John Malalas
6th century CE
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NOTE |
The Byzantine historian John Malalas (c. 491-578 CE), also known as John of Antioch, produced a highly influential chronicle that unfortunately survived only in a single abridged manuscript. Malalas’s world history combined Christian and pagan chronologies in an idiosyncratic way and represents one of the best witnesses to the state of Classical knowledge and historiography at the end of Antiquity—and the late myths and legends that fed into medieval and modern occult knowledge. Malalas worked from many Classical sources, including now-lost Greek chronicles, though he also freely changed or fabricated sources as needed. The most complete surviving manuscript is missing much of the opening of the book, making an anonymous eleventh century chronicle (known as the Parisinus Graecus 1336) comprised of excerpts from Late Antique Greek sources especially important because it preserves, albeit incompletely, some of those lost pages. The compiler described his work thusly: “A selection of Chronicles from Adam until Michael, son-in-law of Emperor Nikephoros, taken from John the historian, from Adam until the reign of Caesar; and from George the Synkellos, from Julius Caesar to the reign of Diocletian; and from Theophanes, abbot of Agros, from Diocletian to Leo the Armenian.”
Translated below is that anonymous chronicle’s first section, drawn from Malalas, as published by J. A. Cramer in Anecdota Graeca (1839). It includes extensive excerpts from Book 1 and selections from Books 2, 3, and 4 of Malalas. The chronicler’s language, while close to that of Malalas, is not always identical to that of the surviving passages in other sources, and many sections are paraphrased or truncated. This is a bit of an experimental translation for me. My Greek is not terribly strong, so this translation was produced with the aid of artificial intelligence. I have corrected and amended obvious errors (and some fabrications), cleaned up unclear language, and checked the translation against those brief sections that have been discussed or translated elsewhere, but even though the result is nearly half my own work, I am not as fully confident in the result as when I have translated the whole text by hand. |
Excerpts from the Chronicle of John the Historian
The first man from the earth, Adam, lived for 930 years. His height was seven cubits, and his head alone was as long as his entire body’s age (i.e., proportionally great). His chest measured 13 fingers, his thigh 14 fingers, his shin 12 fingers, and his foot 15 fingers. He lived for 930 years. His wife, Eve, bore him three sons—Cain, Abel, and Seth—and two daughters, Aclima and Azura. Abel was a shepherd, and Cain worked the land. Each of them offered sacrifices to God. God looked favorably upon Abel and his gift, but not upon Cain’s. Cain grew angry and killed Abel. Then the Lord said to Cain, “You are cursed and trembling upon the earth.”
Adam, by the command of God, gave names to all four-legged animals, reptiles, fish, amphibians, and also to his own children. For he gave his own name and that of his wife when an angel of the Lord told him. His son Seth compiled the names of the seven stars (planets), having received wisdom from God. By God’s command, he gave names to all the stars and to the five visible planets, so they could be known by humans. He called the first visible star Kronos (Saturn), the second Zeus (Jupiter), the third Ares (Mars), the fourth Aphrodite (Venus), and the fifth Hermes (Mercury). He also named the two lights (luminaries): the sun and the moon. He also devised the Hebrew letters, being the first to know them and write them. He wrote the names of the two lights, which God had called the sun and the moon. The wise historian Eupolemus the Roman wrote these things down.
Seth took his sister Aclima as his wife, and they had many descendants, and the earth was filled with their offspring—men and women. Cain also took his sister Azura as a wife and had many descendants. In the 200th year, he begat righteous Enoch, son of Jared, and he did not die, for after Adam, Enoch was taken up after 365 years. The sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful, and they took them as wives and bore children by them. These children became giants on the earth in those days. And they were the mighty men of renown and were called giants. From the time of Adam to when the sons of God desired the daughters of men was 2,122 years.
Plutarch says that a ball of fire was cast down into the Celtic land by God and burned up the Giants, and the ball, having fallen into the river Kredanos [sic for Eridanus (Po)], was extinguished. This fire is narrated by the Greeks, and they say that the son of the sun is Phaethon, who fell from the chariot of the sun to the earth. The remaining giants stayed disobedient, and God, becoming angry, said to them: “My spirit shall not remain among them,” and from then on—as is also written in the Mosaic writings—a man who was beloved by God appeared, named Noah.
And by God's command he built an ark, and he entered into it—he and all his sons, and also of all the animals and reptiles and birds. And the flood occurred for many days, and every creature that had the breath of life perished. From Adam until the flood there were 2,242 years and 10 generations. After the flood stopped, the ark was found on the mountains of Ararat in the region of the Pisidians, and parts of its wood exist to this day.
The descendants of Noah multiplied, and a multitude of men and women came to be. And they began to build a tower—some of whom had also seen the ark. They were the first to make ships. From the flood to the construction of the tower there were 531 years. [lacuna in MS.]
