520 ASCENSION
to the otherworld. Here Virāz first sees the souls of righteous
people performing good deeds and observing religious pre-
cepts; then hell is revealed, with its terrible chastisements that
conformably correspond to the faults of the souls found
there. The text ends with the glorious and radiant vision of
Ohrmadz (chap. 101 ff.). A similar narrative of a vision fol-
lowed by conversion is attributed to Vishtasp, the prince who
protected Zarathushtra, and is contained in a late collection
of texts (Dēnkard 7, 4, 85).
Many motifs in these accounts are already attested in
Zoroastrian literature: for example, the bridge, which could
be large or narrow depending on the protagonist’s behavior
during life; the encounter with the daēna (Pahlavi, dēn), a
sort of “double” soul depicted as a wonderful girl; and the
three heavens—consisting of humata (“fair thoughts,” the
stars), hūkhta (“fair words,” the moon); and hvarshta (“fair
deeds,” the sun)—to which the anagra raoca, the layer of the
“lights without beginning,” must be adjoined. The three
heavens reflect the old Avestan order, mythical rather than
astronomical, linked to a sort of religious gradation of fiery
purity and brightness as one ascends from earth to heaven.
The origin of later schemes comprising six or seven spheres
is connected with the six Amesha Spentas, or with the plane-
tary order of Greek origin (the five known planets plus the
sun and the moon). It is worth noting that in Greece the
planetary order was liable to vary; therefore we speak of a
Chaldaean or an Egyptian order.
More ancient (third century) and more conservative in
their description are the four inscriptions drawn up by the
famous fanatical high priest Kirdı̄r (or Kērdēr or Kartı̄r, ac-
cording to different transliterations), the grey eminence of
King Shāpūr and his successors. Although they are preserved
in slightly different versions, they all refer to Kirdı̄r’s experi-
ence and should be seen as more than a literary device or an
“initiatory myth.” Kirdı̄r’s experience is deeply rooted in the
culture of the Magi and in Mazdaism. Eschatological motifs
also recur in these inscriptions: the daēna, the bridge, the bal-
ance where the soul is judged, the throne, and a probable vi-
sion of hell. Moreover, the complex anthropology described
in these texts resembles shamanistic culture in its description
of the state of apparent death, otherworldly journeys, such
expressions as “bony body” and “bony soul,” and such
themes as the duplication of the soul or demons who are at
the head of limbs. As a result, scholars have inferred that sha-
manistic practices existed in ancient Iran. It should be noted
that Ossetic mythology shares similar patterns, which may
be explained by cultural contacts with Persia.
Even though scholars possess only late documents con-
cerning Iranian eschatology, and even though the resolute—
and sometimes disputed—position held by the representa-
tives of the Religionsgeschichtliche Schule must in some cases
be qualified (e.g., in considering Mesopotamian borrow-
ings), it is nevertheless true that in the second half of the first
millennium BCE the Greeks were acquainted with the initia-
tory and mystical-ecstatic aspects of Iranian religious doc-
trines. Zoroaster’s katabasis was so well known that Plato
identified him with Er, son of Armenios, in the tenth book
of his Republic, as well as with Aristeas. The ancient Greeks
appear to have been interested in such themes as ecstasy or
enthousiasmos (divine possession), and they were especially
interested in the immortality of the soul and doctrines con-
cerning its status after death, already professed by the Magi,
as recorded by Eudemos of Rhodes (fourth century BCE),
who also offers accounts on Zalmoxis or Abaris.
ANCIENT GREECE. In Greece, belief and practice concerning
catalepsy and the flight of the soul were widespread, and ex-
isted apart from the belief in Dionysos, the ecstatic divinity
par excellence. Karl Meuli, Eric R. Dodds, and others have
argued that Mediterranean religions exhibit a pattern of
prophecy and heavenly ascension that has much in common
with shamanism. Such features are shared by the so-called
iatromanteis (from iatros [healer], and mantis [seer]), Greek
medicine men and oracles connected with a divinity (inter-
preted as Apollo) who dwelled in Hyperborea, the mysteri-
ous land of the north. To the category of iatromanteis be-
longed such notable personalities as Empedocles and
Pythagoras and, perhaps less influential but no less typical
for this religious complex, Abaris, Aristeas of Proconnesus,
Bakis, Epimenides of Crete, and Hermotimos of Clazo-
menae. Some of these were reported either to fly or to free
their souls and leave their bodies in a state of catalepsy. It
would be brash to say that their catalepsy was induced by hal-
lucinogenic substances, even if a plant called alimos (literally,
“hungerless”), which probably contained an alkaloid, is men-
tioned in their biographies. The soul of Aristeas, taking the
form of a raven, was said to travel as far as Hyperborea; the
soul of Epimenides, to converse with the gods; and the soul
of Hermotimos, to visit faraway places and record local
events. A similar account reports the loss of Hermotimos’s
soul from the body after his death, which permitted him to
condemn his wicked wife and his enemies.
Although the pre-Socratic philosophers and the poet
Pindar were acquainted with beliefs concerning the immor-
tality of the soul and its consequent elevation to heaven, the
cataleptic separation between body and soul, during which
the soul was supposed to have supernatural experiences, was
resumed by Plato in the apocalypse of Er in the tenth book
of The Republic. Er, son of Armenios of Pamphylia (Asia
Minor), was wounded in a battle and appeared to be dead.
His catalepsy lasted twelve days, until the very moment his
body was going to be burned. Er then came back to life and
reported all the secrets of the afterlife that had been revealed
to his soul.
Plato’s pupil Heracleides Ponticus (fourth century BCE)
took direct inspiration from the iatromanteis. In his lost dia-
logues he was concerned with catalepsy and its treatment,
and in one of these (Abaris, or “On things in hell”), Heracl-
eides introduced a fictitious character, Empedotimos (de-
rived from Empedocles and Hermotimos). Some scholars have
attributed to Heracleides an important innovation in Greek
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, SECOND EDITION

eschatology, namely the complete suppression of any subter-
restrial place for punishment of the dead. Other scholars
have claimed that the spread of celestial eschatology was due
to the influence of Pythagoreanism and Stoicism, and in-
deed, Stoicism might have played an important role in the
transformation of Hellenistic eschatology. It is worth noting
that the Latin writer Cicero (first century BCE) ends his Pla-
tonic work, titled Republic, with an account of Scipio’s
dream, wherein the hero was granted an ascent throughout
the heavens and a vision of the Blesseds. This well-known
account became the object of allegorical interpretation dur-
ing late antiquity, and the Neoplatonist Macrobius wrote an
extensive commentary on it at the end of the fourth century.
HELLENISTIC WORLD. By the end of the first century CE, the
idea of an underground Hades was no longer fashionable, so
in rearranging the great eschatological Platonic myths, Plu-
tarch’s ambition was to give a “modern” version of them in
order to meet the intellectual exigencies of the time. Plutarch
offers interesting details about catalepsy and incubation in
his dialogue On Socrates’ Daemon, based on traditions con-
cerning the famous oracular cave of Trophonius at Lebadea,
near Chaeronea. If Lamprias, Plutarch’s brother, was a priest
of that sanctuary, Plutarch may have had access to the wood-
en tablets on which those consulting the oracle were sup-
posed to write down their experiences. The hero of this apoc-
alypse is Timarch, whose soul leaves his body and visits the
heavenly Hades, remaining below the sphere of the moon,
which is only the first among the seven planetary spheres.
Here, as well as in the dialogue On the Face in the Moon, the
moon is the receptacle of souls that are freed of their bodies,
with the exception of those that fall again into the circle of
transmigration (metensōmatōsis). The earth represents the
lowest and meanest point of the universe. Another important
myth is contained in the dialogue On the Delayed Revenge of
the God, which resumes many elements of the apocalypse of
Er. The dishonest Aridaeus of Soloi, after having experienced
a cataleptic state and after his soul has watched the judgment
of the dead and witnessed the painful lot of the sinners,
changes his attitude, becomes a pious man, and begins call-
ing himself Thespesius (“godly”).
Late Hellenism was dominated by an obsession with
human liberation from the world and out of the world, in,
or beyond, the heavenly spheres. This is reflected, for exam-
ple, in the Gnostic systems of the second and third centuries
CE and in their polemic against astrology. The seven “plan-
ets” themselves, the signs, the decans, and the degrees of the
zodiac are often represented as evil archons, or heavenly rul-
ers. These are extremely important for the embodiment and
disembodiment of the individual soul. The heavenly ascent
of the soul through the spheres is therefore considered a cen-
tral tenet of Gnosticism. The techniques that are intended
to assure the Gnostic’s soul a safe passage through the spheres
of the hostile archons up to the plērōma (fullness) of the god-
head actually form the most important part of gnosis.
