Part III: Who was Who (Pagans, Gnostics, Literalist Christians, Jews, Others)?

1- Pagans

- Adonis, the main Syrian God.
- Aeschylus was born in 525/524 BC and died in 456/455 BC, the first of classical Athens' great tragic dramatists.
- Aesculapius (or Asclepius), in Greek Asklepios, was the "blameless physician", the son of Apollo and Coronis. He learned the healing art from Chiron and was killed by Zeus for restoring Hippolytus to life. His daughter Hygieia personified health.
- Agrippa, was an ancient Greek philosophical skeptic of the 2d century AD; he described the five tropes, or grounds for the suspension of judgment
- Agrippa von Nettesheim, Henry Cornelius, expert on occultism, and philosopher, 1486-1535
- Ahriman, evil spirit of the Zoroastrianists.
- Ahura Mazda, Supreme God of the Zoroastrianists.
- Alexander of Lycopolis was a Platonist philosopher of the end of the 3d century AD and the beginning of the 4th. It is not certain if he was a Christian even if some traces say that he was the Bishop of Lycopolis.
- Alexander III the Great of Macedonia (356-323 BC), the son of Philip II and Olympias of Epirus. He became king in 336 BC.
- Aleyin, the Son of God in Canaanite mythology, is killed by his brother Mot. Aleyin resurrects and kills Mot.
- Amesha Spenta means the "beneficent immortal" or "Immortal Bounteous One". In Zoroastrianism it is any of the six divine beings created by Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord, to govern creation.
- Ammonius Saccas (or Saccus) or Ammon was a 3d century AD Pagan Neoplatonist (although brought up as a Christian) philosopher of Alexandria, the teacher of Origen and Plotinus.
- Anahiti, also called Anahita, is an ancient Iranian goddess of royalty, war, and, mainly, fertility.
- Anat, also spelled Anath, was a Canaanite fertility goddess and a Semitic goddess of love and war, the sister and helpmate of the god Baal.
- Anaxagoras, 503/428 BC, Greek philosopher from Asia Minor(Alexandria). Teacher of Origen and Plotinus
- Angra Mainyu, according to the Avesta, is the "enemy Spirit". In the Gathas, Zoroaster contrasts him with "Spenta Mainyu", the "Holy Spirit".
- Antiphon, a Pagan philosopher.
- Aphrodite, the main Syrian Goddess
- Apollo (Phoebus) was a Greek deity with many functions and meanings.
- Apollonius of Tyana, 1t century AD, Pythagorean philosopher.
- Apuleius Lucius, 125/190 AD, from Madaura, Roman Colony, North Africa. He was a Pagan Platonic philosopher, rhetorician, and author of the "Golden Ass", an allegorical tale of his initiation into the Mysteries.
- Aratus, old Pagan sage of Tarsus, quoted by Paul.
- Ariadne was the wife of Dionysus.
- Aristeas of Prokonnesos was a wonder-worker of around the 7th century BC. He was said to have the gift of constant ecstasy and bilocation.
- Aristo (or Ariston) of Chios lived in the 3rd century BC; he was a Greek philosopher, a student of Zeno, the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy.
- Aristotle, born in 384 BC, died in 322, was a Greek philosopher and scientist.
- Artemis, the name of the goddess of the wild, the hunt, fertility and childbearing.
- Asclepius (Asklepios in Greek), Greco-Roman god of medicine, son of Apollo and the nymph Coronis.
- Athena or Athens was protecting the city, the goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason; the Romans identified her with Minerva.
- Attis, mythical husband of the Great Mother of the Gods (Cybele); he was worshipped in Phrygia, Asia Minor, and in the Roman Empire, where he was made a solar deity in the 2nd century AD.
- Baal, the main God in the area around Judea, the equivalent of Osiris in Egypt, Dionysus in Greece, Attis in Asia Minor, Marduk in Mesopotamia, Mithras in Persia and Adonis in Syria.
- Celsus, 2d century AD, a critic of emerging Christianity.
- Ceres, in Roman religion, was the goddess of the growth of food plants (corn-goddess), worshiped either alone or in association with the earth goddess Tellus.
- Cybele, a Phrygian Mother goddess whose high priest was given the name of Attis, she was attended by a band of fanatical devotees called galli.
- Damascius was a 5th century AD Greek Neoplatonist philosopher and the last Platonic scholars at the Greek Academy at Athens.
-Darius I The Great (about 558-486 BC) was king of Persia (521-486 BC).
- Demeter, the daughter of Cronus and Rhea, sister and consort of Zeus, and goddess of agriculture. Her name may mean either "grain mother" or "mother earth.
- Demetrius of Phateron, philosopher, about 350/280 BC.
- Diagoras, 5th century BC, satirical condemnation of superstitious religions.
- Diodorus Cronus, philosopher of the Megarian School. Born in the 4th century BC.
- Diodorus Siculus, Greek historian of the first century BC. Wrote the Bibliotheca historica, a complete history of Greece up to his time.
- Diogenes, around 320 BC, founder of the Cynic school of philosophy.
- Dionysus or Bacchus, the god of fruitfulness and vegetation, was also known as a god of wine and ecstasy; his cult represented a reversion to pre-Hellenic Minoan nature religion.
- Diotina, priestess who taught Socrates (?).
- Empedocles, 490/430 BC, philosopher, disciple of Pythagoras.
- Epictetus, 55/135 AD, exponent of the Stoics philosophy.
- Epicurus (341-270 BC) was a Greek philosopher who founded his own school.
- Eratosthenes of Cyrene, 276/194 BC, keeper of the Alexandrian Library, wrote on mathematics, geography, philosophy and astronomy.
- Eros, in Greek mythology, was the god of love.
- Eshmun was a God of Sidon (Phoenicia), assimilated by the Greek with Asklepios and also a fertility god who became important in Carthage.
- Eumolpus, one of the founders of the Greek Eleusinian Mysteries.
- Eunapius, Neoplatonist writer of the 4th century AD.
- Euripides, 484/406 BC, Greek tragedian.
- Eurydice, in an ancient Greek legend was the wife of Orpheus.
