(from five to seven)
Hypostases (according to Irenaeus i. 24. 3; [Greek: Nous, Logos, Phronesis,
Sophia, Dunamis]; according to Clemens, _Strom_. iv. 25 s. 164, [Greek:
Dikaiosune] and [Greek: Eirene] may perhaps be added), we are reminded of
the _Ameshas-spentas_ which surround Ahura-Mazda. Finally, in the system of
Basilides, the (seven ?) powers from whom this world originates are
accepted as the lowest emanations of the supreme God. This conception which
is repeated in nearly every Gnostic system, of (seven) world-creating
angels, is a specifically oriental speculation. The seven powers which
create and rule the world are without doubt the seven planetary deities of
the later Babylonian religion. If, in the Gnostic systems, these become
daemonic or semi-daemonic forces, this points to the fact that a stronger
monotheistic religion (the Iranian) had gained the upper hand over the
Babylonian, and had degraded its gods to daemons. The syncretism of the
Babylonian and the Persian religion was also the nursing-ground of
Gnosticism. When, then, Basilides identified the highest angel of the
seven, the creator of the worlds, with the God of the Jews, this is a
development of the idea which did not occur until late, possibly first in
the specifically Christian circles of the Gnostics. We may note in this
connexion that the system of Basilides ascribes the many battles and
quarrels in the world to the privileged position given to his people by the
God of the Jews.[3]

It is at this point that the idea of salvation is introduced into the
system. The confusion in the world has meanwhile risen to such a pitch that
the supreme God sends his _Nous_, who is also called Christ, into the world
(Irenaeus i. 24. 4). According to Clemens, the Saviour is termed [Greek:
pneuma diakonoumenon] (_Strom_. ii. 8 s. 36) or [Greek: diakonos]
(_Excerpta ex Theodoto_, s. 16). It is impossible certainly to determine
how Basilides conceived the relation of this Saviour to Jesus of Nazareth.
Basilides himself (_Strom_. iv. 12 s. 83) knows of an earthly Jesus and
denies the principle of his sinlessness (see above). According to the
account given by Irenaeus, the Saviour is said to have appeared only as a
phantasm; according to the _Excerpta ex Theodoto_, 17, the Diakonos
descended upon Jesus at His baptism in the form of a dove, for which reason
the followers of Basilides celebrated the day of the baptism of Jesus, the
day of the [Greek: epiphaneia].