In the middle of this time after the flood, the astronomer Arphaxad discovered the astronomy of Seth, the son of Adam. The names of the stars and the names of the sons of Seth were inscribed on a stone tablet. For the descendants of Seth were pious and, foreseeing the coming destruction of mankind—either by water or by fire—they erected two pillars: one of stone, and the other of baked clay. And on both of them they inscribed the knowledge that came from their forefather Seth, which was calculated by the highest reason. If the flood were to destroy one of them, the other might survive. The stone pillar remains until this day in the land of Siriad, and can still be seen. And thus the lineage of Arphaxad continued until the time of the tower-building. Arphaxad lived 438 years.
A giant built Babylon, and the Persians say he ascended and was placed among the stars of heaven. They call him Orion, for he was the first to teach hunting and gave the wild beasts as food to them; hence he was also revered.
In these earlier times, from the lineage of Arphaxad, a wise man from India arose, a chief astronomer, named Ganydimoros, who first wrote astronomy in Indian letters. He was from the same tribe of Shem, who ruled over Assyria and Persia and the regions of the East. From this region a giant man appeared, named Cronos, surnamed by his father Dōmos, after the name of the planet Kronos (Saturn). He became powerful, and was the first to teach kingship and to rule and command over many men. He reigned over the Assyrians for many years, and subdued all the land of Persia, being feared by all. He had a wife named Semiramis, who was also called Rhea and had been raised by Astyrios because she had been exposed as a baby and survived.
She too was from the tribe of Shem, the son of Noah.
Kronos had a son named Picus, who was called by his own father Zeus by the name associated with the shining star (i.e., the planet). Kronos also had another son named Ninus, and a daughter named Hera. Picus, who is also Zeus, took to wife his own sister Hera, and by her had a son named Sebelos. The forefather Kronos, leaving his son Picus in Assyria along with his own wife Rhea (also called Semiramis), journeyed with his son Picus, king of the Assyrians, westward with the help of men he had gathered, and having conquered the western lands, he became king over those regions, departing from Assyria, and ruled in the West for many years.
There he also took a wife named Phyllara, by whom he had a son named Aphros, who was given kingship over the land of Libya. Aphros took Astymonis as his wife, and they had a daughter whom they called Aphrodite, after the name of the planet. Kronos also had another son by Phyllara, named Chiron the wise.
Picus-and-Zeus ruled over the Assyrians for 30 years. He also left his mother Rhea (Semiramis), and his sister-wife Hera, and made his own son Belus king of the Assyrians, and went to his father Kronos.
Belus ruled the Assyrians for 70 years and died in Persia. Kronos, having called his son Picus to him in the west, granted him rule over the western lands, since he had grown old, and Picus, who is also Zeus, ruled over Italy in the West, for 58 years.
After Belus, Ninus, another son of Kronos, ruled Assyria. He also took his mother Rhea (Semiramis) as wife, and in the custom of the Persians, married his own mother and sister. Thus Picus had taken his sister Hera. Ninus, having gained power, founded the city of Nineveh in Assyria, and was the first king there, marrying his mother.
From this line was born a wise man and astronomer named Perses, famous among those fated to die, who was taken up by fire from the sky and said to the Persians, “If you burn me with fire, keep my bones carefully, and the kingship shall not depart from you.” And they revered Orion, who was taken by fire, and the Persians preserve his remains to this day.
After Ninus, there ruled over the Assyrians one named Thuras, whom some say was called Zamys, brother of Hera, after the name of the planet Mars. He became a fierce warrior and fought the strong man Caucasus who descended from the line of Japheth, conquered the land, and came into Thrace, where he died. His tomb lies in that land. The Thracians call him “Areias” and erected a stele there, ascribing to him the title of god. Even the Egyptians, Assyrians, and others venerate him as a god and call him Baal, which means “lord.” He is Ares in interpretation. This is remembered by the prophet Daniel.
After the death of Ares, there reigned over the Assyrians Elamys, and after him Lamys, then Sardanapalos the Great, whom some call Perseus the Danaid, who removed the kingship from the Assyrians and became their king, naming them Persians after his own name. Perseus was the son of Picus, who was also Zeus, and from him came the rites and initiations of the mystery religion of the sword. He also overpowered a maiden, cut off her head, and used her for rites—she who brought death to all who looked at her, called Gorgo. Through the sharpness (of the sword), she brought death to those who gazed upon her.