- Eusebius of Myndus lived in the 4th century AD. He was a Neoplatonist philosopher, a pupil of Aedesius of Pergamum.
- Hadrian (76-138 AD), a Roman Emperor (117-138) who did not persecute the Christians. In 132 he began to rebuild Jerusalem as a Greek city, but Simonbar Kosiba started a revolt that ended by the Roman victory.
- Hammurabi flourished in the 18th century BC. He became king of Babylonia, and the greatest ruler in the first Babylonian dynasty. Hammurabi is best known for his codification of the laws governing Babylonian life.
- Heliodorus of Emesa, 3d century AD, writer and teacher of the Mysteries.
- Heracles (the Roman Hercules) is a Greco-Roman legendary hero. Traditionally Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmene.
- Heraclides, a Greek philosopher and writer of the 4th century AD.
- Heraclitus, about 540 BC, died about 480, mystic philosopher of Phesus, Asia Minor, wrote about the Word of God (Logos).
- Hercules, the Roman name for the Greek hero Heracles, is a hero in Greek mythology noted for his strength and courage and for his legendary exploits.
- Hermes or Hermes Trismegistus, was a Greek god, son of Zeus and Maia often identified with the Roman Mercury, patron deity of the hermetic literature.
- Herodotus, 484/430 BC, Greek historian including work on the Mysteries of Dionysus and Eleusis.
- Hesiod, Greek poet and writer who flourished around 700 BC.
- Hiram, King of Tyre, was the son and successor of Abibaal. He reigned during the 10th century BC and was on friendly terms with King David and Solomon.
- Homer, Greek writer/poet, 9th or 8th century BC.
- Horus (also Hor or Har) was a god in the form of a falcon whose eyes were the sun and the moon.
- Hypatia, Pagan scientist and Neoplatonist philosopher, Alexandria 370/415 AD.
- Iamblichus, Pagan initiate and writer. He was born around Ad 250 in Chalcis, died around 330; he was a philosopher of Neoplatonism.
- Indra was the main Vedic god of India. He conquered innumerable human and demon enemies, vanquished the sun, and killed the dragon Vrtra, who had prevented the monsoon from breaking.
- Ishtar was the main Mesopotanian Goddess.
- Isis, important goddess of ancient Egypt. Her name is associated with a word for "throne." In the Pyramid Texts (c. 2350-c. 2100 BC), she is the mourner for her murdered husband, the god Osiris.
- Julian the Apostate, 332/363, Roman Emperor who tried to revive Paganism after succeeding Constantine. Known as the "apostate".
- Jupiter was the chief ancient Roman and Italian god. Like Zeus, the Greek god with whom he is etymologically identical, Jupiter was a sky god.
- Libanius, known Pagan, lived from 314 to 393 AD. He was a Greek Sophist and rhetorician. Ignored the growing Christian Church.
- Livy of Patavium, together with Sallust and Tacitus he was one of the three great Roman historians.
- Lucian, 117/180 AD, Pagan philosopher born in Syria and educated at Tarsus, teacher in France.
- Lydus John (or Johannes), astrologer in Byzantium, 5th or 6th century AD.
- Macrobius, Latin grammarian and philosopher living around 400 AD.
- Magna Mater was the main Persian Goddess.
- Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161/180 AD, stoic philosopher.
- Marduk was the main Mesopotamian God.
- Maximus of Tyre, Sage, a member of the second sophistic movement of the 2d century AD.
- Metrodorus was a Pagan philosopher.
- Musaeus, mythical founder of the Greek Mysteries, also a mythical singer allied with Orpheus.
- Musonius Rufus lived in the first century AD. He was a stoic moralist and an exile under Emperor Nero. Justin and Origen admired him.
- Nebo (or Nabu) was a major god in the Assyro-Babylonian pantheon.
- Nephthys was Isis' sister in Egyptian mythology and the wife of the evil god Set.
- Nonnus of Panapolis was born about 400 AD in Panopolis, Egypt. He was a great Greek epic poet of the Roman period.
- Olympiodorus, philosopher, follower of Plato.
- Orpheus, ancient Greek legendary hero with musical skills, the son of a Muse (probably Calliope) and Oeagrus, a king of Thrace (or Apollo).
- Osiris, important gods of ancient Egypt, initially a local god of fertility in Lower Egypt. Around 2400 BC Osiris was both a god of fertility and the embodiment of the dead and resurrected king.
- Ovid (43 BC-AD 17?), a Roman poet whose narrative skill and linguistic virtuosity made him very popular. Ovid's frivolous and often licentious verse ran against the program of social and moral renewal promoted by Emperor Augustus.
- Parmenides was born around 515 BC. He was a Greek philosopher of Elea in southern Italy.
- Paul of Samosata, a 3rd century heretical bishop of Antioch and proponent of a kind of dynamic monarchian doctrine on the nature of Jesus Christ. He was excommunicated.
- Pausanias, 2d century AD, Greek writer who described the Mystery rites used in the temples he visited.
- Persephone, in Greek mythology, was the daughter of Zeus, the father of the gods, and of Demeter, goddess of the earth and of agriculture.
- Philostratus, Greek writer of the 2d/3d century AD, biographer of Apollonius.
- Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494), He was an Italian scholar and Platonist philosopher.
- Pilate, Pontius, lived in the 1st century AD. He was the Roman military governor of the imperial province of Judea from 26 to 36. Pilate is known mainly for his connection with the trial and execution of Jesus Christ.
- Pindar, 518/438 BC, Greek poet who was among the first to describe the doctrines of the Mystery schools.
- Plato, 429/348 BC, disciple of Socrates, philosopher influenced by the doctrines of the Mysteries and the mysticism of Pythagoras, founder of the philosophical school known as the Academy in Athens.
- Pliny the Elder was a Roman savant and author, (23/79 AD).
- Pliny the Younger was a Roman author and administrator who left a collection of private letters illustrating public and private life in the Roman Empire.
- Plotinus, 204/270 AD, influential mystic, described as inventor of neoplatonist Philosophy, studied in Alexandria with Ammonius Saccus.
- Plutarch, 46/125 AD, philosopher and biographer, priest of Apollo at Delphi.