One of the first testimonies for the Gnostic theory of
the embodiment and disembodiment of the soul is the doc-
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, SECOND EDITION
ASCENSION 521
trine of Basilides, who was active in Alexandria around 120
CE, and of his son Isidorus, according to whom the transcen-
dental spirit of human beings is temporarily attached to a
soul. During its descent, the planetary vices attack the soul
and stick to it in the form of concretions of “appendages”
(prosartēmata).
The technical expression antimimon pneuma, or “coun-
terfeit spirit” (sometimes antikeimenon, or “evil spirit”), oc-
curs for the first time in the Apocryphon of John, one of the
oldest surviving Gnostic treatises, extant in Coptic transla-
tions. Some scholars claim that the Apocryphon of John pre-
dates even Basilides, whose theory of the prosartēmata is
based on the antimimon pneuma doctrine. In fact, the an-
timimon pneuma is an appended spirit, an intermediary be-
tween the soul and the material body. The soul itself is a cre-
ation of the evil heavenly archons (i.e., the seven “planets”)
or, to be more precise, of the seven attributes forming con-
junctions (syzygies) together with the archons.
The formation of the antimimon pneuma is more explic-
itly stated in the Pistis Sophia, also preserved in Coptic. The
“counterfeit spirit” derives directly from the archons of the
heimarmenē, or astral destiny, which are the seven “planets.”
The antimimon pneuma follows the soul in all its reincarna-
tions (metabolai) and is itself a cause of reincarnation. The
goal of Gnostic mysteries is to free the soul from bondage
to the antimimon pneuma. On the basis of the planetary
order in chapter 136 of Pistis Sophia and in other texts of late
antiquity, it seems likely that this doctrine derives from the
Hermetic astrological treatise Panaretos, which includes a
discussion of the degrees (klēroi) or positions (loci) of the
planets; that is, the coordinates within the horoscope of na-
tivity, where each planet is supposed to confer its principal
qualities upon the subject. However, Gnostics mention only
the negative qualities or vices derived from the planetary in-
fluence.
The doctrine of antimimon pneuma became influential
in Hermetism, where it merged with the idea of the soul’s
descent into the world and its return to heaven. During its
descent through the planetary spheres, the soul acquired
from each planet the dominant vice ascribed to it in astrolo-
gy, while during its ascent, those concretions were put off
(Poimandres 25–26). The ascent of the soul in Gnosticism
could be much more complicated, and the ritual perfor-
mances or “mysteries” intended to assure the soul an easy
passage through the archons differed widely, although they
presented some fixed patterns, such as learning by heart mag-
ical names or invocations. Some Sethian treatises from Nag-
Hammadi (Zostrianos, Allogenes, The Three Steles of Seth),
where the path of ascent shows Platonic nuances, prelude the
life-intellect-being triad later developed by Plotinus.
It should also be noted that the same motif of secret
names or watchwords and seals indispensable for passing
through the heavenly customs is also described in magic liter-
ature and in the Jewish mysticism of the merkavah. An im-
portant example is the famous Mithrasliturgie (Papyri Grae-
522 ASCENSION
cae Magicae VI, 475–824), which describes how to gain
immortality by an elevation process.
The second-century Platonic writer Celsus (attested by
Origen, Contra Celsum 6, 22 ff.) ascribed to the Persian god
Mithra, whose veneration increased during late antiquity and
who was reshaped to suit the changed religious attitude of
Hellenism, a ritual object consisting of a ladder with seven
steps or “gates” (klimax heptapylos), representing the planets.
Similar objects are also depicted in Mithraic temples. Ac-
cording to Celsus, this object symbolized the passage of the
adept’s soul through the planetary spheres, which could be
accomplished in concomitance of the magnus annus of
Plato’s doctrine (Timaeus 39d). This interpretation raises
some difficulties, however, since the steps are arranged ac-
cording to the order of the days of the planetary week, which
is explained by Celsus in accordance with the musical theory
of the tetrachordon. Celsus linked this doctrine to a related
diagram ascribed to the Gnostic sect of the Ophites. Some
interpreters have argued that these steps and their associated
rituals represent a meditative technique to obtain inner
knowledge of the self, and the steps are thus structured as an
interior journey.
In Hellenistic culture a relationship was established be-
tween the seven “planets” and the levels that the soul had to
transverse in its heavenly ascent. It can thus be maintained
that, as far as the mysteries of late antiquity are concerned,
their divinities, in some cases traditionally connected with
the earth and the underworld Hades, are transported entirely
to heaven, where they are supposed to receive the souls of
their adepts after death. Moreover, Gnostic polemics against
astrology gave rise to the formation of the influential theory
of the passage of the soul through the spheres, fashionable
among Neoplatonists from the third to the sixteenth century
CE. It is impossible to state whether Neoplatonists (e.g., Por-
phyry, Proclus, and Macrobius) took this theory from Nu-
menius of Apamea or from the Gnostic-Hermetic tradition.
It should also be noted that the Christian writer Arnobius,
at the beginning of the fourth century, directed his polemic
against a group of Neoplatonic mystics who maintained the
doctrines of the Chaldaean Oracles, attributing to them
formulas and other means for transporting their clients to
heaven.
The embodiment (ensōmatōsis) of the soul entails a de-
scent from the top of the cosmos to the bottom, through the
planetary spheres that confer certain characteristic features
upon the soul. Disembodiment is the reverse of this process.
In late Neoplatonism, which borrowed this doctrine from
Chaldaean theurgy, the ethereal body that enveloped the soul
and that was formed by planetary qualities was its “vehicle”
(ochēma). Sometimes this “vehicle” was distinguished from
others that were meant to serve as intermediaries between the
soul and the material body, according to a theory of Aristotle
that was influential in Greco-Roman and Arabic medicine.
The theory of the passage of the soul through the spheres was
taken over from Macrobius by medieval medicine and psy-
chology. Through the works of Marsilio Ficino (1433–
1499), it became one of the most widespread doctrines from
the time of the Renaissance down to the end of the sixteenth
century and even into the seventeenth.
Another interesting Latin document preserving a de-
scription of an initiatory ascension is De Nuptiis, written in
the fifth century by Martianus Capella. Despite the far-
fetched and heterogeneous material collected in De Nuptiis
(the author aimed at offering an encyclopedia of the seven
liberal arts), its allegorical stamp emerges from the first two
books and is testified by commentaries written during the
Middle Ages. The hierogamy between Philology, allegory of
human knowledge, and Mercury is prepared by a complicat-
ed ritual and by Philology’s ascent throughout the seven
spheres in order to purify herself from earthly filth. Chal-
daean and Neoplatonic borrowings are palpable.
JUDAISM AND EARLY CHRISTIAN LITERATURE. The heavenly
journey is a constant pattern in Jewish and, later, Christian
apocalypses. Apart from the Scriptural references (Gen. 5:24;
2 Kgs. 2:11; Sir. 44:16; 48:9; Ez. 1; and Dn. 7:13, important
for later interpretations), among the Old Testament Pseud-
epigrapha there are numerous texts describing both an elec-
tive ascension of patriarchs (Abraham, Enoch, Isaac, Jacob,
Levi, Moses, and Shem) or prophets (Baruch, Esdra, Isaiah,
Elijah, and Ezekiel), and the granting of a vision.
Extensive and detailed accounts of ascensions begin
with 1 Enoch, the oldest parts of which were completed at
the end of the third century BCE. Enoch’s adventures are re-
counted in this text in much more detail than in the Bible.
Written originally in Aramaic (fragments were discovered
among the Dead Sea Scrolls), 1 Enoch is fully preserved only
in an Ethiopian translation that is based on a Greek version.
No less than five works, written over a period of centuries,
are included in this collection. The book of 2 Enoch, which
seems originally to have been written in Greek, survives only
in a translation into Old Church Slavonic. Much of the ma-
terial in it probably dates back to the early centuries CE, al-
though its final form appears to be the result of a long process
of transmission. According to this work, Enoch ascended to
heaven and was given a tour of the celestial realm, where he
was transformed into an angelic being when he came before
the throne of God. This is the background of the story nar-
rated in 3 Enoch, which begins with the ascent of R. Ishmael
to the seventh heaven and his encounter with God and the
angels. One of them, Metatron, reveals that he was once the
man Enoch, but he was taken to heaven in a fiery chariot as
a witness to the generation of the flood. After having been
challenged by the angels, he was finally enthroned by God.