The brother of Ninus, Picus, who is also Zeus, reigned over Italy for 120 years in the West. He had many sons and daughters by many prominent women. Due to his illusions and mystifications, some of those women came to be thought of as goddesses and he was adored as a god. He had a son named Faunus, also called Hermes, after the name of the planet. Zeus was about to die and ordered that his body be taken to the island of Crete, where he had built a temple, and there his children placed him, writing an epitaph that survives to this day. The inscription reads: “Here lies Picus, also called Zeus, whom they also call Dia.” This was recorded by the accurate historian Diodorus.
After the death of Picus, his son Faunus, also called Hermes, reigned over Italy for 30 years. He was clever and a skilled mathematician, as he knew how to extract gold from minerals and ores. But knowing his brothers plotted against him—for his father Picus (Zeus) had many wives and children, which led to disputes—he, having great riches and adorned in gold beyond measure, fled to Egypt, to the tribe of Ham. Some say he was received there with great honor, adorned in a golden robe and surpassing all others in splendor. Because he was also a natural philosopher and astrologer among the Egyptians, they attributed to him magical powers and divinations, calling him Hermes, who foretold to them future things and gave them wealth, which is why he was called Ploutodotes (Giver of Wealth).
After the death of Sthermounios, the king of the Egyptians, who was from the race of Ham, the Egyptians made Hermes king. He ruled over them for 38 years with great arrogance. After him, reigned Hephaestus, who was a warrior and diviner. They called him the god Hephaestus, who, having gone into battle, fought alongside his own people and was wounded in the foot by a stone. Some say, due to a prophecy, that this happened because of a celestial sign—a star fell onto his weapon, turning it into iron. Thus, he became the first to rule with iron weapons and was victorious in war, and then he died. Before this, they had used clubs and stones, and fought with fire.
After Hephaestus, his son Helios ruled. After him, Sesostris, and then Osiris, and after him, Horus. After Horus came Thoulis, who caused many calamities. He sent an inquiry to the oracle, asking: “Tell us, O oracle of truth, from the pure fire, the blessed breath, in which of the cities of the blessed will I plant my first kingdom?” They responded: “In the beginning of my first reign, all things were under me. Everything you see was first divine, then became word, and spirit was within them. All plants and all beings and even into being itself, for this power is mine. Worship me, you kings, sacrifice, and share the divine life.”
As for the seven wandering stars, Kronos is called bright, Zeus the torch; Ares, fiery; Aphrodite, most beautiful; Hermes, the brilliant. From the appellations of these seven stars, Seth bestowed names, having received wisdom from God. He named his children after them, giving them the names of the stars, and they were honored as kings and falsely called gods. After many kings of the Egyptians, Sostris ruled. He subdued the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Persians up to Babylon, and all of Asia, and Europe, and Scythia, and Mysia. And in turning back, he selected 7,000 strong young men from among them and sent them to Persia, where they remained and mingled with the Scythians and Persians until this day. These were later called the Parthians by the Persians, who still retain their dress, language, and customs from the Scythians.
In the time of King Sostris of Egypt, there lived Hermes Trismegistus, who spoke of the three great essences that comprised the ineffable name of the creator and said there was only one godhead. He was called by the Egyptians “Thrice Greatest” because of these three things. He is cited in various writings, and in his discourse to Asclepius concerning God, he says these things: “By the providence of the Lord of all, I have been enabled to reveal this discourse, for you did not seek such things with unworthy intent. For there is a limit to these matters for those who are unworthy of the mysteries. Listen: it is not merely light which is luminous, but also the mind, which is forever shining. And there is no other being apart from this unity that always exists in itself, and always provides all things to itself through itself by its word and spirit. Apart from Him, who is God—not angel, not demon, not any other substance—there is nothing. For He is Lord of all, and Father and God of all; and in Him are all things. The Word that came forth from Him, perfect as He is, the creator—by His will nature was shaped upon the waters, and the Spirit hovered above the waters.” And having said these things, he began to say: “I swear to you by the great and wise works of God in heaven—so it is—I swear to you by the voice of the Father, which was spoken first to His only-begotten Word, when He established the whole cosmos: ‘So let it be, Lord.’”
That Libya is the daughter of Io and Zeus, and Io was the daughter of Inachus, king of the West, from the tribe of Japheth, whom also Picus and Zeus took, and she was married to Poseidon, and bore Agenor. When Agenor went to Phoenicia, he took a wife named Tyros, and built a city named after her, which he called Tyre, and he reigned there.
He had a son from Tyre named Cadmus the Phoenician, and also Syrus and Cilix. When Agenor died, he divided all his lands among his three sons, and Tyre was left to Phoenix, who called that land Phoenicia from his own name. Similarly, the region Syrus took was named Syria after him. Cilix took the climate most favorable to him and called it Cilicia.