- Porphyry, 232/303 AD, Pagan Philosopher, born in Tyre, studied philosophy at Athens, converted to neoplatonist after meeting Plotinus in Rome in 263. Wrote against the Christians.
- Proclus, 412/485 AD, Pagan philosopher born in Constantinople, one of the last heads of the Platonic Academy in Athens before it was closed by Justinian in 529 AD.
- Prometheus was one of the Titans, the supreme trickster, and a god of fire.
- Protagoras, 480/410 BC, first professional philosopher (Sophist) in Athens, indicted for heresy and put on trial but escaped and perished at sea.
- Psyche, in Roman mythology, was the beautiful princess loved by Cupid, the god of love.
- Pyrrhon of Elis, Greek philosopher, 360 to 272 BC. The word Pyrrhonism comes from his name. He is also described as the father of Scepticism.
-Pythagoras, about 580/500 BC, philosopher of the Greek Island of Samos, travelled widely and founded communities of mystics in Southern Italy. He was the hierophant of the Mysteries of Demeter and Dionysus.
- Pythya, oracular priestess at Delphi.
- Sallust, first century BC Roman historian and one of the great Latin literary stylists, noted for his narrative writings dealing with political personalities, corruption, and party rivalry.
- Sallustius, 4th century AD, neoplatonist philosopher who advised the Emperor Julian and his attempt to bring back Paganism.
- Sappho, great mystical and lyric poetess, priestess and prophetess, lived in Lesbos in the 6th century BC.
- Seneca the Younger, about 4BC/65AD, writer, philosopher, statesman and tutor of Nero, the future Roman Emperor.
- Serapis (also Sarapis), in Greek and Egyptian mythology, was a deity associated with Osiris, Hermes, and Hades.
- Set (Seth, Sutekh) was the god of the forces of chaos and of the hostile desert lands in Egyptian mythology.
- Sextus, Sage, writer, 3rd century ancient Greek philosopher and historian who produced the only extant comprehensive account of Greek Scepticism.
- Sibyl, Pagan oracular mythical prophetess.
- Silvanus, in Roman religion the god of the countryside, similar in character to Faunus, the god of animals, with whom he is often identified.
- Socrates, most famous philosopher of antiquity, executed for heresy in 399 BC.
- Sol was the name of two distinct sun gods at Rome. The original Sol, or Sol Indiges, had a shrine on the Quirinal. The second was known as Sol Invictus and had a temple on the Palatine.
- Sopatros, Pagan initiate.
- Suetonius, born in 69 AD, probably in Rome, died after 122. He was a Roman biographer and antiquarian whose writings include De viris illustribus ("Concerning Illustrious Men") and De vita Caesarum (Lives of the Caesars).
- Symmachus, 4th century AD, Pagan Roman Senator.
- Tacitus, born in 56 AD, died around 120. He was a Roman orator, a public official and a historian.
- Tammuz was a Babylonian god whose cult is one of the oldest in the world, and still survives in Kurdistan.
- Thales (circa 625-546 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Miletus, Asia Minor. He was the founder of Greek philosophy.
- Thoth was the Egyptian god of the moon, of reckoning, of learning, of writing, the inventor of writing, the creator of languages, the scribe, interpreter, the adviser of the gods, and the representative of the sun god, Re. The cult of Thoth was centred in the town of Hermopolis in Upper Egypt.
- Virgil, 70/19 BC, Roman poet, Pagan initiate, his work deals with the doctrines of the mysteries, astrology and the birth of the New Age.
- Xenophanes, 535/435 BC, Greek philosopher who ridiculed superstitious religions.
- Zeno of Citium (flourished late 4th and early 3rd century BC) was a Greek philosopher, founder of Stoicism.
- Zeus, chief deity of the Greek pantheon, a sky and weather god, identical with the Roman god Jupiter. Zeus was regarded as the sender of thunder and lightning, rain, and winds, and his traditional weapon was the thunderbolt. He was called the father that is the ruler and protector of both gods and men.
- Zoroaster, about 1400-1000 BC, an Iranian religious reformer and founder of Zoroastrianism, or Parsiism, as it is known in India, and a major personality in the history of the religions of the world.

2- Gnostics

- Alexander was a Gnostic mentioned by Clement of Alexandria.
- Apelles was a disciple of Marcion who studied Gnosticism probably in Alexandria. He was a follower of the Greek philosophers.
- Axionicus was a Valentinian Gnostic of the Oriental school.
- Barbelo, a mythical Christian Gnostic Goddess.
- Bardesanes, about 154/222 AD, author of various books and hymns written in Syriac including the Hymn of the Pearl.
- Basilides of Alexandria, 2d century AD, scholar and teacher, founded the Gnostic sect of the Basilidians.
- Blake William, 1757-1827, English poet, painter, engraver, and visionary mystic.
- Candidus, a follower of Valentinus, Origen went to Greece to argue with him in 229-230.
- Carpocrates, about 117 AD, Alexandrian Platonist, founded a sect of Gnostic Christians who used "The Secret Gospel of Mark" as their initiatory document.
- Cerdo, 2nd century AD Gnostic Christian, who believed that the God of the Old Testament could be distinguished from the God of the New Testament. Influenced Marcion and the marcionite Gnostic sect.
- Cerinthus lived in the 2nd century AD; he was a Christian Gnostic.
- Diodochus of Photice was a 4th century Gnostic of the Christian Eastern Church.
- Dositheus, about 100 AD, Gnostic Sage.
- Elkesai was a Syrian Judeo- Christian Gnostic prophet who appeared about 100 AD.
- Epiphanes, the son of Carpocrates, who died when 17 years old.
- Evagrius of Pontus was a 4th century Gnostic of the Christian Eastern Church.
- Faustus of Melevis was a 4th century Manicheist. He taught in Rome, then in Carthage where he met Augustine who disliked him and his beliefs.
- Heracleon, Gnostic Sage of the second century AD; leader of the Italian school of Gnosticism.
- Magus Simon, or Simon The Magician was active during the 1st century AD as a practitioner of magical arts. After becoming a Christian, offered to purchase the supernatural power of transmitting the Holy Spirit, thus giving rise to the term simony. Later identified as the founder of post-Christian Gnosticism.