The voyage through seven or three heavens became a
commonplace of Jewish apocalyptic literature with the Testa-
ments of the Twelve Patriarchs (second century BCE). Seven
is the prevailing number in the mystical tradition related to
the merkavah, the chariot carrying God’s throne in the fa-
mous vision of Ezekiel. Under the name ma’aseh merkavah
(“work of the chariot”), this form of speculation goes back
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, SECOND EDITION

to the Pharisees of the Second Temple. From the second or
third to the sixth century CE, merkavah mysticism is mainly
expressed through hekhalotic literature (from hekhal, “heav-
enly palace”), represented by various groups of testimonies
of different dates. Jewish magic, as recorded in, for example,
the Sefer ha-razim (sixth or seventh century CE), was also
concerned with the vision of seven heavens, which was fun-
damental to merkavah mysticism and hekhalotic literature.
The related writings contain the revelation of seven “heaven-
ly palaces,” which the adept was supposed to attain after
strenuous preparation. In Jewish mysticism, the seven heav-
ens are never associated with the seven planets. Some scholars
have argued that both the Second Temple apocalypses and
hekhalot literature are fictitious or clearly literary events,
while others have underlined patterns kindred to shamanism.
The same basic ecstatic experience is reflected in Chris-
tian accounts of celestial elevation, including Paul’s and the
enigmatic and indirect autobiographical account in 2 Corin-
thians (12:2 ff.). This reference to visions and revelations of
the Lord may suggest either that Paul’s opponents, against
whom the epistle is directed, boasted of such experiences, or
that they decried his apostolic title because it was based on
a “vision.” It is interesting to note that the Hellenic writer
Lucian (second century CE) caricatured Christianity by de-
scribing “the Galilean. . .who went by air into the third
heaven” (Philopatris 12).
A long section of the early Christian apocryphal text As-
censio Isaiae (dating back to the second century CE, probably
to Syrian ambit, and preserved in different fragmentary ver-
sions of varying length and chronology) contains an apoca-
lyptic account. In this text, the prophet Isaiah, helped by an
angel, rises to the seventh heaven, where he can contemplate
the preexistent Christ together with the Holy Spirit, and the
coming of Christ in the world. Ascensio Isaiae puts into evi-
dence not only eschatological themes, but also attempts at
enucleating a complex Christology, sometimes pervaded
with Gnostic or dualistic features. The link between ascen-
sion and the manifestation of God’s glory (kavod) was inher-
ited by many other apocryphal Christian texts, including, for
example, the Gnosticizing Gospel of Thomas.
Any inquiry concerning heavenly journeys in ancient
Christianity cannot omit consideration of the ascension of
Christ, considered dogma from the earliest times and the ear-
liest credo formulas. Its account is recorded by Luke both in
the Gospel and in the proemial section of the Acts; only the
Markan appendix contains something parallel (16:19). This
double reference—which can be considered a climax to the
latter part of the Gospel of Luke, from chapter 9 (the transfig-
uration)—makes it clear that one has to reckon with this as-
cension account as the crucial marker that distinguishes the
period of the church from that of Jesus. The term ascension
has a different meaning in this case, since it does not simply
refer to a motion upward through the “heavens” but also in-
volves the notion that the ascended Christ joins his heavenly
Father in “glory,” and the disciples behold Jesus in this state.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, SECOND EDITION
ASCENSION 523
Nevertheless, all scholars have emphasized how Christ’s as-
cension sums up the tradition of biblical heavenly ascensions,
explaining his role as both redeemer and mediator between
God and humans.
The early tradition that Luke makes use of is otherwise
expressed in terms of Jesus’ “exaltation” (e.g., in the pre-
Pauline formulation echoed in Philippians 2:9). However
this belief is partly an attempt to define more clearly the rela-
tion between the living Jesus who died on the cross and the
risen Lord who appeared to the apostles by explaining, for
example, where the “life” of Jesus had been during the three
days following his death. While Paul shows no awareness of
the problem, the question was bound to arise eventually, and
the answer depended on the view taken about the relation
between soul and body. According to the Pauline view, the
resurrection was the passage from earth to heaven, or it was
identical to the ascension, but the views of Luke and John,
which the early church adopted, held that the resurrection
was a temporary restoration of Jesus’ intercourse with the
disciples on earth, which ended with the ascension.
ISLAM. The most famous example of an ascension in Islamic
culture is the Mi Erāj, or ascent of the prophet Muh: ammad,
developed and expanded from an enigmatic hint in the
QurDān (17:1). This account is preserved in various Arabic
texts from the eighth and ninth centuries CE, as well as in
medieval Latin versions. Accompanied by the archangel Ga-
briel, the Prophet is transported to Jerusalem and then to
heaven either on Burāq (a sort of winged horse with a pea-
cock’s tail) or in a tree growing with vertiginous speed up to
the sky.
Other accounts of heavenly journeys are recorded in Ar-
abic literature (in turn influenced by Persia), some of them
equally characterized by the common denominator of Gnos-
tic trends and by a mythic and symbolic geography (what
Henry Corbin called the mundus imaginalis). A precursor of
the grail legend is recognizable in the account of the visionary
Kay Khosraw in Firdawsı̄’s Book of the Kings from the late
tenth century. In addition, the Si Murg describes the journey
of thirty birds toward their king, the Phoenix (Simurgh),
through seven dreadful valleys. At the end they realize that
the Phoenix is nothing more than themselves, with a word-
play on the title, expressing at the same time one of the prin-
cipal Gnostic tenets—that divinity dwells in the inner self.
Furthermore, the allegorical works by the Gnostic philoso-
pher Suhrawardı̄ Maqtūl (d. 1191), written in a style similar
to Avicenna’s tales, feature the leitmotiv of the soul’s re-
demption from its corporeal bonds and the laud to its true
homeland, na-kaja-abad (place without space).
Also important is the Seir al- DIbad ilà El-Ma Dad (Journey
of the servants of God toward the reign of the goals), a poem
written in the twelfth century by SanāD ı̄. The purpose of the
journey that is described in this poem is to reach the “Su-
preme Goal” through a progressive divinization, which is de-
scribed in the introductory section, with the exhortation to
forsake the “bony body.” The spiritual guide is represented
524 ASCENSION
by the Intellect ( EAql), disguised as an old man. The traveler
ascends through the four elements first, a place ruled by the
passions and death, then it reaches a hell in which the sover-
eign is represented as a whale. Finally, after passing through
eternal Time’s crystal gate, the traveler rises to the planets,
symbolizing the vices (an inheritance from the Mazdean tra-
dition), as far as the ninth sphere. The ninth sphere repre-
sents the World Soul, in conformity with the strong emana-
tionism pervading the poem. Although the narrator is
inclined to stop his ascent at this point, the Intellect per-
suades him to continue. The final section is the most gnostic-
ly marked, since there is an overlap or identification between
the storyteller and his Intellect, in order to accomplish divin-
ization.
MEDIEVAL CHRISTIANITY AND DANTE. Late Hellenistic
Christian apocalypses continued to play an important role
during the Middle Ages. The Latin Vision of Esdra, transmit-
ted in a tenth-century manuscript, was extremely influential.
From the twelfth century, which was particularly productive
of revelations, three works are most important: the Vision of
Alberic (1127), written by a monk of Montecassino, possibly
influenced by the MiErāj legends, transmitted by Constantine
the African (1020–1087), a translator from Arabic who spent
the last years of his life in that monastery; the Vision of Tun-
dal (1149); and the Purgatory of Saint Patrick (1189), which
is similar to ancient Irish models and to the Latin legend of
Saint Brendan’s life (ninth century).
