HERACLEON. - Heretic, head of the Italian school of the Valentinians (ca. 120-80). Fragments from his commentary on the Gospel of St. John are handed down to us in the commentary of Origen, and two fragments by Clement of Alexandria, Strom., IV, 71, and Eclog. proph., 25, 1. His doctrine was similar to that of Ptolemy (Irenaeus, Advers. haer., I, 1-9) and he sought to attenuate the heresies of the Valentinian doctrine in the Eastern school (Excerpta ex Theodoto).

In his exegesis of the Gospel of St. John he shows knowledge of ancient Christian literature (frg. 21: Kerrygma Petri; frg. 12: Testimonia; cf. Tertullian, Adv. Indues, 14; frg. 38: chiliastic traditions) and of Platonic and Stoic philosophy. Against his doctrine is the Valentinian myth of the fallen spirit that through Christ regains consciousness of its transcendental origin. This myth H. wishes to rediscover in the allegorical exegesis of the Gospel (the Samaritan woman as image of Sophia, the centurion of the Demiurge). Epiphanius (Haer., 36, 2) attributes to H. the rite of the Gnostic Marcus, concerning the ascension of souls after death (anointing with water and oil), which in Irenaeus (Advers. haer., I, 21, 5) is attributed to an anonymous group. On what grounds, one cannot say. Epiphanius's reports on H. do not inspire confidence.

Bibliography2 works

BIBL.: A. E. Brooks, The fragments of Heracleon (Texts and Studies, 1, iv). Cambridge 1891; W. Foerster, Van Valentin zu Heracleon, Giessen 1928.

Erik Peterson

@incollection{ec5_eracleone, author = {Peterson, Erik}, title = {Eracleone}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {V}, pages = {467}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1950}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/eracleone} }

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