Aeon: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Browse history interactively
VisualWikitext
imported>Augmented Seventh
 
imported>Laagone
rv spam
 
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Ancient Greek concept}}
{{Short description|Ancient Greek concept}}
{{About|the general concept of time|the geological representation of time|Geologic time scale|the Japanese retail holding company|Aeon (company)|other uses}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=August 2016}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=August 2016}}
{{Other uses}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2009}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2009}}
The word '''aeon''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|iː|ɒ|n}}, also spelled '''eon''' (in [[American English|American]] and [[Australian English]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=aeon |url=https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/features/word/search/aeon/ |access-date=2022-01-28 |website=Macquarie Dictionary}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=eon |url=https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/features/word/search/eon/ |access-date=2022-01-28 |website=Macquarie Dictionary}}</ref>), originally meant "life", "vital force" or "being", "generation" or "a period of time", though it tended to be translated as "age" in the sense of  "ages", "forever", "timeless" or "for [[eternity]]". It is a [[Latin]] transliteration from the [[ancient Greek]] word {{lang|grc|ὁ αἰών}} (''{{Lang|grc-latn|ho aion}}''), from the archaic {{lang|grc|αἰϝών}} (''{{Lang|grc-latn|aiwōn}}'') meaning "century". In Greek, it literally refers to the timespan of one hundred years. A [[cognate]] Latin word ''{{lang|la|aevum}}'' (cf. {{lang|grc|αἰϝών}}) for "age" is present in words such as ''eternal'', ''longevity'' and ''mediaeval''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Math words page 16 |url=http://www.pballew.net/arithm16.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618055137/http://pballew.net/arithm16.html |archive-date=2010-06-18 |access-date=2006-09-15 |website=pballew.net}}</ref>
 
The word '''''aeon''''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|iː|ɒ|n}}, also spelled '''''eon''''' (in [[American English|American]] and [[Australian English]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=aeon |url=https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/features/word/search/aeon/ |access-date=2022-01-28 |website=Macquarie Dictionary |archive-date=2022-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128111541/https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/features/word/search/aeon/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=eon |url=https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/features/word/search/eon/ |access-date=2022-01-28 |website=Macquarie Dictionary |archive-date=2023-03-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319031158/https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/features/word/search/eon/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>), originally meant "life", "vital force" or "being", "generation" or "a period of time", though it tended to be translated as "age" in the sense of  "ages", "forever", "timeless" or "for [[eternity]]". It is a [[Latin]] transliteration from the [[ancient Greek]] word {{lang|grc|ὁ αἰών}} (''{{Lang|grc-latn|ho aion}}''), from the archaic {{lang|grc|αἰϝών}} (''{{Lang|grc-latn|aiwōn}}'') meaning "century". In Greek, it literally refers to the timespan of one hundred years. A [[cognate]] Latin word ''{{lang|la|aevum}}'' (cf. {{lang|grc|αἰϝών}}) for "age" is present in words such as ''eternal'', ''longevity'' and ''mediaeval''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Math words page 16 |url=http://www.pballew.net/arithm16.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618055137/http://pballew.net/arithm16.html |archive-date=2010-06-18 |access-date=2006-09-15 |website=pballew.net}}</ref>


Although the term aeon may be used in reference to a period of a billion years (especially in [[geology]], [[cosmology]] and [[astronomy]]), its more common usage is for any long, indefinite period.  Aeon can also refer to the four aeons on the [[geologic time scale]] that make up the Earth's history, the [[Hadean]], [[Archean]], [[Proterozoic]], and the current aeon, [[Phanerozoic]].
Although the term aeon may be used in reference to a period of a billion years (especially in [[geology]], [[cosmology]] and [[astronomy]]), its more common usage is for any long, indefinite period.  Aeon can also refer to the four aeons on the [[geologic time scale]] that make up the Earth's history, the [[Hadean]], [[Archean]], [[Proterozoic]], and the current aeon, [[Phanerozoic]].
Line 14: Line 15:
==Philosophy and mysticism==
==Philosophy and mysticism==
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2021}}
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2021}}
In [[Buddhism]], [[aeon]] may be used as a translation of the term [[Kalpa (time)|kalpa]] or ''{{Lang|sa-latn|mahakalpa}}'' (Sanskrit: {{Lang|sa-deva|महाकल्प|italic=no}}). A mahakalpa is often said to be 1,334,240,000 years, the life cycle of the world. Yet, these numbers are symbolic, not literal.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mahakalpa |url=https://glorian.org/learn/glossary/m/mahakalpa |access-date=2022-06-17 |website=Glorian |language=en-gb}}</ref>  
In [[Buddhism]], and [[Hinduism]], aeon may be used as a translation of the term [[Kalpa (time)|kalpa]] or ''{{Lang|sa-latn|mahakalpa}}'' (Sanskrit: {{Lang|sa-deva|महाकल्प|italic=no}}). A mahakalpa is often said to be 1,334,240,000 years, the life cycle of the world. Yet, these numbers are symbolic, not literal.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mahakalpa |url=https://glorian.org/learn/glossary/m/mahakalpa |access-date=2022-06-17 |website=Glorian |language=en-gb}}</ref>


