Demiurge

Demiurge (Demiurgus, Demiourgos) means "Artificer", "Artisan", "Builder" or "Craftsman" was the name first used by the Athenian philosopher, Plato (428-347 BC).

Plato was a pupil and follower of Socrates. Though Socrates had left no works about his philosophy, Plato placed Socrates in many of his dialogues. How much of Socrates' real teaching is in Plato's writings is debatable. Plato's works ranged from political to natural science; some of them are religious or metaphysical in nature.

According to Plato's dialogue, Timaeus, the Demiurge was the supreme creator of the universe and he created the World Soul, the heaven, earth and seas, as well as the lower deities. It was the lower deities who had created mankind and all other living beings (eg. animals, plants, etc). Plato's Demiurge was actually a benevolent creator.

To the Gnostic schools, the role of the Demiurge was different. To them, it meant an arrogant god or angel who presumptuously created the physical, material world. Usually, the Demiurge was seen as an androgynous being; a being with both genders and able to reproduce without a mate.

The name Demiurge was later used to refer to one of the Gnostic gods or angels (known as the archons, "rulers"), named Yaldabaoth, Ialdabaoth or Jaldabaoth. In the Gnostic myth, Ialdabaoth was the arrogant God of Israel (Yahweh), but not the true Supreme Being that Jesus had often referred to as the Good Father or Heavenly Father. According to the myth, Yaldabaoth was indeed the creator of the physical, material world, but it was a world without soul. It was Sophia who gave soul to mankind or breathed life into a body. Yaldabaoth was an arrogant ruler, boasting that there was no other god but him. The Aeon or goddess Sophia (Wisdom, but she was also known as Pistis "Faith") proved Yaldabaoth wrong by appearing to him as limitless light.

Any arrogant god or other being could be called Demiurge, such as the Ophion or the World Serpent who mated with the Creator Goddess Eurynome. Eurynome laid a silver egg (Cosmic Egg) from which the entire world, sun, moon and stars were created, including plant and animal life. Ophion had arrogantly boasted that he alone had created the world. For this boast, Eurynome kicked Ophion's teeth out and flung it into Tartarus.

In the Orphic Creation Myth, the Demiurge usually referred to Zeus. Zeus swallowed Protogonus, the first creator of the universe, as well as the entire universe. With the universe in his belly, Zeus possessed the powers of Protogonus, and Zeus then recreated the world.