- Mani, 216/about 300 AD, born in Babylonia, founded a Gnostic religion that bore his name. He was also a writer.
- Marcellina was a Valentinian teacher.
- Marcion, 2d century AD, Gnostic teacher born in Pontus, Asia Minor, he founded his own Gnostic sect whose name derives from his own name.
- Marcus was a Christian Gnostic sage.
- Marsanes was a Christian Gnostic sage.
- Menander was a first century AD Christian Gnostic from Samaria.
- Mithra, Sun God, a Gnostic religion bore his name, in ancient Indo-Iranian mythology, the god of light.
- Montanus, Pagan priest converted to Gnosticism, founded a heretical Christian Gnostic movement known as Montanism.
- Priscillian who died in 385 was the Bishop of Avila, Spain from about 380 and the founder of a Gnostic sect (Priscillianism).
- Ptolemy, active from AD 127 to AD 145 in Alexandria. He was an astronomer, geographer, and mathematician who considered the Earth the centre of the universe.
- Saturninus of Antioch was a Christian Gnostic, a follower of Simon Magus.
- Shelley Mary, Author, 1797-1851, an English Romantic novelist best known as the author of Frankenstein.
- Silvanus, Constantine, Gnostic sage, he was the probable founder of the Middle Eastern sect of Paulicians.
- Simon de Cyrene, in some Gnostic myths he dies on the cross instead of Jesus.
- Sophia, the Gnostic Goddess of Wisdom (also known as Psyche, Zoe, Achamoth, Barbelo, etc.).
- Tatian, Justin Martyr's protégé, converted from Christianity to Gnosticism. He was also a writer.
- Theodore, Head of Pachomian Monastery at Tabinnisi near Nag Hammadi, 4th century AD. (?)
- Theodore of Mopsuestia (about 350-428) was a Christian theologian, Bishop of Mopsuestia in Cilicia, as the teacher of Nestorius; he was probably one of the founders of Nestorianism and as such a Gnostic.
- Theodotus the Gnostic, Gnostic sage, founded Eastern Gnosticism, a system of religious dualism with a doctrine of salvation by gnosis, or esoteric knowledge.
- Theudas was a Gnostic teacher. He taught Valentinus philosophy at Alexandria as well as the secret knowledge of Christianity.
- Tyconius was a Donatist theologian who met difficulties after 370 because of his writings. He was excommunicated by a Donatist synod at Carthage in 378 as a proponent of Catholic views on church and sacraments. He refused to join the Catholic Church.
- Valentinus, 100/180 AD, Christian Gnostic Teacher and poet.
- Voltaire, 1694/1778, one of the greatest of all French writers.
- Yeats, 1865/1939, he was an Irish poet, dramatist, and prose writer, one of the greatest English-language poets of the 20th century.
- Zostrianos was a Christian Gnostic.

3- Literalist Christians

- Abercius (Avircius Marcellus) was the Bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygya around 190 AD. He opposed Montanism.
- Acacius of Constantinople became its Patriarch in 471. He tried to unite the Eastern Church by a Chalcedonian formula (Heniticon)
- Achaicus, the name of a member of the Church of Corinth.
- Agabus, a Christian prophet of Jerusalem.
- Ambrose, 339/397, Roman lawyer, Bishop of Milan (about 370).
- Amphilochius (circa 542-395), became bishop of Iconium, province of Lycaonia, in 374.
- Anacletus (also called Cletus, or Anencletus) was the second pope (76-88 or 79-91) after St. Peter.
- Andrew was one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus, the brother of Simon Peter and a native of Bethsaida.
- Anicetus, possibly a Syrian, died in Rome; he was pope from about 155 to 166.
- Anthony, 251/356 AD, Egyptian ascetic recluse. Organised he first community of Christian monks.
- Aphraates lived in the 4th century. He was a Syrian ascetic and the earliest-known Christian writer of the Syriac church in Persia.
- Apollinaris Claudius was the bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia from about 170 to 180 AD; a Christian leader, he preached against the Quatordecimans and the Montanists.
- Apollinaris the Younger (310/390 AD) was the bishop of Laodicea who developed the heretical doctrine called Apollinarianism.
- Aristides, lived in the 2nd century, he was an Athenian philosopher and one of the earliest Christian Apologists.
- Aristo of Pella (2d century AD) belonged to the Jewish-Christian Church that moved accross the Jordan before the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD.
- Arnobius, 3d century AD, Hermetist and Neoplatonist converted to Christianity, wrote about the compatibility between Christian and Pagan philosophy.
- Arnaud-Amaury was the commanding papal legate who ordered Simon de Montford's soldiers to kill all the inhabitants of Béziers, France during the crusades against the Cathars.
- Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, 4th century AD.
- Athenagoras of Athenes is described as a literalist Christian philosopher of the second century.
- Augustine, 354/430 AD, Literalist Christian after being a Manichaean Gnostic and a Neoplatonist. He became Bishop of Hippo, Africa, in 395 and he was made a saint.
- Barnabas (Saint), about 100 AD, said to be the author of "The Letters of Barnabas".
- Barsumas (circa 420-490) was a Nestorian Bishop of Nisibis and a follower of Ibas of Edessa.
- Bartholomew was one of the 12 apostles of Christ.
- Basil of Caesarea (329-379) was initially a Gnostic of the Christian Eastern Church. He played a leading role during the latest part of the Arian controversy. First a hermit, he became Bishop of Caesarea in 370.
- Benedict of Nursia (Saint)(480-550 AD) is the founder of the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino and father of Western monasticism.
- Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) was born near Dijon. In 1113 he became a monk in the Cistercian monastery of Cîteaux, and in 1115 he became abbot of a monastery at Clairvaux.
- Caecilian (dead circa 345) was the Bishop of Carthage over whose election the Donatist controversy started.
- Cassian (360 AD-435) was an ascetic monk, theologian, and founder and first abbot of the famous abbey of Saint-Victor at Marseille.
- Celestius (5th century) was one of the first and the most important of the disciples of the British theologian Pelagius.
- Cephas, the Christian Literalists assumes that this means Simon Peter, the Apostles and Saint.
- Christ is found in the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, translating varied forms of the mashìakh, "an anointed one," from which the English "Messiah" is derived.