That Cadmus, the son of Agenor, during his exile recalled Tiresias, the philosopher and prophet, about whom Sophocles says that he saw Pallas bathing and became a woman. He says that by the wisdom of the god he became a woman, and after seven years he returned to being a man. In this way Sophocles also speaks of him in his writings: “All things are of the truth; for God who made sky and earth and the distant seas and the depths of Tartarus, he alone gives mortals wisdom, and many, though their hearts are darkened, build temples and statues of gods from stones, and ivory figures covered in gold, and offer sacrifices and arrange festivals, believing they are pious.” For these things, Sophocles is rightly praised.
And in the time of his son Phoenix, there was Heracles the philosopher of Syria, who discovered the purple dye: for as he was walking along the coastal part of the city of Tyre, he saw a dog feeding on a shellfish, the so-called murex. He saw a shepherd, thinking the dog was bleeding from the mouth because of that shellfish, wipe the dog with a cloth that became stained with what seemed to be the blood of the dog. But Heracles, noting that the blood was not the dog’s but came from the shellfish, admired it, and taking the cloth from the shepherd, realizing that the red came from the murex, brought the cloth as a gift to the king of Tyrian Phoenicia, who, amazed, commanded that this murex dye be made royal purple. . . . They also established sacrifices and festivals, saying these were for the souls who dwell on the Islands of the Blessed and their souls are not judged.
For Tharra was the father of Abraham, and like the others, worshipped many gods and idols, making images and practicing idolatry—this error he passed to men through images of their ancestors, especially those who wrote books and crafted works. The Egyptians were the most eager adopters, and next to them the Babylonians, Phrygians, and later the Greeks. It is even said that a man named Hellen, son of Picus who is also Zeus, instituted secret rites and mysteries, teaching the Hellenes that the gods dwell in heaven. He lived in Greece, from the tribe of Japheth, son of Noah, and is said to have settled in the region of the Hellespont. Plutarch of old also testifies that the Greeks and barbarians learned these mysteries. Some say he introduced idols of the wandering stars, for he claimed that the heavenly bodies—sun, moon, and stars—are gods because the five wandering stars nourish and govern all things with their threefold movement, and [he introduced] the rest of astrology, in accordance with creation and air.
But Abraham, understanding this theology and realizing that the idols made by his father were merely the work of human hands and that they were men who had died, declared that it was not right to worship those born on earth as gods. He then left the land of his father Tharra, saying, “Why do men deceive others for profit? There is another God—not one of those in the sky—but the Creator who made all things.” And he departed to Mesopotamia.
From Adam to Abraham were many years. And during the time of Abraham lived Melchizedek, a righteous man, descended from the race of Sidos, son of Aegyptus, king of Libya, after whom the Egyptians are named. Sidos took possession of the land of those known as Canaanites, now called Palestine, and subdued it, increasing his territory and building a city which he named Sidon after his own name. And so from the race of Sidos, son of Aegyptus, king of Libya, came Melchizedek, who became priest and king of the Canaanites. He built a city on the mount called Zion, naming it Salem, which is interpreted “city of peace.” He ruled there as a just and righteous king, and died in that same land, as Josephus records. This period from the time of the flood to Abraham lasted 893 years, and from the confusion at Babel until Abraham’s era, 523 years. After this, knowledge of God descended on Abraham and Isaac his son, and Jacob his grandson and his seed—from whom sprang the Hebrews who from the time of Abraham are known by circumcision. And from the fourth son of Jacob, Judah, came the tribe of the Jews, wherefore they received their name.
In these days a man from the tribe of Japheth arose, named Hesiod, who brought the Greek letters, and was considered a theologian by the Greeks.
In the days of Pharaoh and of Achōr, king of Egypt, a giant philosopher arose from the tribe of Japheth, named Endymion, in the land of Caria, who claimed to have secret prayers to the moon and, as they say, learned the divine name and invoked it by night. From that time he was said to lie in sleep (or rest) forever, as the Greeks tell in their myths—not that he died, but that he lies asleep.
When Pharaoh of the Egyptians ruled, Pharon by name, and the exodus of the sons of Israel occurred, and when he saw the wonders done by God through Moses, he went to Memphis to consult the famous oracle of prophecy. There he made sacrifices and asked the Pythia, who said: “O, tell me, who is first among you, and who is the great God of the Israelites?” Here is the oracle given to him: “There shall be a heavenly sign. A great and mighty flame shall descend from the upper eternal ether. The fire shakes the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, the deep, the underworld, and the demons. This is the self-begotten Father God. He made himself a triad, and a small portion of angels, we have learned, went astray in disobedience.”