The most important account of a heavenly ascension in
Western culture is considered to be Dante Alighieri’s epic
poem The Divine Comedy, written in the early 1300s. The
Divine Comedy is not only a literary masterpiece, it is also a
summation of medieval philosophical and religious ideas, in
which different sources seem to flow together. For example,
the Christian apocalyptic tradition involving Paul’s experi-
ence (2 Cor. 12:2–4) is explicitly asserted in the Inferno (2:28
ff.) and Paradiso (1:74 ff.). Classical reminiscences also ap-
pear, including Aeneas’s catabasis, which derives from the
sixth book of Vergil’s Aeneid. The poet uses these two models
to insert himself into a line of exemplary people who are wor-
thy of seeing the celestial realms, even if he always remarks
that providential action operated by divine grace in offering
to a human the possibility of ascending to supernatural
spheres. Moreover, after Miguel Asín Palacios’s seminal sug-
gestions (partly questioned), scholars have begun looking for
traces of Islamic descriptions from the MiErāj in the Com-
media. This hypothesis is highly probable, since translated
versions of the so-called Liber scalae circulated in Europe
during the thirteenth century, and one of them had been ar-
ranged by a Tuscan dignitary, Bonaventura da Siena, as Enri-
co Cerulli has demonstrated. If Dante employed such hetero-
geneous sources, this may be considered the clearest—and
the most important—example of an osmotic interaction
(sometimes not free from polemic) between Arabic and Eu-
ropean culture in the Middle Ages, an interaction that lasted
until the sixteenth century. Dante may also have been in-
spired by the Arabic philosophical apocalypses described
above, even though these were radically different in their
purpose: Whereas the latter were deeply influenced by Gnos-
tic ideas and praised the role of intellect, Dante’s guide in
his pilgrimage is Beatrice, who symbolizes Christian love
after the defeat of human reason (represented by Vergil). It
should be noted that Gnostic interpretations of Beatrice have
been put forward, but these are not convincing.
Such a majestic text has been the object of manifold in-
terpretations due to its difficulty and its elaborate literary
frame. In the final part (cantica) of The Divine Comedy, the
narrator, after having passed through hell and purgatory with
Beatrice, rises to the heavenly spheres, where he is granted
a vision of the Virgin Mary and God. In his description of
the universe Dante follows Ptolemaic astronomical concep-
tions in which the earth is stationary and central, with the
seven planets revolving around it at various speeds. Beyond
these are the spheres of the fixed stars and the material heav-
ens, the last of which is called the Crystalline, or the Primum
Mobile, because the other heavens derive their slower mo-
tions from its infinite speed. In Dante’s universe, the grace
of God increases as one moves into the higher and higher
heavens. Nine angelic orders rule and control the heavenly
spheres, which influence human life and character. The vari-
ous souls are described according to the corresponding pre-
dominant character of their earthly lives. When the Blesseds
crowd, they vary their voices and sounds into a sweet and ex-
ultant harmony.
Dante and Beatrice reach the heaven of the Moon first,
they then travel to the heaven of Mercury, and then the third
heaven (ruled by Venus), where lovers dwell. A whirling light
glows in the heaven of the Sun, whose inhabitants are philos-
ophers and theologians, such as Thomas Aquinas and Bona-
venture, as well as Siger de Brabant. The heaven of Mars is
trimmed with a white gleaming cross, while in the heaven
of Jupiter the spirits (rulers and sovereigns) form a gigantic
eagle, symbolizing imperial power. In the next heaven, that
of Saturn, Dante is faced with a great golden ladder upon
whose steps manifold splendid lights (the contemplative spir-
its) ascend and descend. From here Dante can look back to-
ward the earth, which appears to him in all its paltriness. As
soon as he arrives in the heaven of the fixed stars, Dante is
presented with a procession of the triumph of Christ, while
at the same time he is examined by the saints in order to rise
toward the ninth heaven and finally to the Empyrean, which
exists outside of time and space, pervaded by eternal intellec-
tual light and holy love, and where angels and saints live,
their blessedness consisting of an eternal vision of God. The
thrones of the saints and the biblical figures (Eve, Rachel,
Sarah, Rebecca, Judith, Adam, Moses, Saint Peter, Saint
John, Saint Francis, Saint Augustine, Saint Lucy, as well as
Beatrice) sit there in ranked order, with the Virgin sitting at
their radiant peak. In the end, Saint Bernard begins a prayer
to the Virgin so that the poet can preserve the blessedness
he saw. She deigns to look down at him and the light of God
shines down on Dante, granting him the beatific vision and
the ultimate salvation.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, SECOND EDITION

SEE ALSO Afterlife, overview article; Apotheosis; Flight;
Gnosticism; MiErāj; Shamanism, overview article.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The classic study devoted to the ascension of the soul is Wilhelm
Bousset, “Die Himmelsreise der Seele” in Archiv für Religion-
swissenschaft 4 (1901): 136–169; the same view is shared by
Karl Hönn, Studien zur Geschichte der Himmelfahrt im klas-
sischen Altertum (Mannheim, Germany, 1910). Among the
scholarly production influenced by this critical trend, it is
worth mentioning Eduard Norden’s impressive commentary
on the sixth book of the Aeneid (P. Vergilius Maro, Aeneis
Buch VI, Leipzig and Berlin, 1903; 3d ed., 1934), which, es-
pecially in the introductory section, deals with apocalyptic
and eschatological literature from Empedocles to the Middle
Ages. Important methodological remarks on the subject are
provided by Carsten Colpe, “Die ‘Himmelsreise der Seele’
ausserhalb und innerhalb der Gnosis” in Le Origini dello
Gnosticismo, edited by Ugo Bianchi (Leiden, 1967),
pp. 429–445; see also Colpe’s “Die ‘Himmelsreise der Seele’
als philosophie- und religionsgeschichtliche Problem” in
Festschrift für Joseph Klein, edited by Erich Fries (Göttingen,
1967), pp. 85–104.
Two books by Ioan Petru Culianu, Psychanodia: A Survey of the
Evidence concerning the Ascension of the Soul and Its Relevance,
vol. 1 (Leiden, 1983), and Expériences de l’extase: Extase, as-
cension, et récit visionnaire de l’hellénisme au Moyen Age (Paris,
1984), offer detailed commentary on Judaic, Christian, and
Islamic literature from ancient Greece through the Middle
Ages, as well as a scholarly history marked by a strong criti-
cism of the Religionsgeschichtliche Schule view. Fascinating,
but not strictly scientific, is Elémire Zolla, Lo stupore infantile
(Milan, 1994), pp. 77–91 and 111–120. See also Ioan Petru
Culianu, Out of this World. Otherwordly Journeys from Gil-
gamesh to Albert Einstein (Boston and London, 1991, 2001).
Among the manifold contributions on apocalyptic literature and
its distinctive patterns and purposes, see David Hellholm,
ed., Apocalypticism in the Mediterranean World and the Near-
East: Proceedings of the International Colloquium on Apocalyp-
ticism, Uppsala, Aug. 12–17, 1979, 2d ed. (Tübingen, 1989),
and Claire Kappler, ed., Apocalypses et voyages dans l’au-delà
(Paris, 1987). See also the synthesis by John J. Collins, The
Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to the Jewish Matrix
of Christianity (New York, 1984).
The best single book on shamanism and related ecstatic phenome-
na in different religious contexts remains Mircea Eliade’s
Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, translated by Wil-
lard R. Trask (New York, 1964); on yoga techniques viewed
in a broad historico-religious scope see Eliade’s Yoga: Immor-
tality and Freedom, 2d ed., translated by Willard R. Trask
(Princeton, 1969). On related themes see Alexander Golitz-
in, “‘Earthly Angels and Heavenly Men’: Nicetas Stethatos,
the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, and the Tradition of
‘Interiorized Apocalyptic’ in Eastern Christian Ascetical and
Mystical Literature” in Dumbarton Oak Papers 55 (2001):
125–153.
On ecstasis induced by hallucinogens in ancient Iran see David S.
Flattery and Martin Schwartz, Haoma and Harmaline: The
Botanical Identity of the Indo-Iranian Sacred Hallucinogen
“Soma” and Its Legacy in Religion, Language, and Middle East-
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, SECOND EDITION
ASCENSION 525
ern Folklore (Berkeley, 1989). For Iranian apocalypticism,
Philippe Gignoux has translated and written a commentary
on the Ardā Wirāz Nāmag in Le livre d’Ardā Vı̄rāz (Paris,
1984), as has Fereydun Vahman in Ardā Wirāz Nāmag: The
Iranian “Divina Commedia” (London, 1986). On Kirdı̄r’s
inscriptions, see Philippe Gignoux, Les quatre inscriptions du
Mage Kirdı̄r, Texte et Concordances (Paris, 1991), as well as
Gignoux’s many contributions on Iranian eschatology and
shamanistic features. On the same theme there is also an im-
portant paper by Gherardo Gnoli, “Asšavan: Contributo allo
studio del Libro di Arda Viraz” in Iranica (Naples, 1979),
pp. 387–452. Antonio Panaino’s “Uranographia Iranica I:
The Three Heavens in the Zoroastrian Tradition and the
Mesopotamian Background” in Au carrefour des religions:
Mélanges offerts à Philippe Gignoux, edited by Rika Gyselen
(Bures sur Yvette, France, 1995), pp. 205–225, deals with
the threefold division of universe and planetary order.