- Clement of Alexandria, bishop of Alexandria, about 150-215, beatified by the Roman Catholic Church although most of his writings are Gnostic.
- Clement of Rome (Saint), 1t century AD, 4th bishop of Rome.
- Coelestius (5th century) was a disciple of Pelagius. While a lawyer in Rome he joined Pelagius in a life of ascetism and piety.
- Colluthus (4th century AD) was a priest of Alexandria who created a schism when he took on the right and power of ordination although he was only in presbyter's orders.
- Constantine the Great (about AD 274-337) was the first Roman emperor (306-37) to be converted to Christianity.
- Cornelius, a Roman Centurion who was baptised, a step towards admitting Gentiles into Christianity.
- Cyprian, born around AD 200 in Carthage where he died in 258, an early Christian theologian and bishop of Carthage who led the Christians of North Africa during a period of persecution from Rome. Became a saint.
- Cyril of Alexandria, born around 375, died on June 27, 444; he was a Christian theologian and bishop active in the doctrinal struggles of the 5th century. Became a saint.
- Cyril of Jerusalem (315/386), he was the bishop of Jerusalem and doctor of the church who promoted the development of Jerusalem as a pilgrimage centre for all Christians.
- Diodorus of Tarsus (died about 390 AD) was he was the head of an Antiochene monastery and bishop of Tarsus from 378.
- Dionysius Exigus lived in the 6th century AD. He is the inventor of the Christian calendar. Tradition refers to him as an abbot.
- Dionysius the Aeropagite was Paul's co-worker.
- Dominic (St), about 1170-1221 AD
- Dyonisius of Tarsus was the Bishop of Corinth (about 170) and author of seven "Catholic Epistles". They show that he was anti-Marcionite, opposed to excessive ascetism and an advocate of Roman Church Episcopal authority.
- Eckhart Johannes, Meister (circa 1260-1328) was a German mystic and Christian theologian.
- Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist in the New Testament, and the wife of Zacharias, a priest. She was made a saint.
- Epiphanius, 315/403 AD, bishop of Salamis in Greece. With Jerome attacked Origen.
- Eusebius was pope from April 18 to Aug. 17, 309/310. He died in exile in Sicily. He was made a saint.
- Eusebius of Caesarea (Pamphilus) 260/340 AD, historian and biographer of Constantine. Became a Christian bishop although he was initially an Arian heretic.
- Eusebius of Dorylaeum (5th century) was bishop of Dorylaeum and an opponent of the Nestorians. While a layman, he challenged the teaching of Patriarch Nestorius of Constantinople.
- Eusebius of Emesa was born in circa 300 AD; he was a disciple of Eusebius of Caesarea, bishop of Emesa, and a chief doctrinal writer on Semi-Arianism.
- Eusebius of Laodicea was a deacon of Alexandria who became bishop of Laodicea, after risking his life helping Christian martyrs during the persecutions. He was a former pupil of Origen.
- Eusebius of Nicomedia was an important 4th-century Eastern Church bishop and a proponent of Arianism who eventually became the leader of an Arian group called the Eusebians.
- Eusebius of Samosata (Saint) died in circa 379; he was a Christian martyr and famous opponent of Arianism. In 361 he became bishop of the ancient Syrian city of Samosata.
- Eusebius of Vercelli was born in the 4th century; he was a supporter of St. Athanasius the Great of Alexandria and a restorer of the Nicene Creed
- Eustathius was bishop of Sebaste and metropolitan of Roman Armenia. He was noted for his extreme or heterodox theological positions.
- Eustathius of Antioch was also called Eustathius The Great; he opposed the followers of the condemned doctrine of Arius at the Council of Nicaea.
- Faustus of Riez was bishop of Riez, France, and an exponent and defender of Semi-Pelagianism.
- Firmicus Maternus, 4th century AD, a Pagan converted later in life to Christianity, wrote on astrology.
- Firmilian of Caesarea who died about 269 was one of the best-liked bishops (circa 230) of the East.
- Flora was a Roman Christian woman.
- Francis of Assisi (St), 1182/1226, Roman Catholic Bishop, founded the Order of the Franciscans.
- Gaius of Rome (3d century AD) was a presbyter during the time of Bishop Zephyrinus and an opponent to the Montanists.
- Gelasius I *Saint) was pope from 492 to 496, succeeding St. Felix III in March 492. Gelasius combatted the Eastern Acacian Schism of Patriarch Acacius.
- Gelasius of Caesarea became Bishop of Caesarea around 367. Expelled from his see due to his agreement with the Nicene theology during Valens' reign; he was restored when Theodosius became emperor in 379.
- George of Cappodocia was a learned Arian prelate, one of Julian the Apostate's Christian tutors. He was imposed on the see of Alexandria during the third exile of Athanasius the Great.
- George of Laodicea was bishop of Laodicea and a promoter of the homoiousian theological position of the early Christian church.
- George (Saint) lived in the 3rd century. He was an early Christian martyr who during the Middle Ages became an ideal of martial valour and selflessness. He is the patron saint of England.
- Gregory of Nazianzus was a 4th-century Church Father whose defence of the doctrine of the Trinity (God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) made him one of the greatest champions of orthodoxy against Arianism.
- Gregory of Nyssa was a philosophical theologian and mystic, and a leader of the orthodox party in the 4th-century Christian controversies over the doctrine of the Trinity.
- Gregory Thaumaturgus, see Thaumaturgus Gregory.
- Hegesippus (2nd century AD) was a Greek Christian Orthodox historian who opposed the heresy of Gnosticism.
- Helena was the Roman emperor Constantius I Chlorus' wife who divorced her for political reasons. Her son, Constantine I the Great became emperor at York (306); he made her empress dowager. She later became a Christian.
- Helvidius, a Roman churchman of the 4th century AD and a disciple of Auxentius, the Arian Bishop of Milan. He denied the perpetual virginity of Mary believing that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Mary being a virgin but, afterwards, she lived a normal married life with Joseph, giving birth to other sons.
- Heraclas, attended lectures given by Ammonius Saccas the founder of Neoplatonism, became bishop of Alexandria.
