ODES OF SOLOMON. - This is the title of 42 hymns written in Greek in the 2nd century and inspired by a highly ethereal mysticism.
The very lack of sharply defined contours in this religious poetry, otherwise beautiful, makes the classification of the O. of S. difficult; to some they seem rather to be of Gnostic origin, while to others they appear compatible with orthodoxy. The Word is praised (12th ode), the descensus ad inferos is sung (17th ode), and there is mention (19th ode) of the virginal conception of a woman by the Father and the Holy Spirit, in which some recognize an allusion to the Madonna.
The author of the O. of S. is unknown. They are known in their entirety (except for the 2nd ode) through an ancient Syriac version edited by J. R. Harris-A. Mingana (2 vols., Cambridge 1916-20). The Gnostic book Pistis Sophia contains 5 odes.