In the days of Gideon the Judge, Orpheus the Thracian lived—a lyrist, the wisest and most renowned poet—who dealt with divine theology, the creation of the world, and the crafting of mankind. At the beginning of his writings, he states: “From my own inspiration I did not expound anything about God or about the creation of the world, but I learned from the Sun, who among poets is the teacher, and he instructed me about the creation.” And Orpheus wrote many poetic verses about theology and the creation of the world. Among the things he taught were: “In the beginning, the world and the ether were brought forth by God; and from that ether came chaos, and night covered all things; and night ruled over what was beneath the ether, before the day.” In the same work, he also said: “There is someone incomprehensible, existing before all things and creator of all—of the ether, the day and night, the heavens and the earth, and all visible and invisible things. All of creation and the whole of the earth had been hidden within the darkness, but when the light burst forth from the ether and touched the earth, all creation was illuminated, and that light was considered the first-born, surpassing all things.”
And Orpheus, hearing from the prophecy these three names: “Will,” “Light,” and “Life-Giver,” said that these are the names of divine powers. He wrote in his exposition: “These are the one power of the one God, whom no one can see or know his true form or nature. From this power came all things in their beginnings—the sun and moon, stars and all the cosmos, earth and sea, visible and invisible things. From this same God, man was formed from the earth, and his soul was given by Him, a rational soul,” as also Moses the wise said.
And the same Orpheus said that through the three names all divinity came to be. These things the wise Timotheus the chronicler said, noting that Orpheus lived long ago. He affirmed that Orpheus spoke of a Triune Unity.
Adam, by the command of God, gave names to all four-legged animals, reptiles, fish, amphibians, and also to his own children. For he gave his own name and that of his wife when an angel of the Lord told him. His son Seth compiled the names of the seven stars (planets), having received wisdom from God. By God’s command, he gave names to all the stars and to the five visible planets, so they could be known by humans. He called the first visible star Kronos (Saturn), the second Zeus (Jupiter), the third Ares (Mars), the fourth Aphrodite (Venus), and the fifth Hermes (Mercury). He also named the two lights (luminaries): the sun and the moon. He also devised the Hebrew letters, being the first to know them and write them. He wrote the names of the two lights, which God had called the sun and the moon. The wise historian Eupolemus the Roman wrote these things down.
Seth took his sister Aclima as his wife, and they had many descendants, and the earth was filled with their offspring—men and women. Cain also took his sister Azura as a wife and had many descendants. In the 200th year, he begat righteous Enoch, son of Jared, and he did not die, for after Adam, Enoch was taken up after 365 years. The sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful, and they took them as wives and bore children by them. These children became giants on the earth in those days. And they were the mighty men of renown and were called giants. From the time of Adam to when the sons of God desired the daughters of men was 2,122 years.
Plutarch says that a ball of fire was cast down into the Celtic land by God and burned up the Giants, and the ball, having fallen into the river Kredanos [sic for Eridanus (Po)], was extinguished. This fire is narrated by the Greeks, and they say that the son of the sun is Phaethon, who fell from the chariot of the sun to the earth. The remaining giants stayed disobedient, and God, becoming angry, said to them: “My spirit shall not remain among them,” and from then on—as is also written in the Mosaic writings—a man who was beloved by God appeared, named Noah.
And by God's command he built an ark, and he entered into it—he and all his sons, and also of all the animals and reptiles and birds. And the flood occurred for many days, and every creature that had the breath of life perished. From Adam until the flood there were 2,242 years and 10 generations. After the flood stopped, the ark was found on the mountains of Ararat in the region of the Pisidians, and parts of its wood exist to this day.
The descendants of Noah multiplied, and a multitude of men and women came to be. And they began to build a tower—some of whom had also seen the ark. They were the first to make ships. From the flood to the construction of the tower there were 531 years. [lacuna in MS.]
In the middle of this time after the flood, the astronomer Arphaxad discovered the astronomy of Seth, the son of Adam. The names of the stars and the names of the sons of Seth were inscribed on a stone tablet. For the descendants of Seth were pious and, foreseeing the coming destruction of mankind—either by water or by fire—they erected two pillars: one of stone, and the other of baked clay. And on both of them they inscribed the knowledge that came from their forefather Seth, which was calculated by the highest reason. If the flood were to destroy one of them, the other might survive. The stone pillar remains until this day in the land of Siriad, and can still be seen. And thus the lineage of Arphaxad continued until the time of the tower-building. Arphaxad lived 438 years.
A giant built Babylon, and the Persians say he ascended and was placed among the stars of heaven. They call him Orion, for he was the first to teach hunting and gave the wild beasts as food to them; hence he was also revered.
In these earlier times, from the lineage of Arphaxad, a wise man from India arose, a chief astronomer, named Ganydimoros, who first wrote astronomy in Indian letters. He was from the same tribe of Shem, who ruled over Assyria and Persia and the regions of the East. From this region a giant man appeared, named Cronos, surnamed by his father Dōmos, after the name of the planet Kronos (Saturn). He became powerful, and was the first to teach kingship and to rule and command over many men. He reigned over the Assyrians for many years, and subdued all the land of Persia, being feared by all. He had a wife named Semiramis, who was also called Rhea and had been raised by Astyrios because she had been exposed as a baby and survived.
