Atomus or Atomos was a Cypriot magician who appears in the Antiquities of the Jews by Josephus, working for Felix at Caesarea.[1][2]

Atomus was Jewish and is described as having been employed by Felix to convince Herod Agrippa II's sister Drusilla to divorce Azizus of Emesa and marry him instead.[3]

The text reads "Simon" in some Latin manuscripts and Hans Waitz (1904) suggested that the magi may have been identifiable as Simon Magus.[4] This is not generally accepted as Atomus was a Jew and Simon Magus was a Samaritan.[5]

References

  1. ^ Josephus; Louis H. Feldman (1996). Josephus: Jewish Antiquities, Book XX General Index X. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-99502-4. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  2. ^ Stephen Charles Haar (2003). Simon Magus: The First Gnostic?. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 62–. ISBN 978-3-11-017689-6. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  3. ^ Arthur E. Palumbo, Jr. (1 May 2004). The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Personages of Earliest Christianity. Algora Publishing. pp. 252–. ISBN 978-0-87586-296-5. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  4. ^ Waitz, Hans., “Simon Magus in der altchristlichen Literatur”, Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde des Urchristentums 5, pp. 121–143, 1904.
  5. ^ Arthur E. Palumbo - The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Personages of Earliest ... 2004 -0875862969 p.252 "H. Waitz suggested that this Atomus or Simon may have been Simon Magus as far back as 1904"
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