132 LITERATURE OF GNOSTIC WISDOM
Jesus left his body to Edem by the tree
and ascended to the Good. He said to her,
"Woman, here is your son."^32 He left
his soul and earthly body, but his spirit
he placed in the hands of the father^33
and then he ascended to the Good.ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATIONS
The Good is Priapos, who created before
anything was.^34 He is called Priapos
because he made everything. So in temples
everywhere he is honored by all creation.
On the roads he walks carrying fruit,
fruits of creation, whose cause he was,
since he created before anything was.
Now, when you hear that the swan lay on Leda
and produced a child from her,
the swan is Elohim and Leda is Edem.^35
When they say that the eagle came upon Ganymede,
the eagle is Naas and Ganymede is Adam.^36
When you hear one say that gold came upon Danae
and produced a child from her,
the gold is Elohim and Danae is Edem.^37
In this way these tales are interpreted
comparing them to similar myths.- John 19:26.
- Luke 23:46.
- Priapos, the fertility god of the enormous phallus, is connected to all sorts of fruitfulness in
Greek mythology. - Leda is the woman who in Greek mythology was ravished by Zeus, who took the form of a
swan. - Ganymede is the Greek youth of great beauty who was kidnapped by an eagle to become a
cupbearer to Zeus. - Zeus managed to rape Danae by becoming a shower of gold rain falling on her in her tower
prison. She and her son Perseus escaped, floating on a raft to Seriphos. Here Elohim is com-
pared to Zeus, the gold rain.