Origins of an Evil God: Conceptualization of the Demiurge Figure in Plato and Beyond

Authors

Brendyn David Matthews, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Advisory Committee Chair

Walter Ward

Advisory Committee Members

Jonathan Wiesen

Stephen Miller

Tola Rodrick

Document Type

Thesis

Date of Award

1-1-2025

Degree Name by School

Master of Arts (MA) College of Arts and Sciences

Abstract

This thesis explores the creation of the Demiurge from Plato to the Gnostics. I investigate this early Christian group taking the idea of the Demiurge from Plato and twisting this figure into an evil, malevolent creator. This process involves the Gnostics taking several nodes of development: Plato’s initial conception and Hellenized Egyptians syncretizing Seth with YHWH and mixing them into their worldview to craft their Demiurge. I then answer why these Gnostics made such an entity, understanding that it was them not only trying to supersede Judaism, but the Proto Orthodoxy of Christianity at this time.

Comments

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Recommended Citation

Matthews, Brendyn David, "Origins of an Evil God: Conceptualization of the Demiurge Figure in Plato and Beyond" (2025). All ETDs from UAB. 6869.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/6869