Gnosticism and Egyptian Religion by

Abstract Despite the fact that Egypt has provided the most abundant sources for the study of Gnosticism and the occasional mention of Egypt and things Egyptian in those sources, scholars have neglected Egyptian religion as a significant influence in the origin and development of Gnosticism. An examination of the early Nag Hammadi tractate Eugnostos makes it possible to see that it was significantly affected by Egyptian religious conceptions of the Urzeit. The evidence of the influence of Eugnostos upon subsequent gnostic systems suggests that it was at least one route by which Egyptian religion influenced Gnosticism at its core.