She too was from the tribe of Shem, the son of Noah.
Kronos had a son named Picus, who was called by his own father Zeus by the name associated with the shining star (i.e., the planet). Kronos also had another son named Ninus, and a daughter named Hera. Picus, who is also Zeus, took to wife his own sister Hera, and by her had a son named Sebelos. The forefather Kronos, leaving his son Picus in Assyria along with his own wife Rhea (also called Semiramis), journeyed with his son Picus, king of the Assyrians, westward with the help of men he had gathered, and having conquered the western lands, he became king over those regions, departing from Assyria, and ruled in the West for many years.
There he also took a wife named Phyllara, by whom he had a son named Aphros, who was given kingship over the land of Libya. Aphros took Astymonis as his wife, and they had a daughter whom they called Aphrodite, after the name of the planet. Kronos also had another son by Phyllara, named Chiron the wise.
Picus-and-Zeus ruled over the Assyrians for 30 years. He also left his mother Rhea (Semiramis), and his sister-wife Hera, and made his own son Belus king of the Assyrians, and went to his father Kronos.
Belus ruled the Assyrians for 70 years and died in Persia. Kronos, having called his son Picus to him in the west, granted him rule over the western lands, since he had grown old, and Picus, who is also Zeus, ruled over Italy in the West, for 58 years.
After Belus, Ninus, another son of Kronos, ruled Assyria. He also took his mother Rhea (Semiramis) as wife, and in the custom of the Persians, married his own mother and sister. Thus Picus had taken his sister Hera. Ninus, having gained power, founded the city of Nineveh in Assyria, and was the first king there, marrying his mother.
From this line was born a wise man and astronomer named Perses, famous among those fated to die, who was taken up by fire from the sky and said to the Persians, “If you burn me with fire, keep my bones carefully, and the kingship shall not depart from you.” And they revered Orion, who was taken by fire, and the Persians preserve his remains to this day.
After Ninus, there ruled over the Assyrians one named Thuras, whom some say was called Zamys, brother of Hera, after the name of the planet Mars. He became a fierce warrior and fought the strong man Caucasus who descended from the line of Japheth, conquered the land, and came into Thrace, where he died. His tomb lies in that land. The Thracians call him “Areias” and erected a stele there, ascribing to him the title of god. Even the Egyptians, Assyrians, and others venerate him as a god and call him Baal, which means “lord.” He is Ares in interpretation. This is remembered by the prophet Daniel.
After the death of Ares, there reigned over the Assyrians Elamys, and after him Lamys, then Sardanapalos the Great, whom some call Perseus the Danaid, who removed the kingship from the Assyrians and became their king, naming them Persians after his own name. Perseus was the son of Picus, who was also Zeus, and from him came the rites and initiations of the mystery religion of the sword. He also overpowered a maiden, cut off her head, and used her for rites—she who brought death to all who looked at her, called Gorgo. Through the sharpness (of the sword), she brought death to those who gazed upon her.
The brother of Ninus, Picus, who is also Zeus, reigned over Italy for 120 years in the West. He had many sons and daughters by many prominent women. Due to his illusions and mystifications, some of those women came to be thought of as goddesses and he was adored as a god. He had a son named Faunus, also called Hermes, after the name of the planet. Zeus was about to die and ordered that his body be taken to the island of Crete, where he had built a temple, and there his children placed him, writing an epitaph that survives to this day. The inscription reads: “Here lies Picus, also called Zeus, whom they also call Dia.” This was recorded by the accurate historian Diodorus.
After the death of Picus, his son Faunus, also called Hermes, reigned over Italy for 30 years. He was clever and a skilled mathematician, as he knew how to extract gold from minerals and ores. But knowing his brothers plotted against him—for his father Picus (Zeus) had many wives and children, which led to disputes—he, having great riches and adorned in gold beyond measure, fled to Egypt, to the tribe of Ham. Some say he was received there with great honor, adorned in a golden robe and surpassing all others in splendor. Because he was also a natural philosopher and astrologer among the Egyptians, they attributed to him magical powers and divinations, calling him Hermes, who foretold to them future things and gave them wealth, which is why he was called Ploutodotes (Giver of Wealth).
After the death of Sthermounios, the king of the Egyptians, who was from the race of Ham, the Egyptians made Hermes king. He ruled over them for 38 years with great arrogance. After him, reigned Hephaestus, who was a warrior and diviner. They called him the god Hephaestus, who, having gone into battle, fought alongside his own people and was wounded in the foot by a stone. Some say, due to a prophecy, that this happened because of a celestial sign—a star fell onto his weapon, turning it into iron. Thus, he became the first to rule with iron weapons and was victorious in war, and then he died. Before this, they had used clubs and stones, and fought with fire.