- Hermas, second century AD, wrote a mixture of Hermetic, Sibylline and Jewish/Christian Apocalypse. Not included in the New Testament.
- Hilary of Poitiers (315/367) was a champion of orthodoxy against Arianism and the first Latin writer to introduce Greek doctrine to Western Christendom.
- Hippolytus of Rome, about 170/235 AD, Christian writer and heresy-hunter, was considered the most important 3rd-century theologian of the Roman church. Became a saint.
- Hosius of Cordoba was the Spanish bishop of Córdoba and one of the chief defenders of orthodoxy in the West against the Donatists.
- Hyginus was probably born in Greece, he died in Rome about 140 AD; he was pope from about 136 to about 140. Became a saint.
- Ignatius of Antioch, 2d century AD, early Literalist Christian writer. He became the bishop of Antioch; died about 110 AD in Rome. Became a saint.
- Irenaeus, 130/202 AD, Bishop of Lyon in 178, France; Literalist Christian and opponent of Gnosticism. Became a saint.
- Jacob of Nisibis was the Bishop of Nisibis and the teacher of Ephraem Syrus. He participated at the Nicaea Council as an opponent to the Arians.
- James (Saint), the son of Zebedee a Galilean fisherman and the elder brother of John, was one of the twelve Apostles.
- James (Saint) may be he whose mother, Mary, is mentioned among the women at Jesus' crucifixion and tomb. He is not to be confused with the apostle St. James, son of Zebedee, or James, "the Lord's brother."
- Jerome, 342/420 AD, biblical scholar and translator of the Bible in Latin. Attacked Origen's doctrines of reincarnation and the ultimate salvation of all. Became a saint.
- Jesus Christ was born around 6 BC in Judaea, died in AD 30 in Jerusalem. He is considered to be the founder of Christianity,
- John the Evangelist (Saint), one of the first disciples called by Jesus, the author of the fourth Gospel.
- John the Baptist lived between 8 and 4 BC until about AD 27 and, according to all four Gospels, he was the precursor of Jesus Christ.
- John the Presbyter, the presumed but unknown author of II and III John.
- Joseph (Saint), according to the New Testament, was the husband of the Virgin Mary.
- Joseph of Arimathea was a rich Jew of Arimathea, probably a member of the Sanhedrin. After the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, he requested the body from the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate and placed it in his own tomb.
- Judas Barsabbas was a Christian prophet of Jerusalem mentioned in the New Testament and an Elder of the Christian Jerusalem Church.
- Judas Iscariot (died about AD 28) was the apostle who betrayed Jesus Christ to the Sanhedrin.
- Jude was a servant of Jesus Christ, and James' brother as well as the assumed author of a New Testament Book of the same name.
- Julian of Eclanum was the bishop of Eclanum and is considered the most intellectual leader of the Pelagians. He was ordained and circa 417 succeeded his father, Memorius, as bishop. He was an early supporter of Pelagius.
- Julius I (Saint) was pope from 337 to 352 being elected four months after St. Mark's death on Feb. 6, 337. Julius was a defender of orthodoxy against Arianism.
- Julius Africanus (circa 160-240) was a Christian writer. He wrote a world history in five books and an encyclopaedia of 24 books.
- Justin Martyr (St), about 100-165, born in Samaria, converted to Literalist Christianity. Became a saint.
- Lactantius, 240/320 AD, converted from Hermetic philosophy to Literalist Christianity in 300.
- Lazarus is the name of two persons mentioned in the New Testament. Mary and Martha of Bethany had a brother named Lazarus whom Jesus' raised from the dead after four days in the tomb. Lazarus is also the name Jesus gave to the leper of the parable in Luke 16.
- Lucian of Antioch was a Christian theologian and martyr who created a theological tradition at Antioch.
- Lucian of Samosata (circa 115-200), he knew Christianity and thought it to be better than the doctrine of the charlatan Alexander of Abonoteichops.
- Lucifer is a name commonly used for the devil. It was originally a Latin word meaning light bearer.
- Lucius I, died on March 5, 254 AD, was pope from June 253 to March 254, succeeding St. Cornelius. Became a saint.
- Luke (Saint), Saint Paul's companion, the author of the third Gospel.
- Macarius Magnes was active in the 5th century. He was an Eastern Orthodox bishop and polemicist, author of an apology for the Christian faith.
- Macarius of Jerusalem was a defender of orthodoxy against Arianism. Macarius became Bishop of Jerusalem in about 313 AD and he attended the Council of Nicaea.
- Macarius the Egyptian was also called Macarius The Great, a monk and ascetic who advanced the ideal of monasticism in Egypt and influenced its development throughout Christendom.
- Macedonius was a Greek bishop of Constantinople and a leading moderate Arian theologian in the 4th-century Trinitarian controversy. His teaching concerning the Son oscillated between attributing to him an "identity of essence" (Greek: homoousios) and "perfect similarity" with the divinity of the Father, or Godhead.
- Magnus Albertus, 1200-1280, a Dominican bishop and philosopher best known as a proponent of Aristotelianism.
- Mark the Evangelist (Saint), Saint Paul's assistant, the author of the second Gospel.
- Martha was the sister of Lazarus of Bethany; she had also a sister called Mary.
- Mary is the virgin mother of Jesus Christ and as such is venerated by Christians since apostolic times.
- Mary Magdalene was a woman from Magdala, a town near Tiberias. Jesus healed her of evil spirits and he appeared to her after his resurrection.
- Matthew the Evangelist (Saint), the author of the first gospel.
- Matthias the Disciple was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot after Judas betrayed Jesus.
- Melito of Sardis, about 160 AD, bishop and writer.
- Methodius of Olympus who died circa 311 AD was Bishop of Lycia and an opponent of Origen.
- Minucius Felix, writer, described as a Latin Apologist.
- Monoimos was an early Christian sage and master.
- Narses (or Narsai) the Leper (circa 399-502) was a Nestorian theologian. He directed the theological school in Edessa and he founded the main Nestorian school of theology in Nisibis.
- Nemesius of Emesa was a Christian philosopher, apologist, and bishop of Emesa and the author of "Peri physeos anthropou" ("On the Nature of Man"), the first known book of theological anthropology with a Christian orientation.