On the Greek iatromanteis and their relationships to shamanism
see Karl Meuli, “Scythica,” in Hermes 70 (1935): 121–176;
as well as chapter 5 of Eric R. Dodds, The Greeks and the Ir-
rational (Berkeley, 1951). On Shamanic features in Greek
oracular practice, see Pierre Bonnechere, Trophonios de Lé-
badée: cultes et mythes d’une cité béotienne au miroir de la men-
talité antique (Leiden, 2003).
The magnificient book by Franz Cumont, Lux Perpetua (Paris,
1949), deals with eschatology and the otherworld in the Hel-
lenistic age. Plutarch’s eschatology is investigated by Freder-
ick Brenk, In Mist Apparelled: Religious Themes in Plutarch’s
Moralia and Lives (Leiden, 1977). On the mysteries of
Mithra and their relationship to the ascent of the soul, see
Robert Turcan, Mithras platonicus: Recherches sur
l’hellénisation philosophique de Mithra (Leiden, 1975), and
Bernd Witte, Das Ophitendiagramm nach Origens’ Contra
Celsum 6: 22–38 (Altenberge, Germany, 1993). On Macro-
bius and the passage of the soul through the spheres, a good
survey is Jacques Flamant’s Macrobe et le néo-platonisme latin,
à la fin du quatrième siècle (Leiden, 1977). The survival of
this doctrine during the Renaissance is investigated by Dan-
iel P. Walker, Spiritual and Demonic Magic: From Ficino to
Campanella (London, 1958), and Ioan Petru Culianu,
“Magia spirituale e magia demonica nel Rinascimento” in
Rivista di storia e letteratura religiosa 17 (1981): 360–408.
The classic book on magic literature is Albrecht Dieterich, Eine
Mithrasliturgie, 3d ed. (Leipzig, 1923), which must be sup-
plemented by Hans-Dieter Betz, Gottesbegegnung und Men-
schwerdung: Zur religionsgeschichtlichen und theologischen
Bedeutung der Mithrasliturgie (PGM IV, 475–820) (Berlin
and New York, 2001). See also Betz’s English translation and
commentary, The Mithras Liturgy (Tübingen, 2003).
Good surveys of the Jewish mysticism of the merkavah are Ger-
shom Scholem, Jewish Gnosticism, Merkavah Mysticism, and
Talmudic Tradition (New York, 1960; 2d ed., 1965), and
Ithamar Gruenwald, Apocalyptic and Merkavah Mysticism
(Leiden, 1980). See also Peter Schäfer, The Hidden and Man-
ifest God: Some Major Themes in Early Jewish Mysticism,
translated by Aubrey Pomerance (Albany, N.Y., 1992); Mar-
tha Himmelfarb, Ascent to Heaven in Jewish and Christian
Apocalypses (Oxford, 1993); and James R. Davila, “Shamanic
Initiatory Death and Resurrection in the Hekhalot Litera-
ture” in Paul Mirecki and Marvin Meyer, eds., Magic and
526 ASCETICISM
Ritual in the Ancient World (Leiden, 2002), pp. 283–302, to-
gether with his monograph Descenders to the Chariot: The
People behind the Hekhalot Literature (Leiden 2001). See also
James H. Charlesworth, ed., Old Testament Pseudepigrapha
(Garden City, N.Y., 1983).
Contributions on how Christianity developed the ascension
theme are offered by Alan F. Segal, “Heavenly Ascent in Hel-
lenistic Judaism, Early Christianity and Their Environment”
in Aufstieg und Niedergand der Römischen Welt II, 23, 2 (Ber-
lin and New York, 1980), pp. 1333–1394; and James D.
Tabor, Things Unutterable: Paul’s Ascent to Paradise in its
Graeco-Roman, Judaic, and Early Christian Context (New
York, 1986). Further bibliographical references can be found
in Joseph A. Fitzmeyer, The Gospel According to Luke (An-
chor Bible 28–28A; New York, 1981); and Karin Wilcke,
Christi Himmelfahrt. Ihre Darstellung in der Europäische Li-
teratur von der Spätantike bis zum ausgehenden Mittelalter
(Heidelberg, 1991). A critical edition and commentary of the
Ascensio Isaiae is provided by Paolo Bettiolo, Alda Kossova,
Claudio Leonardi, Enrico Norelli, and Lorenzo Perrone
(Turnhout, Belgium, 1995; CCSA 7–8). See also Enrico No-
relli, L’Ascensione di Isaia: Studi su un apocrifo al crocevia dei
cristianesimi (Bologna, 1994), and April De Conick, Seek to
See Him: Ascent and Vision Mysticism in the Gospel of Thomas
(Leiden, 1996).
The relationships between Persian and Arabic religious literature
are investigated by Henry Corbin, Corps spirituel et terre cél-
este: De l’Iran mazdéen à l’Iran shi’ite, 2d ed. (Paris, 1979);
on the same subject see also Alessandro Bausani, Persia re-
ligiosa: Da Zaratustra a Bahā Du Dllāh, 2d ed. (Cosenza, Italy,
1999), available in English as Religion in Iran: From Zoroaster
to Baha’ullah, translated by J. M. Marchesi (New York,
2000). On the MiDrāj see Geo Widengren, Muhammad: The
Apostle of God and His Ascension (Uppsala, Sweden, 1955).
A good survey of the most important medieval visions and apoca-
lypses is given in Sir John D. Seymour, Irish Visions of the
Other-World (London, 1930), and Jacques Le Goff, La nais-
sance du Purgatoire (Paris, 1981), available in English as The
Birth of Purgatory, translated by Arthur Goldhammer (Lon-
don, 1984). On Dante’s Commedia see Charles S. Singleton,
Journey to Beatrice (Dante Studies 2; Cambridge, Mass.,
1958). A detailed commentary is offered by Anna Maria
Chiavacci Leonardi in a new edition of the Commedia
(Milan, 1997). In English see Charles Singleton’s commen-
tary in the Princeton translation (1970–1975). Dante’s
knowledge of Islamic sources is discussed in Miguel Asín
Palacios, La escatologia musulmana en la Divina comedia,
seguida de la historia y crítica de una polémica, 2d ed. (Madrid,
1943)—the first edition of this work was translated by Har-
old Sunderland as Islam and the Divine Comedy (London,
1926). Asín Palacios’s views were reconsidered and corrected
by Enrico Cerulli, Il “Libro della Scala” e la questione delle
fonti arabo-spagnole della Divina Commedia (Vatican City,
1949), and Nuove ricerche sul “Libro della Scala” e la conoscen-
za dell’Islam in Occidente (Vatican City, 1972).
CHIARA OMBRETTA TOMMASI (2005)
ASCETICISM. The word asceticism is derived from the
Greek noun askēsis, meaning “exercise, practice, training.”
The Greek athlete, for example, subjected himself to system-
atic exercise or training in order to attain a goal of physical
fitness. In time, however, the word began to assume philo-
sophical, spiritual, and ethical implications: one could “exer-
cise” and “train” not only the body in the pursuit of a physi-
cal goal but also—systematically and rigorously—the will,
the mind, and the soul so as to attain a more virtuous life
or a higher spiritual state.
Although the modern word asceticism has eluded any
universally accepted definition, the term, when used in a reli-
gious context, may be defined as a voluntary, sustained, and
at least partially systematic program of self-discipline and
self-denial in which immediate, sensual, or profane gratifica-
tions are renounced in order to attain a higher spiritual state
or a more thorough absorption in the sacred. Because reli-
gious man (homo religiosus) seeks a transcendent state, asceti-
cism—in either rudimentary or developed form—is virtually
universal in world religion.
