A Eulogy to Abbaton, the Angel of Death (translated from Coptic, supplied with introduction and comments by E. Smagina)
Abstract
The article deals with the text in Coptic language, which occupies a rather specific place in the apocryphal literature. This is a eulogy to the Angel of Death called Abbaton. The text structure is a complicated multi-tiered «story-to-story» framework. The history of the making the Angel of Death the King of the living and dead is incor- porated into the legend of Adam and Eve, which dates back to the Jewish exegesis of the Book of Genesis, which is also widely represented in the early Christian literature. A significant place in the narrative is also occupied by the «myth of Satan» – the story of the fall of the supreme angel and his subsequent transformation into the spirit of evil. This myth is a kind of compromise between the monistic and dualistic concepts regarding the origin and nature of evil.
Keywords
Abbaton,
Adam and Eve,
angelology,
Apocrypha,
Bible,
death,
angel of,
Genesis,
literature,
Coptic,
Pseudepigrapha,
Satan
About the Author
E. B. Smagina
Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Evgenia B. Smagina - Ph. D (Philol.), Senior Research Felloy, Chef of the Department of History and Culture of the Ancient East.
Russian Federation
Evgenia B. Smagina - Ph. D (Philol.), Senior Research Felloy, Chef of the Department of History and Culture of the Ancient East.
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For citation:
Smagina E.B. A Eulogy to Abbaton, the Angel of Death (translated from Coptic, supplied with introduction and comments by E. Smagina). Orientalistica. 2019;2(4):1038-1060. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31696/2618-7043-2019-2-4-1038-1060
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