Editing Wisdom (section)

=== Hellenistic religion and Gnosticism ===
{{main|Sophia (wisdom)|Sophia (Gnosticism)}}

In [[Hellenistic religion]], wisdom was often personified as a divine or mystical force guiding human understanding. In Greek mystery religions, particularly [[Orphism]] and the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]], wisdom was associated with spiritual enlightenment and initiation into hidden truths.<ref>{{cite book |last=Burkert |first=Walter |title=Ancient Mystery Cults |year=1989 |publisher=Harvard University Press}}</ref> Philosophical movements such as [[Neoplatonism]] developed a concept of wisdom (''sophia'', σοφία) as the knowledge of the divine order of existence. [[Plotinus]] (204–270 CE) viewed wisdom as an ascent of the soul towards [[Neoplatonism#The One|the One]], the ultimate source of all reality.<ref>{{cite book |last=Plotinus |title=The Enneads |orig-year=3rd century CE |year=1991 |publisher=Penguin Classics}}</ref> In this tradition, wisdom was both intellectual and mystical, requiring inner purification to grasp transcendent truths.

Wisdom also played a central role in [[Gnosticism]], an [[Western esotericism|esoteric movement]] that emerged in the first few centuries CE. Gnostics saw wisdom (Sophia) as a divine figure, often depicted as a fallen being who sought to restore humanity’s knowledge of its divine origin. In texts in the [[Nag Hammadi library]], Sophia is described as the mother of all living and the source of ''gnosis'' (spiritual knowledge).<ref>{{cite book |last=Pagels |first=Elaine |title=The Gnostic Gospels |orig-year=1979 |year=2004 |publisher=Random House}}</ref> According to [[Valentinian Gnosticism]], Sophia’s fall led to the creation of the material world, but through wisdom, the soul could transcend illusion and return to the divine realm.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jonas |first=Hans |title=The Gnostic Religion |orig-year=1958 |year=2001 |publisher=Beacon Press}}</ref>

Gnostic texts such as the ''[[Pistis Sophia]]'' depict wisdom as a cosmic force struggling to free itself from ignorance and darkness. This contrasts with orthodox Christian views, where wisdom (σοφία) is associated with the [[Logos]] and divine order rather than cosmic dualism.<ref>{{cite book |last=Perkins |first=Pheme |title=Gnosticism and the New Testament |year=1993 |publisher=Fortress Press}}</ref> In [[Hermeticism]], another esoteric tradition of the Hellenistic period, wisdom was linked to inner enlightenment and mystical union with the divine mind (''[[nous]]'', νοῦς).<ref>{{cite book |last=Copenhaver |first=Brian P. |title=Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius |year=1995 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref> These traditions, though diverse, shared the belief that wisdom was the key to transcending material existence and reuniting with the divine.