After Hephaestus, his son Helios ruled. After him, Sesostris, and then Osiris, and after him, Horus. After Horus came Thoulis, who caused many calamities. He sent an inquiry to the oracle, asking: “Tell us, O oracle of truth, from the pure fire, the blessed breath, in which of the cities of the blessed will I plant my first kingdom?” They responded: “In the beginning of my first reign, all things were under me. Everything you see was first divine, then became word, and spirit was within them. All plants and all beings and even into being itself, for this power is mine. Worship me, you kings, sacrifice, and share the divine life.”
As for the seven wandering stars, Kronos is called bright, Zeus the torch; Ares, fiery; Aphrodite, most beautiful; Hermes, the brilliant. From the appellations of these seven stars, Seth bestowed names, having received wisdom from God. He named his children after them, giving them the names of the stars, and they were honored as kings and falsely called gods. After many kings of the Egyptians, Sostris ruled. He subdued the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Persians up to Babylon, and all of Asia, and Europe, and Scythia, and Mysia. And in turning back, he selected 7,000 strong young men from among them and sent them to Persia, where they remained and mingled with the Scythians and Persians until this day. These were later called the Parthians by the Persians, who still retain their dress, language, and customs from the Scythians.
In the time of King Sostris of Egypt, there lived Hermes Trismegistus, who spoke of the three great essences that comprised the ineffable name of the creator and said there was only one godhead. He was called by the Egyptians “Thrice Greatest” because of these three things. He is cited in various writings, and in his discourse to Asclepius concerning God, he says these things: “By the providence of the Lord of all, I have been enabled to reveal this discourse, for you did not seek such things with unworthy intent. For there is a limit to these matters for those who are unworthy of the mysteries. Listen: it is not merely light which is luminous, but also the mind, which is forever shining. And there is no other being apart from this unity that always exists in itself, and always provides all things to itself through itself by its word and spirit. Apart from Him, who is God—not angel, not demon, not any other substance—there is nothing. For He is Lord of all, and Father and God of all; and in Him are all things. The Word that came forth from Him, perfect as He is, the creator—by His will nature was shaped upon the waters, and the Spirit hovered above the waters.” And having said these things, he began to say: “I swear to you by the great and wise works of God in heaven—so it is—I swear to you by the voice of the Father, which was spoken first to His only-begotten Word, when He established the whole cosmos: ‘So let it be, Lord.’”
That Libya is the daughter of Io and Zeus, and Io was the daughter of Inachus, king of the West, from the tribe of Japheth, whom also Picus and Zeus took, and she was married to Poseidon, and bore Agenor. When Agenor went to Phoenicia, he took a wife named Tyros, and built a city named after her, which he called Tyre, and he reigned there.
He had a son from Tyre named Cadmus the Phoenician, and also Syrus and Cilix. When Agenor died, he divided all his lands among his three sons, and Tyre was left to Phoenix, who called that land Phoenicia from his own name. Similarly, the region Syrus took was named Syria after him. Cilix took the climate most favorable to him and called it Cilicia.
That Cadmus, the son of Agenor, during his exile recalled Tiresias, the philosopher and prophet, about whom Sophocles says that he saw Pallas bathing and became a woman. He says that by the wisdom of the god he became a woman, and after seven years he returned to being a man. In this way Sophocles also speaks of him in his writings: “All things are of the truth; for God who made sky and earth and the distant seas and the depths of Tartarus, he alone gives mortals wisdom, and many, though their hearts are darkened, build temples and statues of gods from stones, and ivory figures covered in gold, and offer sacrifices and arrange festivals, believing they are pious.” For these things, Sophocles is rightly praised.
And in the time of his son Phoenix, there was Heracles the philosopher of Syria, who discovered the purple dye: for as he was walking along the coastal part of the city of Tyre, he saw a dog feeding on a shellfish, the so-called murex. He saw a shepherd, thinking the dog was bleeding from the mouth because of that shellfish, wipe the dog with a cloth that became stained with what seemed to be the blood of the dog. But Heracles, noting that the blood was not the dog’s but came from the shellfish, admired it, and taking the cloth from the shepherd, realizing that the red came from the murex, brought the cloth as a gift to the king of Tyrian Phoenicia, who, amazed, commanded that this murex dye be made royal purple. . . . They also established sacrifices and festivals, saying these were for the souls who dwell on the Islands of the Blessed and their souls are not judged.