- Nestorius was the founder of the Nestorian controversy, a major Christian heresy. He studied at Antioch probably under Theodore of Mopsuestia before entering the monastery of Euprepios near Antioch.
- Noetus was a presbyter in Smyrna but he was expelled later on. His doctrine was brought to Rome by his disciples Cleomenes and Epigonus.
- Optatus was the Bishop of Milevis. He wrote "Against the Schism of the Donatists". This book is a source for the history of the Donatists.
- Origen, 185/254 AD, born in Alexandria, studied Pagan philosophy with Plotinus under Ammonius Saccus, was Clement's pupil. Described as a Literalist Christian although his work is mainly Gnostic. Condemned posthumously by the Church as heretic in the 5th century.
- Orosius, born in Braga, Spain, active around 414-417. He was an early Christian orthodox, theologian, and author of the first world history by a Christian.
- Pachomius (Saint), 290/346 AD, Egyptian founder of the first Christian monastery near nag Hammadi where the Gnostic gospels were found in 1946. Described as a Literalist Christian but he was probably Gnostic.
- Palladius was a Galatian monk, bishop, and chronicler whose account of early Egyptian and Middle Eastern Christian monasticism provides a valuable source on the origins of Christian asceticism.
- Pamphilus was a pupil of Pierus of Alexandria, a presbyter at Caesarea in Palestine, and the founder of a church library around a collection of Origen's works.
- Pantaenus was the first known teacher at the catechetical school in Alexandria and the teacher of Clement of Alexandria. After his conversion from Stoicism he became a missionary teacher going as far as India.
- Papias of Hierapolis, about 110 AD, tried to construct the first Christian canon, writer.
- Patrick (Saint) is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland, credited with bringing Christianity to this country, and probably responsible in part for the Christianisation of the Picts and Anglo-Saxons.
- Paul of Constantinople came to Constantinople in about 330 and became Bishop of that town around 335. A friend of Athanasius, he voted against him at a trial in Constantinople but later rescinded.
- Paul of Tarsus (St), Greek-speaking Roman citizen of Tarsus in Asia Minor. Described as a Literalist Christian but also the inspirator of Gnosticism.
- Paul of Thebes, also called Paul The Hermit, was an ascetic who is traditionally regarded as the first Christian hermit.
- Pelagius was born about 354 and he died after 418. He was a monk and theologian who founded a heterodox theological system known as Pelagianism
- Peter (Simon Peter, Saint) was the most prominent of the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ, a leader and missionary in the early church, and traditionally the first bishop of Rome.
- Peter of Alexandria who died as a martyr under Maximinus in 311 was Bishop of Alexandria from 300.
- Philip was born in Bethsaida in Galilee. He was one of the Twelve Apostles.
- Philip the Arabian who died in 249 was Roman Emperor from 244. He was a Christian according to Eusebius.
- Philip the Evangelist was also called Philip The Deacon. In the early Christian church he was one of the seven deacons appointed to tend the Christians of Jerusalem.
- Philostorgius was a Byzantine historian, partisan of Arianism, a Christian heresy asserting the inferiority of Christ to God the Father.
- Pionius was a martyr during the ecian persecution. He is thought to be the author of "Life of Polycarp" that still exists in part.
- Polycarp (Saint), early Christian martyr, said by Irenaeus to have been appointed bishop of Smyrna by Peter.
- Polycrates was Bishop of Ephesus in about 190 and the leader of the Asia Minor Church in its struggle to retain its rites against the Roman Church insistence upon uniform Easter observance.
- Pothinus, Bishop of Lyon, France.
- Praxeas was an Asiatic Christian who came to Rome in 190 and then went to Africa. He opposed Montanism and taught modalistic monarchianism or Patripassianism.
- Proclu who died in 446 was the Patriarch of Constantinople from 434.
- Prosper of Aquitaine (Saint) was an early Christian polemicist known for his defence of Augustine of Hippo and his doctrine on grace, predestination, and free will, which became a norm of the Roman Catholic Church.
- Prudentius, Aurelius Clemens (circa 348-410) was a Latin poet, hymnographer and a lawyer in Spain.
- Rufinus Tyrannius, born around 345 AD at Concordia, Italy, died in 410 or 411 in Sicily. He was a Roman priest, writer, theologian, and translator of Greek theological works into Latin.
- Sabellius was a Christian writer who did not hesitate to study and use the Pagan traditions.
- Salvian (circa 400-480), also called "teacher of bishops", was a presbyter and writer. He was born in the Rhineland.
- Serapion (died 211) was bishop of Antioch; he opposed Montanism and wrote against conversion to Judaism.
- Serapion of Thmuis (died after 360 AD) was a 4th century Christian prelate. First a monk, he became Bishop of Thmuis around 339. He was a friend and protégé of Athanasius.
- Severian of Gabala was bishop of Gabala, a theologian, and orator. He was also the principal opponent of the 4th-century Greek Orthodox church father and patriarch of Constantinople, John Chrysostom.
- Severus of Antioch was a Greek monk-theologian, patriarch of Antioch, and a leader of the monophysites.
- Shenoute was the abbot of the White Monastery in Upper Egypt for many years, a follower of the Rules of Pachomius. He attacked paganism and offered guidance to monks and laity.
- Silas was a Christian prophet of Jerusalem mentioned in the New Testament and an Elder of the Christian Jerusalem Church.
- Simeon Stylites (Saint) - was called Simeon the Elder- was a Syrian monk who was the first known stylite, or pillar hermit.
- Socrates Scholasticus (circa 380-450) was a Greek Church historian. He is the author of a seven books "Ecclesiastical History".
- Soter (Saint), born at Fondi, Italy, died in 175 AD in Rome; he was pope from about 166 to about 175 succeeding St. Anicetus. He continued Pope Anicetus' attack against Montanism.
- Sulpicius Severus, born around 363 AD in Aquitania, Gaul, died around 420. An early Christian ascetic, a chief authority for contemporary Gallo-Roman history, and a good writer. A lawyer, he was baptized in about 390. He devoted his life as a literary recluse in Aquitania.
- Symeon of Mesapotamia was the main theologian of the Messalian ascetics His austere sect advocated the rejection of all worldly pursuits including work.