[[Christianity]]'s idea of "[[Eternal life (Christianity)|eternal life]]" comes from the word for life, ''{{Lang|grc-latn|zōḗ}}'' ({{Lang|grc|ζωή|italic=no}}), and a form of ''{{Lang|grc-latn|aión}}'' ({{Lang|grc|αἰών|italic=no}}){{cn|date=June 2022}}, which could mean life in the next aeon, the [[Kingdom of God]], or [[Heaven]], just as much as immortality, as in John 3:16.{{lopsided|date=June 2022}}
[[Christianity]]'s idea of "[[Eternal life (Christianity)|eternal life]]" comes from the word for life, ''{{Lang|grc-latn|zōḗ}}'' ({{Lang|grc|ζωή|italic=no}}), and a form of ''{{Lang|grc-latn|aión}}'' ({{Lang|grc|αἰών|italic=no}}),<ref>{{citation |last=Strong |first=James |title=The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible |date=1890 |url=https://archive.org/stream/exhaustiveconcor1890stro#page/n11/mode/2up |location=Cincinnati |publisher=Jennings & Graham |author-link=James Strong (theologian)}}, 166.</ref> which has been translated to mean immortality in the majority text, but is argued by some<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bell |first=Rob |title=Love wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived |date=2011 |publisher=HarperOne |isbn=978-0-06-204964-3 |edition=1st |location=New York, NY}}</ref><ref>Hanson, J. W. (1878). Aiōn-aiōnios: The Greek Word Translated Everlasting, Eternal in the Holy Bible, Shown to Denote Limited Duration. United States: Hanson.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hart |first=David Bentley |title=The New Testament: a translation |date=2023 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-26570-5 |edition=2nd |location=New Haven |pages=537–544}}</ref> to mean life in the next aeon, the [[Kingdom of God]], or [[Heaven]], instead.


According to Christian [[universal reconciliation|universalism]], the [[Novum Testamentum Graece|Greek New Testament]] scriptures use the word ''{{Lang|grc-latn|aión}}'' ({{Lang|grc|αἰών|italic=no}}) to mean a long period and the word ''{{lang|grc-Latn|aiṓnion}}'' ({{lang|grc|αἰώνιον}}) to mean "during a long period"; thus, there was a time before the aeons, and the aeonian period is finite. After each person's mortal life ends, they are judged worthy of aeonian life or aeonian punishment. That is, after the period of the aeons, all punishment will cease and death is overcome and then God becomes the all in each one (1Cor 15:28). This contrasts with the conventional Christian belief in eternal life and eternal punishment.
According to some proponents of Christian [[universal reconciliation|universalism]], the [[Novum Testamentum Graece|Greek New Testament]] scriptures use the word ''{{Lang|grc-latn|aión}}'' ({{Lang|grc|αἰών|italic=no}}) to mean a long period (or age-long) and the word ''{{lang|grc-Latn|aiṓnion}}'' ({{lang|grc|αἰώνιον}}) to mean "during a long period" (or similarly, age-during); thus, there was a time before the aeons, and the aeonian period is finite. After each person's mortal life ends, they are judged worthy of aeonian life or aeonian punishment. That is, after the period of the aeons, all punishment will cease and death is overcome and then God becomes the all in each one (1 Cor 15:28). Another universalist reading, prevalent among neoplatonists due to its similarity to views expressed in Plato's ''Timaeus'',<ref>{{cite SEP|url-id=plato-timaeus|title=Plato's ''Timaeus''|last=Zeyl|first=Donald|page=37c-e}}</ref> is that the "aeon" does not refer to a time, finite or infinite, but instead a Greek parallel of a Judaic view of distinct natures of time, between the χρόνος (chronos) of the present "age", or עולם הזה ('olam ha-zeh) and the αιώνιος (aionios) of the "age to come", or הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא ('olam ha-ba). Therefore, "aeonian life" and "aeonian punishment" would mean "life of the Age to Come" and "punishment of the Age to Come"<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hart |first=David Bentley |title=That all shall be saved: heaven, hell, and universal salvation |date=2019 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-24622-3 |location=New Haven [Connecticut] ; London [England] |pages=121–129}}</ref>, and thus not necessarily "eternal life" and "eternal punishment".