For Tharra was the father of Abraham, and like the others, worshipped many gods and idols, making images and practicing idolatry—this error he passed to men through images of their ancestors, especially those who wrote books and crafted works. The Egyptians were the most eager adopters, and next to them the Babylonians, Phrygians, and later the Greeks. It is even said that a man named Hellen, son of Picus who is also Zeus, instituted secret rites and mysteries, teaching the Hellenes that the gods dwell in heaven. He lived in Greece, from the tribe of Japheth, son of Noah, and is said to have settled in the region of the Hellespont. Plutarch of old also testifies that the Greeks and barbarians learned these mysteries. Some say he introduced idols of the wandering stars, for he claimed that the heavenly bodies—sun, moon, and stars—are gods because the five wandering stars nourish and govern all things with their threefold movement, and [he introduced] the rest of astrology, in accordance with creation and air.
But Abraham, understanding this theology and realizing that the idols made by his father were merely the work of human hands and that they were men who had died, declared that it was not right to worship those born on earth as gods. He then left the land of his father Tharra, saying, “Why do men deceive others for profit? There is another God—not one of those in the sky—but the Creator who made all things.” And he departed to Mesopotamia.
From Adam to Abraham were many years. And during the time of Abraham lived Melchizedek, a righteous man, descended from the race of Sidos, son of Aegyptus, king of Libya, after whom the Egyptians are named. Sidos took possession of the land of those known as Canaanites, now called Palestine, and subdued it, increasing his territory and building a city which he named Sidon after his own name. And so from the race of Sidos, son of Aegyptus, king of Libya, came Melchizedek, who became priest and king of the Canaanites. He built a city on the mount called Zion, naming it Salem, which is interpreted “city of peace.” He ruled there as a just and righteous king, and died in that same land, as Josephus records. This period from the time of the flood to Abraham lasted 893 years, and from the confusion at Babel until Abraham’s era, 523 years. After this, knowledge of God descended on Abraham and Isaac his son, and Jacob his grandson and his seed—from whom sprang the Hebrews who from the time of Abraham are known by circumcision. And from the fourth son of Jacob, Judah, came the tribe of the Jews, wherefore they received their name.
In these days a man from the tribe of Japheth arose, named Hesiod, who brought the Greek letters, and was considered a theologian by the Greeks.
In the days of Pharaoh and of Achōr, king of Egypt, a giant philosopher arose from the tribe of Japheth, named Endymion, in the land of Caria, who claimed to have secret prayers to the moon and, as they say, learned the divine name and invoked it by night. From that time he was said to lie in sleep (or rest) forever, as the Greeks tell in their myths—not that he died, but that he lies asleep.
When Pharaoh of the Egyptians ruled, Pharon by name, and the exodus of the sons of Israel occurred, and when he saw the wonders done by God through Moses, he went to Memphis to consult the famous oracle of prophecy. There he made sacrifices and asked the Pythia, who said: “O, tell me, who is first among you, and who is the great God of the Israelites?” Here is the oracle given to him: “There shall be a heavenly sign. A great and mighty flame shall descend from the upper eternal ether. The fire shakes the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, the deep, the underworld, and the demons. This is the self-begotten Father God. He made himself a triad, and a small portion of angels, we have learned, went astray in disobedience.”
In the days of Gideon the Judge, Orpheus the Thracian lived—a lyrist, the wisest and most renowned poet—who dealt with divine theology, the creation of the world, and the crafting of mankind. At the beginning of his writings, he states: “From my own inspiration I did not expound anything about God or about the creation of the world, but I learned from the Sun, who among poets is the teacher, and he instructed me about the creation.” And Orpheus wrote many poetic verses about theology and the creation of the world. Among the things he taught were: “In the beginning, the world and the ether were brought forth by God; and from that ether came chaos, and night covered all things; and night ruled over what was beneath the ether, before the day.” In the same work, he also said: “There is someone incomprehensible, existing before all things and creator of all—of the ether, the day and night, the heavens and the earth, and all visible and invisible things. All of creation and the whole of the earth had been hidden within the darkness, but when the light burst forth from the ether and touched the earth, all creation was illuminated, and that light was considered the first-born, surpassing all things.”
And Orpheus, hearing from the prophecy these three names: “Will,” “Light,” and “Life-Giver,” said that these are the names of divine powers. He wrote in his exposition: “These are the one power of the one God, whom no one can see or know his true form or nature. From this power came all things in their beginnings—the sun and moon, stars and all the cosmos, earth and sea, visible and invisible things. From this same God, man was formed from the earth, and his soul was given by Him, a rational soul,” as also Moses the wise said.
And the same Orpheus said that through the three names all divinity came to be. These things the wise Timotheus the chronicler said, noting that Orpheus lived long ago. He affirmed that Orpheus spoke of a Triune Unity.
Source: J. A. Cramer, Anecdota Graeca e codd. mss. bibl. Paris., vol. 2, (Oxford: 1839), 231-242.