ORIGINS OF ASCETICISM. The origins of asceticism are found
in primitive or archaic society, that is, in prehistory. Many
of the major ascetic forms such as fasting, sexual continence,
and seclusion appear universally among present-day primi-
tives or nonliterate peoples. The purpose of such prohibi-
tions or taboos is very frequently to escape or avoid the influ-
ence of demonic powers. There is, for example, a prevalent
belief in primitive societies that evil forces may enter the
body while one is eating. To avoid this, one fasts for certain
periods or abstains from certain foods altogether. The objec-
tive of primitive prohibitions may also be purification. In
preparation for ritual activities of a particularly sacred nature,
such as initiation, marriage, or sacrifice, participants rid
themselves of impurity by engaging in often austere acts of
self-denial. Such purity is particularly necessary if one is to
approach the gods. To a lesser degree, one may also use aus-
terities as a form of penance to atone for transgressions, thus
averting the wrath of a deity. Certain practices, particularly
fasting and seclusion, are also employed to induce visions or
vivid dreams. Among American Indians, for example, such
techniques are used during puberty initiations to evoke a rev-
elation in dream or a vision of the youth’s guardian spirit.
Although the origins of asceticism may be found in
primitive society, it is often argued that asceticism per se ex-
ists there only in rudimentary form or not at all. One’s posi-
tion on this issue depends almost entirely upon how one de-
fines asceticism, thus making the issue less soluble but also
less critical. It should be observed, however, that such ascetic
forms as fasting, seclusion, infliction of pain, and even bodily
mutilation have a far more compulsory, less voluntary char-
acter in preliterate than in literate societies. The ordeals asso-
ciated with puberty rites, for example, are more or less im-
posed. Further, the austerities to which the primitive submits
rarely demonstrate a systematic and sustained program of as-
cetic behavior, when compared with comprehensive systems
such as yoga or monastic life. Also, a preponderant number
of primitive austerities, acts of self-denial, and taboos have
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, SECOND EDITION

as their sole intent the avoidance of evil, so it is questionable
whether they should even be labeled asceticism. But since in
almost all societies asceticism is elitist, being meant for the
few, a developed asceticism in primitive society should be
sought among such sacral specialists as the shaman. Although
the shaman is often “compelled” by higher powers to assume
his role, the rigors of shamanic life are hardly imposed from
without in the usual sense. Seclusion, fasting, sexual conti-
nence, and endless vigils are part of a sustained self-discipline
calculated to generate visions, bring communion with spirits,
and penetrate sacred realms.
FORMS AND OBJECTIVES OF ASCETICISM. Viewed cross-
culturally, the variety of ascetic forms is limited. Virtually
universal are (1) fasting, (2) sexual continence, (3) poverty,
under which may be included begging, (4) seclusion or isola-
tion, and (5) self-inflicted pain, either physical (through such
means as whipping, burning, or lacerating) or mental (e.g.,
contemplation of a judgment day, of existence in hell, or of
the horrors associated with transmigration). More difficult
to define, but perhaps also more significant, is what may be
termed an “inner asceticism,” consisting essentially of spiri-
tual rather than physical discipline. Such asceticism involves
not detachment from or renunciation of any specific worldly
pleasure but rather detachment from or renunciation of the
world per se. It is reflected in the biblical attitude of being
“in the world, but not of it,” or in the Bhagavadgı̄tā’s “renun-
ciation in action, rather than renunciation of action.” It ap-
pears in almost every major religion yet has no equivalent in
primitive thought. In addition to the universal forms indicat-
ed, specific note must also be made of that set of practices
or techniques (e.g., specific postures, chanting, breathing
techniques) that make up the yogic and meditative complex
indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. Yoga, although an
asceticism of the body, is an inner asceticism as well.
Asceticism in classical and modern religion is generally
rooted in a developed and well-articulated philosophical or
theological system. Such a system provides the rationale or
justification for ascetic activity. It is helpful to consider the
objectives of asceticism from the perspective of these systems,
whether theistic or nontheistic.
Virtually all theistic traditions develop a mystical move-
ment wherein the individual, through an ascetic program,
seeks a personal union with the deity. This desire for personal
experience of the deity may be seen as a reaction against doc-
trinal abstraction or ethical formalism. Even theistic tradi-
tions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, in which the
gap between creator and creature is perceived to be unbridge-
able, have produced ascetics in pursuit of such mystic union:
the eleventh-century Jewish mystic Bah: ye ibn Paquda; Jo-
hannes Eckhart (d. 1327 CE) and Johannes Tauler (d. 1361
CE) in medieval Christianity; and the entire S: ūfı̄ movement
in Islam. Because the mystic seeks to bridge the gap between
man and God, the effort has often been perceived as auda-
cious from the perspective of theistic orthodoxy. Virtually all
mystics in a theistic tradition, therefore, make it clear that
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, SECOND EDITION
ASCETICISM 527
the state of apparent union with the deity is only momentary
and, at best, a foretaste of that salvation yet to come. The
S: ūfı̄, like many mystics in theism, does not claim to be equal
to God, but rather to be extinguished or lost in him.
In nontheistic traditions this thirst for the ultimate
through mystical experience takes on varied forms. It is fre-
quently a quest for the true or essential self, which is per-
ceived to be identical with the ground or foundation of all
creation. The Hindu yogin employs the sophisticated tech-
niques of Yoga to realize that his ātman, or permanent self,
is one with brahman, the unchanging foundation of all. The
Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali (first century CE) describes breathing
and meditative techniques, which, when coupled with sexual
continence, fasting, bodily postures, and other disciplines,
permit the individual to move “inward and downward” until
his true essence is “perceived.” Similarly, the meditative tech-
niques of Zen Buddhism permit the practitioner to realize
the Buddha nature within himself.
Experiential knowledge of the true self in nontheistic
traditions is frequently related to the liberation of the self
from the sorrows and illusions of this phenomenal world. Ac-
cording to the Hindu philosopher Śan: kara (788–820 CE),
the body and personality with which we habitually identify
ourselves are revealed to be no more than māyā, or illusion.
Our suffering and bondage are rooted in ignorance, which
ascetic-meditative effort gradually dispels through the mysti-
cal knowledge that it produces. The Jain monk, through the
most rigorous of ascetic techniques involving total passivity
and detachment from the world, seeks to purify and eventu-
ally liberate his true self (jı̄va) from the material defilements
that most actions produce. Although Theravāda Buddhism
denies the existence of any permanent self, its objective is,
like that of the Indian traditions, liberation from the round
of worldly suffering. An ascetic life of monastic simplicity
and celibacy, an ascetic program of detachment, and a medi-
tative effort to cultivate a selfless state lead the Theravāda
monk to realization of nirvān: a—“extinction” or “liberation.”
Unlike the theistic systems, in which a mystical experi-
ence generated through ascetic activity can never grant salva-
tion, nontheistic systems frequently equate such an experi-
ence or realization with salvation itself. Awareness of one’s
ātman in Hinduism or of one’s purus: a in Sām: khya (i.e., a
philosophical system associated with traditional Yoga) or of
one’s Buddha nature in Zen is enlightenment or salvation.
Unlike the theistic religions, nontheistic systems frequently
affirm that salvation is attainable here on earth. One becomes
“liberated in life” as in Tantrism, or one realizes, as in Zen,
that one was never bound.
In both theistic and nontheistic systems asceticism may
be seen as a meritorious form of behavior, a good work, or
a laudable course of action felt to ensure or facilitate a pre-
ferred condition after death. Self-denial is considered to be
a way of earning posthumous reward. In theistic traditions
such as Catholicism, Śaivism, and Vais: n: avism, such activity
has often been thought to ensure or facilitate salvation in a
528 ASCETICISM
way that mysticism cannot. A monastic life of self-denial, for
example, in which one is secluded from the temptations of
the flesh, could be esteemed as a more perfect life than one
lived in the world. Despite its prevalence, however, this effort
to earn one’s own salvation has frequently appeared prob-
lematic and even pretentious in theistic traditions, given
their emphasis upon salvation as a gift of the deity. In non-
theistic traditions ascetic works are logically more appropri-
ate. Through self-denial, for example, one can burn out bad
karman (the effect of past deeds) and improve one’s future
state in the ongoing round of transmigration. In nontheistic
systems, however, ascetic works divorced from knowledge or
realization can never generate salvation itself, but only some
lesser objecive.