[[Occult]]ists of the [[Thelema]] and [[Ordo Templi Orientis]] (English: "Order of the Temple of the East") traditions sometimes speak of a "[[Aeon (Thelema)|magical Aeon]]" that may last for perhaps as little as 2,000 years.<ref>{{Cite book |last=DuQuette |first=Lon Milo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-07yFC31j6wC&pg=PA15 |title=The magick of Aleister Crowley : a handbook of the rituals of Thelema |date=2003 |publisher=Weiser Books |isbn=1-57863-299-4 |location=Boston, MA |pages=15 |oclc=52621460}}</ref>
[[Occult]]ists of the [[Thelema]] and [[Ordo Templi Orientis]] (English: "Order of the Temple of the East") traditions sometimes speak of a "[[Aeon (Thelema)|magical Aeon]]" that may last for perhaps as little as 2,000 years.<ref>{{Cite book |last=DuQuette |first=Lon Milo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-07yFC31j6wC&pg=PA15 |title=The magick of Aleister Crowley : a handbook of the rituals of Thelema |date=2003 |publisher=Weiser Books |isbn=1-57863-299-4 |location=Boston, MA |pages=15 |oclc=52621460}}</ref>
Line 32: Line 33:
{{Wiktionary|eon}}
{{Wiktionary|eon}}
* [[Aion (deity)]]
* [[Aion (deity)]]
* {{anl|Century}}
* {{annotated link|Century}}
* [[Kalpa (aeon)]]
* [[Kalpa (aeon)]]
* {{anl|Millennium}}
* {{annotated link|Millennium}}
* [[Saeculum]] – comparable Latin concept
* [[Saeculum]] – comparable Latin concept
* [[Aeon (company)]]  
* [[Aeon (company)]]  
* {{slink|Young's Literal Translation#Eternity or age}}
* [[Aeon (greek rapper)]]
* {{section link|Young's Literal Translation#Eternity or age}}


==References==
==References==

Latest revision as of 02:02, 25 May 2026

For other uses, see Aeon (disambiguation).

TemplateStyles' src attribute must not be empty.

The word aeon /ˈiːɒn/, also spelled eon (in American and Australian English[1][2]), originally meant "life", "vital force" or "being", "generation" or "a period of time", though it tended to be translated as "age" in the sense of "ages", "forever", "timeless" or "for eternity". It is a Latin transliteration from the ancient Greek word ὁ αἰών (ho aion), from the archaic αἰϝών (aiwōn) meaning "century". In Greek, it literally refers to the timespan of one hundred years. A cognate Latin word aevum (cf. αἰϝών) for "age" is present in words such as eternal, longevity and mediaeval.[3]

Although the term aeon may be used in reference to a period of a billion years (especially in geology, cosmology and astronomy), its more common usage is for any long, indefinite period. Aeon can also refer to the four aeons on the geologic time scale that make up the Earth's history, the Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic, and the current aeon, Phanerozoic.

Astronomy and cosmology

In astronomy, an aeon is defined as a billion years (109 years, abbreviated AE).[4]

Roger Penrose uses the word aeon to describe the period between successive and cyclic Big Bangs within the context of conformal cyclic cosmology.[5]

Philosophy and mysticism

TemplateStyles' src attribute must not be empty.

In Buddhism, and Hinduism, aeon may be used as a translation of the term kalpa or mahakalpa (Sanskrit: महाकल्प). A mahakalpa is often said to be 1,334,240,000 years, the life cycle of the world. Yet, these numbers are symbolic, not literal.[6]

Christianity's idea of "eternal life" comes from the word for life, zōḗ (ζωή), and a form of aión (αἰών),[7] which has been translated to mean immortality in the majority text, but is argued by some[8][9][10] to mean life in the next aeon, the Kingdom of God, or Heaven, instead.

