The Doctrine of the Gods in Numenius’ Ontology

Abstract

The paper analyses the positions of Numenius on the status of the two, or rather the three gods, in his ontological system. In relation to his doctrine of the three gods, the problem of his theoretical inclination towards the East, especially Judaism, is briefly mentioned. The main points from the ontological background of the positioning and the characteristics are offered – the opposition between God and Matter, the assumed hierarchization of the divinity according to the various functions, and the status of the demiurgic principle. Hence, the relation between the First God and the Second God, and the possible division of the First, or, much more likely, the Second God into two gods are shown through the suitable examples from the extant fragments of Numenius’ works. The distinction between the First God, simple, solitudinous and focused only on himself, and God who is divided into a Second and Third God, that is, the cosmos as a product of the Second God, is displayed. The ideas on the division of God by Matter are briefly expressed, as well as the ideas about the equivalence between the Supreme (First) God with the Good, and the way the Demiurge receives goodness. The claims according to which the First God, the principle of existence, governs the (sphere of the) being, and the Second God – the realm of becoming are listed. The reasons for the complexity of the theological concept of Numenius are glanced at, as well as the ways in which the confusion could be overcome.