Reading the 1934 German version of Hans Jonas, I came to Prof. Dalgaard on Melchizedek as a Demiurge-Corrector of Man (our Creator). The Five Archons each give smthg of their being, hence five veils here.
Precious fluids!
I know the Pistis Sophia is a compilation from multiple sources and should be dated to c.250 AD; I presume the underlying material is much older. Melchizedek myths are certainly older than Jesus; by c.250 AD, Jewish myths had already transferred the 'Melchizedek' functions to Michael, Yahoel and Metatron. Inconsistencies and self-contradictory descriptions about Melchizedek in varied incongruous ways betray the compilation of older material from different sources and decades/centuries. The Christos addition had likewise begun replacing Logos-Melchizedek (which Philo referenced, c.35 AD) around the time Epistle to the Hebrews was written (c.55 AD). An important role for Melchizedek suggests a date closer to 50-100 AD for that element, but the PS author was assembling many different things hundreds of years later. The Melchizedek mythos, basically divorced from Judaism, survived another 3-4 generations in areas that had had strong Melchizedekian traditions. Faithful Christians shouldnt have worried about the Archons! And the Hermetic references here are brazen: PS is an Egyptian hodge-podge, cobbled together of library materials, with a very thin veneer of Jesus Christianity.
If the Egyptian 'Gospel to the Hebrews' dates 125-150 AD, note that Archangel Michael has already replaced Melchizedek*.
* I have argued elsewhere that the 'Melchizedek' mythos is essentially 'Egyptian Jewish' and of the living culture, 150 BC - 100 AD. The mythos began declining c.50 AD and rapidly disappearing after 75 AD. However, the existence of old papyri floating around insured the literary 'meme' of Melchizedek would pop up repeatedly in later times, fodder for commercial Not Jewish book writers. Contra the heresiologists' paranoia, exploitation of the trope never resurrected the cult of Melchizedekians.
Was the 'Secret Gospel of Mark' (assumed) composed c.125 or as late as 170 AD, w/ Melchizedek purged already?