In both theistic and nontheistic systems, acts of self-
denial—particularly self-inflicted pain—may serve as a form
of penance for previous misdeeds. Hindu law books such as
the Mānava Dharmaśāstra (composed between 200 BCE and
100 CE) detail numerous activities of this kind to atone for
transgressions, so that the penitent can avoid torment in ei-
ther the next life or an intermediate hell. In the theistic tradi-
tions of Islam and medieval Christianity, activities such as
self-flagellation were often employed. In nontheistic systems
these practices function mechanistically to overcome the
negative consequences of evil deeds, whereas in theistic tradi-
tions they are performed in order to warrant the forgiveness
of a personal god. Because its objective is merely forgiveness,
in theistic systems asceticism as a form of penance has en-
joyed a less problematic rationale than has asceticism as a way
of achieving salvation itself. This is particularly true when as-
cetic acts are seen as an expression of repentance rather than
as a means of earning it.
Most evident in Catholicism, but confined neither to
it nor to theistic traditions in general, is the use of asceticism,
particularly self-inflicted pain, as a means of experiencing or
reexperiencing the sufferings of either a deity or a human
paradigm (i.e., a model individual). Nontheistic Jainism pro-
duced ascetics whose acts of self-denial took as their model
the activities of Jain saints (tı̄rthaṅkaras) such as Pārśva or
Mahāvı̄ra. The Hindu hero Bhı̄s: ma was so pierced by arrows
during the great battle described in the Bhagavdgı̄tā that,
supported by their shafts, he lay parallel to the ground. This
event forms the model for the well-known bed of nails em-
ployed by some Indian holy men. In Catholic Christianity
the imitation of Christ’s suffering is raised to a level of mysti-
cal significance. Suffering not only as Christ suffered but
with him has become a means of mystical union with the
deity. In this regard, suffering became virtually an end in it-
self, taking on soteriological significance.
Viewed cross-culturally, a given ascetic form may have
different, even opposite objectives. In primitive society, for
example, self-flagellation or scourging is intended primarily
to drive away demonic powers that have attached themselves
to the individual. In Christianity, however, the same activi-
ty—once prevalent in Italy, the Rhineland, and Mexico—
was intended to produce pain, thereby bringing the ascetic
into mystical union with the suffering Christ. Likewise, fast-
ing in Christianity often has sought to produce pain, either
as penance or, again, as a way of identifying with the suffer-
ing deity.
In Yoga, however, the purpose of fasting is quite differ-
ent. The objective is not to cause but to alleviate discomfort.
By fasting, the yogin conditions his body so he can go for
prolonged periods not only without food but, more impor-
tant, without the thought of food. Fasting is therefore a tech-
nique through which the yogin becomes oblivious of his
body and is thus able to direct all his mental energies toward
meditation. Similarly, the many other forms of self-discipline
found in Yoga—the postures and sexual continence, for in-
stance—are to be seen less as privation than as techniques to
redirect energies toward a meditative end.
Yoga itself, however, as an ascetic form, has different ob-
jectives. In most of Upanisadic Hinduism its purpose is to
realize the unity of one’s permanent self, or ātman, with the
unchanging foundation of the universe, or brahman. In
Theravāda Buddhism its goal is to realize that there is no per-
manent self, while in the Sām: khya system it seeks to realize
that the true self is ideally in a state of total isolation from
the phenomenal world of flux.
In virtually every religious tradition, meditation or con-
templation takes place in some degree of seclusion. Anthony
(d. 356 CE) and other Christian saints lived for prolonged
periods alone in the African desert. The early Buddhists lik-
ened themselves to rhinos who wandered alone, far from the
haunts of men, and Daoist recluses sought to commune with
nature beyond the reach of civilization and its distractions.
But again, the goals of such secluded exercises are varied. The
Daoist seeks harmony with nature and therewith serenity
and joy. The Theravāda Buddhist seeks to realize that nature
is transient and thus a source of sorrow. Saint Anthony,
somewhat like a Tibetan Buddhist, went forth to confront
demonic powers in their own ominous haunts.
CROSS-CULTURAL ISSUES. Although universal, asceticism is
far more prevalent in certain traditions than in others. Classi-
cal Jainism, early and Tibetan Buddhism, early Christianity,
and various branches of Hinduism are heavily ascetic, where-
as Confucianism, Shinto, Zoroatrianism, and Israelite reli-
gion are not.
World-rejection. Although it is narrow to suggest that
only traditions that postulate an evident dualism between
soul and body or God and world or matter and spirit pro-
duce ascetic activity, it is nonetheless fair to suggest that du-
alistic philosophies are inclined both to justify and generate
a dramatic and developed asceticism. Jain asceticism, for ex-
ample, is rooted in the dualism between spirit and matter
and the need for purging the former of the latter. Much Hel-
lenistic Christian asceticism, particularly self-inflicted pain,
was rooted in a dualism between spirit and flesh in which
the body was perceived as evil. The ascetic efforts of the
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, SECOND EDITION

Theravāda Buddhist are rooted in the dualism between
sam: sāra, bondage in the round of transmigration, and
nirvān: a, or liberation.
Although dualistic traditions, with the exception of Zo-
roastrianism, lend themselves well to ascetic activity, it would
be wrong to conclude that asceticism necessarily involves a
denigration of this world, the material realm, or the body.
Although some ascetic traditions are otherworldly, many
others are not. The Tantric tradition of Hinduism and its
Buddhist equivalent, the Vajrayāna, are clearly ascetic, em-
ploying various yogic and meditative techniques. Yet the
worldly realm, including the body and its passions, is not
denigrated by them. The body, in fact, is seen as a means to-
ward salvation, a servant of the spirit requiring nurture, even
praise. Similarly, those in a Zen or Daoist monastery exhibit
many ascetic traits, yet are far more inclined to rejoice in and
affirm this world than to reject it.
The most complete repudiation of world-rejection may
be found in what the German sociologist Max Weber (1864–
1920) termed “inner-worldly asceticism,” which abandons
specific ascetic activities as well as monastic life to attain sal-
vation in the midst of worldly activity. Although it exists to
a limited degree in various religions, the most thoroughgoing
expression of inner-worldly asceticism appears in the re-
formed traditions of Protestantism. A disciplined, methodi-
cal, controlled—in short, ascetic—pursuit of one’s vocation
in the world came to be seen as both service to God and con-
firmation of one’s salvation.
Asceticism and normal behavior. Although the ascetic
need not renounce the world per se, he desires the sacred and
therefore rarely accepts life as it is given. Seeking to transcend
the normal or the natural, he rejects the given in favor of the
possible. For this reason the ascetic frequently does the oppo-
site of what human nature or social custom may dictate. In
Yoga this practice is explicitly referred to as “going against
the current.” The yogin does not sit as natural man sits,
breathe as natural man breathes, eat as natural man eats. As-
cetic behavior not only deviates from the norm, it very fre-
quently seeks an extreme. Viewed cross-culturally, however,
these extremes may be diametrically opposed. The ascetic,
for example, may shave his head completely, as do most Bud-
dhist monks; or he may never cut his hair at all, as is the case
with many Hindu holy men. The ascetic may wear very dis-
tinctive clothing, as does the Roman Catholic priest, or he
may wear no clothing at all, as do the “sky-clad” (Digam-
bara) monks of Jainism.
Some ascetics constantly wander, as did Mahavira, the
founder-reformer of Jainism, who to avoid permanent ties
remained no more than one night in any village. Other ascet-
ics, however, restrict their movement dramatically, living, as
did many Christians, in cells so small that they could hardly
move. The ascetic may also differentiate himself either by re-
maining perpetually silent or by chanting and reciting con-
tinually. The ascetic may nurture, cleanse, or purify his body
inordinately, or not only neglect his body but abuse it in
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, SECOND EDITION
ASCETICISM 529
countless ways. The ascetic may overcome the human norm
either by abstaining from sex or by making sex a significant
part of his ascetic routine. In “left-handed” Tantrism, for ex-
ample, sexual intercourse affords a ritual procedure—indeed,
a technique, which, when coupled with meditation, is used
to alter consciousness. The activity is dramatically ascetic, as
no ejaculation is permitted; the semen is withheld or “re-
turned” at the last moment. By so returning his semen, the
Tantric too “goes against the current,” transcending normal
or profane activity.