According to some proponents of Christian universalism, the Greek New Testament scriptures use the word aión (αἰών) to mean a long period (or age-long) and the word aiṓnion (αἰώνιον) to mean "during a long period" (or similarly, age-during); thus, there was a time before the aeons, and the aeonian period is finite. After each person's mortal life ends, they are judged worthy of aeonian life or aeonian punishment. That is, after the period of the aeons, all punishment will cease and death is overcome and then God becomes the all in each one (1 Cor 15:28). Another universalist reading, prevalent among neoplatonists due to its similarity to views expressed in Plato's Timaeus,[11] is that the "aeon" does not refer to a time, finite or infinite, but instead a Greek parallel of a Judaic view of distinct natures of time, between the χρόνος (chronos) of the present "age", or עולם הזה ('olam ha-zeh) and the αιώνιος (aionios) of the "age to come", or הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא ('olam ha-ba). Therefore, "aeonian life" and "aeonian punishment" would mean "life of the Age to Come" and "punishment of the Age to Come"[12], and thus not necessarily "eternal life" and "eternal punishment".

Occultists of the Thelema and Ordo Templi Orientis (English: "Order of the Temple of the East") traditions sometimes speak of a "magical Aeon" that may last for perhaps as little as 2,000 years.[13]

Gnosticism

Main article: Aeon (Gnosticism)

In many Gnostic systems, the various emanations of God, who is also known by such names as the One, the Monad, Aion teleos ("The Broadest Aeon", Greek: αἰών τέλεος), Bythos ("depth or profundity", Greek: βυθός), Proarkhe ("before the beginning", Greek: προαρχή), Arkhe ("the beginning", Greek: ἀρχή), Sophia ("wisdom"), and Christos ("the Anointed One"), are called Aeons. In the different systems these emanations are differently named, classified, and described, but the emanation theory itself is common to all forms of Gnosticism.

In the Basilidian Gnosis they are called sonships (υἱότητες huiotetes; singular: υἱότης huiotes); according to Marcus, they are numbers and sounds; in Valentinianism they form male/female pairs called "syzygies" (Greek συζυγίαι, from σύζυγοι syzygoi).

See also

References

  1. ↑ "aeon". Macquarie Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2022-01-28. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
  2. ↑ "eon". Macquarie Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2023-03-19. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
  3. ↑ "Math words page 16". pballew.net. Archived from the original on 2010-06-18. Retrieved 2006-09-15.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ↑ Martin Harweit (1991). Astrophysical Concepts (2nd ed.). Springer-Verlag. ISBN 3-540-96683-8. p. 4.
  5. ↑ Gurzadyan VG; Penrose R (2010-11-16). "Concentric circles in WMAP data may provide evidence of violent pre-Big-Bang activity". arXiv:1011.3706 [astro-ph.CO].
  6. ↑ "Mahakalpa". Glorian. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  7. ↑ Strong, James (1890), The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Cincinnati: Jennings & Graham, 166.
  8. ↑ Bell, Rob (2011). Love wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived (1st ed.). New York, NY: HarperOne. ISBN 978-0-06-204964-3.
  9. ↑ Hanson, J. W. (1878). Aiōn-aiōnios: The Greek Word Translated Everlasting, Eternal in the Holy Bible, Shown to Denote Limited Duration. United States: Hanson.
  10. ↑ Hart, David Bentley (2023). The New Testament: a translation (2nd ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 537–544. ISBN 978-0-300-26570-5.
  11. ↑ Zeyl, Donald. "Plato's Timaeus". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. p. 37c-e.
  12. ↑ Hart, David Bentley (2019). That all shall be saved: heaven, hell, and universal salvation. New Haven [Connecticut] ; London [England]: Yale University Press. pp. 121–129. ISBN 978-0-300-24622-3.
  13. ↑ DuQuette, Lon Milo (2003). The magick of Aleister Crowley : a handbook of the rituals of Thelema. Boston, MA: Weiser Books. p. 15. ISBN 1-57863-299-4. OCLC 52621460.
Retrieved from "https://wiki.tachyony.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Aeon&oldid=23625"