Alexandria.
On the table: written in Alexandria; no evidence it was in the Library.
Read it today
- Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.24 (New Advent) · a translation · link checked 31 Oct 2026
- Hippolytus, Refutation book 7 (New Advent) · a translation · link checked 31 Oct 2026
- Clement, Stromata book 4 (Wilson translation, New Advent) · a translation · link checked 31 Oct 2026
III · In the show
- Exorcism, theurgy, and the mission of the Elus-Cohen, episode 5, at 30 minutes 57 secondsTranscriptThe demiurge who 'didn't realize there was anything higher', placed by the speaker in the Basilidian corpus.Known: attested
- Exorcism, theurgy, and the mission of the Elus-Cohen, episode 5, at 32 minutes 51 secondsTranscript“I believe it's in the val the the basalitian corpus where uh it might be in the exogetica”Basilides' Exegetica, in twenty-four books (Clement; Agrippa Castor in Eusebius).Known: attested
- Crisis, descent, and recurring esoteric patterns, episode 37, at 39 minutes 47 secondsTranscript“if you're thinking of like the the Basilidians and some of the the early Christian sects, it's actually when they celebrated the incarnation of Christ.”Mark Stavish's conversation; Clement, Stromata I.21.146.Known: attested
+ 12 more
- Baptism, anointing, and the Holy Spirit, episode 2, at 23 minutes 50 secondsTranscript“Basalian gnostics did not celebrate the incarnation of the Lord on or around the winter solstice”Known: attested
- Path: Martinism and Reintegration, station 4Understand the anointing. The Basilidian feast of the Baptism.Known: attested
- Gnosticism · Chronology: Great system-builders'Basilides active in Alexandria under Hadrian, 117–138'.Known: attested
- GematriaHebrew gematria only. Abrasax = 365 in Greek isopsephy (Irenaeus, Against Heresies I.24.7) is the Alexandrian counterpart the instrument does not cover.Known: attested
- Heresiologists and early Christian doctrine, episode 2, at 43 secondsTranscriptHeresiologists: the early schools known through their opponents.Known: attested
- Gnostic readings of the serpent and demiurge, episode 2, at 37 minutes 33 secondsTranscriptGnostic readings of the serpent and the demiurge.Known: attested
- Gnostic texts and orthodoxy, episode 11, at 19 minutesTranscriptKnown: attested
- Gnosticism, Material vs Spiritual Reality, episode 23, at 37 minutes 20 secondsTranscriptValentinians and Basilideans.Known: attested
- Plato’s Demiurge vs. the Gnostic Demiurge, episode 36, at 1 hour 54 minutes 33 secondsTranscriptPlato's demiurge against the Gnostic demiurge.Known: attested
- Gnostic texts and orthodoxy, episode 11, at 20 minutes 11 secondsTranscript“The the Coptic schools in Alexandria in and around Alexandria”Known: attested
Correction
- What was said
- "The Coptic schools in Alexandria".
- What the sources say
- The Alexandrian teachers wrote in Greek; Coptic belongs to the later translations made in Upper Egypt.
IV · Sources and the living entry
Ancient references (5)
- Eusebius, Church History 4.7.6-8
- Clement, Stromata 4.81-83
- Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.24.3-7
- Hippolytus, Refutation 7.20-27
- Acts of Archelaus 67
Modern scholarship (5)
- W. A. Löhr, Basilides und seine Schule (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1996)
- B. Layton, The Gnostic Scriptures (New York: Doubleday, 1987)
- B. A. Pearson, Gnosticism and Christianity in Roman and Coptic Egypt (New York: T&T Clark, 2004)
- M. A. Williams, Rethinking 'Gnosticism': An Argument for Dismantling a Dubious Category (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996).
- D. Brakke, The Gnostics: Myth, Ritual, and Diversity in Early Christianity (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010).
Entry checked 31 Oct 2026 · no corrections · Suggest a correction ›
ΕΞΗΓΗΤΙΚΑ
Beside it on the table
- Philo of Alexandria, On the Creation of the Worldc. 20–40 CE · Survives whole
- Philo of Alexandria, On the Contemplative Lifec. 30–40 CE · Survives whole
- Epiphanes, son of Carpocrates, On Righteousnessc. 130–150 CE · Survives in fragments
- Isidore, son of Basilides, Ethics, On the Attached Soul, and Expositions of the Prophet Parchorc. 130–160 CE · Survives in fragments