According to almost every religious tradition, ascetics,
because of their activity, develop magical powers or miracu-
lous abilities. Although often recognized as an obstacle to
higher spiritual goals, such reported powers play an impor-
tant role at the popular level. Muslim fakirs who walk un-
harmed on burning coals, Indian yogins who levitate, Chris-
tian saints who miraculously heal, Tibetan lamas who read
minds, Buddhist monks who remember past lives, Chinese
Daoists who live forever, and primitive shamans who fly—
these are but a few examples.
The psychology of asceticism. Despite the fact that all
religions condemn extreme forms of asceticism, pathological
excesses have appeared in every tradition. Examples are mul-
tiple, from the recluses who avoid all human contact to the
individuals who receive ecstatic pleasure from the most aber-
rant forms of self-inflicted pain. But despite these aberra-
tions, it would be misguided to seek the heart of asceticism
or its primary psychological impetus in neuroses or psy-
choses. Yogic meditation, Christian monasticism, and Zen
technique exemplify the major advances made by asceticism,
both Eastern and Western, in self-understanding and the ef-
fort to lift repression and make the unconscious conscious.
The psychological heart of asceticism seems to lie in a reac-
tion against the purely theoretical, the doctrinal, or the
abstract. Above all, the ascetic wishes to know through
experience.
SEE ALSO Fasting; Meditation; Monasticism, article on
Christian Monasticism; Mortification; Mystical Union in
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; Ordeal; Samnyasa; Spiritu-
al Discipline; Tapas.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Few works provide a detailed overview of the subject. “Asceti-
cism,” an extensive entry in volume 2 of the Encyclopedia of
Religion and Ethics, edited by James Hastings (Edinburgh,
1909), contains thirteen articles. Although still useful, this
survey is dated, particularly in its methodological approach.
A more readable overview, although also dated and written
from a clearly Christian perspective, is Oscar Hardman’s The
Ideals of Asceticism: An Essay in the Comparative Study of Reli-
gion (New York, 1924).
Many works deal with asceticism in specific religious traditions.
Outstanding is Mircea Eliade’s Yoga: Immortality and Free-
dom, 2d ed. (Princeton, 1969), which discusses a wide range
of ascetic practices in India and Tibet. A classic collection of
information and observation, readable if not always credible,
530 ASCLEPIUS
is John Campbell Oman’s The Mystics, Ascetics, and Saints of
India: A Study of Sadhvism (London, 1903). Sukumar Dutt’s
Buddhist Monks and Monasteries of India: Their History and
Their Contribution to Indian Culture (London, 1962) is ex-
cellent, though only one of several related works by the au-
thor. D. T. Suzuki’s The Training of a Zen Buddhist Monk
(Kyoto, 1934) is a classic by Zen’s most famous representa-
tive in the West. For the Christian tradition, Walter Nigg’s
Vom Geheimnis der Mönche (Zurich, 1953), translated by
Mary Ilford as Warriors of God (New York, 1959), is a very
readable, often insightful account of the ascetic saints, partic-
ularly those who founded religious orders. Owen Chadwick,
in Western Asceticism (London, 1958), has selected and ed-
ited a collection of very useful primary source materials also
representative of the Roman Catholic tradition. The various
essays by Max Weber on the social psychology of asceticism,
translated and edited by Hans H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills
in From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology (Oxford, 1958), are
pioneering and perceptive. J. Moussaieff Masson’s “The Psy-
chology of the Ascetic,” Journal of Asian Studies 35 (August
1976): 611–625, is a one-sided but interesting article that
sees the ascetic as essentially psychotic.
New Sources
Bianchi, Ugo. “Askese. 1. Religionsgeschichtlich.” In Lexikon für
Theologie und Kirche, vol. 1. Freiburg, Germany, 1994,
pp. 1074–1077.
Bianchi, Ugo (ed.). La tradizione dell’enkrateia. Motivazioni on-
tologiche e protologiche. Rome, 1985. A collection of seminal
studies on ascetic doctrines and practices in Early Christiani-
ty and its environment, including an introduction important
from the methodological point of view.
Brown, Peter. The Body and Society. Men, Women, and Sexual Re-
nunciation in Early Christianity. New York, 1988. An im-
mensely learned book ranging over six centuries of Mediter-
ranean history and based on a clear anthropological vision.
Very full bibliography of primary and secondary sources.
Bynum, Caroline Walker. Holy Feast and Holy Fast. The Religious
Significance of Food to Medieval Women. Berkeley and Los
Angeles, 1987. Innovative.
Cantalamessa, Raniero, ed. Etica sessuale e matrimonio nel crist-
ianesimo delle origini. Milano, 1976.
Clark, Elisabeth A. Ascetic Piety and Women’s Faith. Essays on Late
Ancient Christianity. New York and Toronto, 1986. A collec-
tion of ground-breaking essays by a prominent scholar of
Christian asceticism.
Fischer, Klaus. Erotik und Askese. Cologne, Germany, 1979. Erot-
ic scenarios in Indian religious art as forms of asceticism.
Rousselle, Aline. Porneia. De la maîtrise du corps à la privation sen-
sorielle. Paris, 1983. A pioneering research.
Verardi, Giovanni. “The Buddhists, the Gnostics and the Anti-
nomistic Society, or the Arabian Sea in the First-Second
Century AD.” Annali Istituto Orientale Napoli 57 (1997):
323–346. A very stimulating comparison between Gnostic
and Buddhist ascetic models.
Vööbus, Arthur. A History of Asceticism in the Syrian Orient. Lou-
vain, 1958. The basic reference work.
WALTER O. KAELBER (1987)
Revised Bibliography
ASCLEPIUS SEE ASKLEPIOS
ASHEARĪ, AL- (AH 260–324/874–935 CE), more fully
Abū al- H: asan EAlı̄ ibn IsmāE ı̄l ibn Abı̄ Bishr Ish: āq; Muslim
theologian and founder of the tradition of Muslim theology
known as AshEarı̄yah. He is commonly referred to by his fol-
lowers as the Master, Abū al-H: asan, and he is sometimes re-
ferred to by his opponents as Ibn Abı̄ Bishr.
LIFE AND WORKS. Very little is known concerning
al-AshEarı̄’s life. He was for some time an adherent of the
MuEtazilı̄ school and a disciple of al-JubbāD ı̄ (d. 915), but at
some point, probably prior to 909, he rejected the teachings
of the MuEtazilah in favor of the more conservative dogma
of the traditionalists (ahl al-h: adı̄th). He renounced the
MuEtazilah publicly during the Friday prayer service in the
congregational mosque of Basra and thereafter wrote exten-
sively against the doctrines of his erstwhile fellows and in de-
fense of his new position, for which he had become quite well
known by 912/3. Sometime later he moved to Baghdad,
where he remained until the end of his life.
Some hundred works are attributed to al-AshEarı̄ in the
medieval sources (see McCarthy, 1953, pp. 211–230), of
which no more than the following six seem to have survived:
(1) Maqālāt al-Islāmı̄yı̄n (Theological Opinions of the
Muslims) is a lengthy work setting forth the diverse
opinions of Muslim religious thinkers; its two separate
(and largely repetitious) parts likely represent two origi-
nally distinct works, the first of which may have been
substantially complete prior to al-AshEarı̄’s conversion.
(2) His Risālah ilā ahl al-thaghr bi-Bāb al-Abwāb (Epistle
to the People of the Frontier at Bāb al-Abwāb [Dar-
band]) is a brief compendium of his teachings, com-
posed shortly after his conversion.
(3) Al-luma E (The Concise Remarks) is a short, general
compendium or summa that was evidently the most
popular, if not the most important, of al-AshEarı̄’s theo-
logical writings; commentaries were written on the
Luma E by al-Bāqillānı̄ (d. 1013) and Ibn Fūrak
(d. 1015) and a refutation of it, Naqd al-Luma E (Cri-
tique of the Concise Remarks), by the MuEtazili qād: i
(“judge”) Abd al-Jabbār al-Hamadānı̄ (d. 1024). The
evidence of direct citations of the Luma E made by
al-AshEarı̄’s followers seems to indicate that there were
originally two recensions of the work, of which the one
available at present is the shorter.
(4) Al-ı̄mān (Belief) is a short work on the nature of belief.
(5) Al-ibānah Ean us: ūl al-diyānah (The Clear Statement on
the Fundamental Elements of the Faith) is a polemical
and apologetic exposition of basic dogma, ostensibly
written against the MuEtazilah and the followers of Jahm
ibn S: afwān (d. 745), but its formally traditionalist style
suggests that this work was composed as a kind of apolo-
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, SECOND EDITION