The Shelves · Philosophy

On Righteousness

Περὶ δικαιοσύνης

Known · Attestedin Alexandria?Conjectured · Our reconstructionour placementLegend · Told storya told story on its tag

I · The entry, in his form

In the table of Philosophy

Conjectured · Our reconstructionour placement

2nd century CE. Clement says he died at seventeen and was worshipped as a god on Cephallenia, his mother's island. Clement quotes his On Righteousness, which argues from Plato's Republic for a community of goods and of wives.

On Righteousness

Περὶ δικαιοσύνης

Opening words not preserved.

Length: not counted

Above, his entry form, filled from what we know. Below, ours.

II · Does it survive? Where to read it

Survives in fragments

Was it in Alexandria?

Known · Attested

Written in Alexandria.

On the table: written in Alexandria; no evidence it was in the Library.

Read it today

Clement, Stromata book 3 (Wilson translation, New Advent) · a translation · link checked 31 Oct 2026

III · In the show

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

+ 6 more

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.
Gnosticism · Irenaeus, Against Heresies I: Thirty aeons and a LimitKnown: attested
Gnosticism · Traditions: Sethian, Valentinian, BasilideanKnown: attested
Gnosticism · Chronology: Great system-buildersKnown: attested

IV · Sources and the living entry

Ancient references (2)

Clement, Stromata 3.5-9
Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.25

Modern scholarship (2)

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)

Entry checked 31 Oct 2026 · no corrections · Suggest a correction ›

ΠΕΡΙ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΣΥΝΗΣ

Read what is told

The back of the tag: a story told of this work, in its teller's voice.

Legend

A boy worshipped as a god

Clement of Alexandria tells, about half a century later, that Epiphanes died at seventeen and was worshipped as a god at Same on Cephallenia, with a temple, altars and a festival at each new moon.

Told by Clement of Alexandria, c. 200 CE, about half a century later

What the evidence supports

Clement quotes the treatise On Righteousness under Epiphanes's name. The cult is his report; the modern suggestion that it was a moon festival misread is a conjecture.

Sources (2)

Clement, Stromata 3.2.5–9
Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.25

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