THE DOCTRINE OF THE GODS IN NUMENIUS’ ONTOLOGY

Abstract

The paper analyses the positions of Numenius on the status of the two, or rather
the three gods, in his ontological system. In relation to his doctrine of the three gods,
the problem of his theoretical inclination towards the East, especially Judaism, is briefly
mentioned. The main points from the ontological background of the positioning and the
characteristics are offered – the opposition between God and Matter, the assumed hierarchization
of the divinity according to the various functions, and the status of the demiurgic
principle. Hence, the relation between the First God and the Second God, and
the possible division of the First, or, much more likely, the Second God into two gods
are shown through the suitable examples from the extant fragments of Numenius’
works.
The distinction between the First God, simple, solitudinous and focused only on
himself, and God who is divided into a Second and Third God, that is, the cosmos as a
product of the Second God, is displayed. The ideas on the division of God by Matter are
briefly expressed, as well as the ideas about the equivalence between the Supreme
(First) God with the Good, and the way the Demiurge receives goodness. The claims according
to which the First God, the principle of existence, governs the (sphere of the)
being, and the Second God – the realm of becoming are listed. The reasons for the complexity
of the theological concept of Numenius are glanced at, as well as the ways in
which the confusion could be overcome.