- Synesius of Cyren, studied philosophy under Hypatia at Alexandria. Became bishop of Ptolemais (c. 410).
- Tertullian, Latin Apologist, about 160-220 AD, born in Carthage, lawyer in Rome, converted to Literalist Christianity about 195 and to Gnosticism in 207.
- Thaddaeus (Saint), or Judas, the son of James was one of the twelve Apostles.
- Thaumaturgus Gregory, born about 213 AD in Neocaesarea, died about 270 in Neocaesarea. He was a Greek Christian and a defender of orthodoxy in the 3rd-century Trinitarian controversy. He discovered Christianity while studying under Origen. Later he was made a bishop and committed his life to Christianising that largely pagan region.
- Thecla, according to Syrian oral tradition, was a woman born in Iconium who, at the age of 18, accompanied Paul in his journeys baptising and preaching.
- Theodotus of Ancyra was a theologian, bishop of Ancyra, and an advocate of orthodoxy in the discussion of the nature and Person of Christ at the Council of Ephesus in 431. Theodotus was an opponent of Nestorius.
- Theodotus of Byzantium (also Theodotus the Tanner) was an Adoptionist Monarchian. He was a wealthy and cultured tanner of Byzantium who went to Rome circa 189 during the reign of Pope Victor I.
- Theognotus is said to have been the head of the school at Alexandria (248-282) as successor to Dionysius.
- Theophilus of Alexandria was a theologian and patriarch of Alexandria, an opponent of non-Christian religions, a severe critic of heterodox influence among Christian writers and monks, and a major figure in the ecclesiastical politics of the Greek Orthodox Church.
- Theophilus of Antioch was Bishop of Antioch during the reign of Commodus (180-192); he is described as a literalist Christian philosopher of the second century.
- Thomas (Saint) was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ.
- Timothy was a Literalist Christian writer who did not like the Christian Gnostics. Timothy was born in Lystra and he died in AD 97 at Ephesus. He was a disciple of St. Paul.
- Titus (Saint) lived in 1st century AD and he died in Crete. He was a disciple and secretary of St. Paul the Apostle. According to tradition he was the first bishop of Crete.
- Titus of Bostra was Bishop of Bostra but Emperor Julian the Apostate expelled him in 362 to create division among the Christians of that city. In 363 he participated to a Synod in Antioch, again as Bishop of Bostra. This Synod ratified the Nicene Creed.
- Ulfilas was a Christian bishop and missionary who evangelised the Goths, reputedly created the Gothic alphabet, and wrote the earliest translation of the Bible into a Germanic language.
- Zacharias Rhetor was a monophysite writer, a student in Alexandria, and a member of an ascetic brotherhood. He became a lawyer in Constantinople.
- Zosimus was Pope St. Innocent I's successor on March 18, 417. He was involved in conflicts about Gaul, Africa, and Pelagianism.

4- Jews

- Aaron, the first Jewish high priest and the traditional founder of the Hebrew priesthood. Aaron was the older brother of Moses and a descendant of the tribe of Levi.
- Abel, the second son of Adam and Eve and the brother of Cain.
- Abraham or Abram was a biblical patriarch, progenitor of the Hebrews, who probably lived in the period between 2000 and 1500 BC. Abraham was the son of Terah, a descendant of Shem, and was born in the city of Ur of the Chaldees, where he married his half sister Sarai, or Sarah.
- Adam and Eve, according to the Bible, were the first man and woman, progenitors of the human race.
- Adonai, God of the Israelites.
- Akiba ben Joseph, a well known rabbi (50-135 AD) who played an important part in Jewish life after the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 AD.
- Amos was the earliest Prophet whose sayings are in the Bible. Amos wrote one of 12 books known as the Minor Prophets, a book included in the Old Testament.
- Anat Jahu, see Asherah.
- Anne and Joachim (later on they were made saints by the Catholic Church), according to a tradition derived from certain apocryphal writings, Anne and Joachim were the parents of the Virgin Mary.
- Aristobulus of Paneas was a Jewish philosopher of Alexandria (around 3d-2d century BC). He tried to reconcile Jewish religion and Greek philosophy.
- Aristobulus I was also called Judas Aristobulus; he died 103 BC. He was the Hasmonean (Maccabean) Hellenised king of Judaea from 104 to 103 BC.
- Aristobulus II who died in 49 BC was the last of the Hasmonean (Maccabean) kings of Judaea.
- Artapanos was a 2d century BC Jewish writer.
- Asher, the 8th son of Jacob by Leah's maid, Zilpah, and named by Leah "Happy".
- Asherah, at one time the Israelites had worshipped Asherad as the wife of the Jewish God, Jehovah
- Barabbas was the prisoner who was released in the place of Jesus Christ at the time of the crucifixion.
- Bar Jesus, the name of a magician, a Jewish false prophet, probably an astrologer.
- Bar Kokhba who died in AD 135 was the Jewish leader who led the bitter unsuccessful revolt (AD 132-135) against Roman in Palestine.
- Cain was the first-born son of Adam and Eve, who murdered his brother Abel according to the Old Testament.
- David was king of Judah and Israel from 1000 until his death in 961 BC; he was the founder of the Judean dynasty.
- Delilah was the mistress of Samson, a judge of Israel. She betrayed Samsonto the Phillistines by cutting his hair while he slept.
- Elijah or Elias lived in 9th century BC and he was the most popular Hebrew prophet.
- Elohim, the general term used in the Old Testament for any divine being, but mainly in reference to the God of the Israelites.
- Esther was the Jewish wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). With her cousin Mordecai they persuaded the king to cancel an order by the king's chief minister, Haman, for the killing of all the Jews in the empire. Haman was hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai and the Jews destroyed their enemies.
- Eve, the first woman created by God.
- Ezekiel was a priest and prophet of the 6th century BC and a contemporary of Jeremiah.
- Ezra was a priest and scribe and a leading figure in the revival of Judaism in Palestine after the Babylonian Captivity.
- Habakkuk was the 8th of the minor twelve prophets; he flourished about 612-597 BC.
- Haggai was one of the twelve Minor Prophets. Little is known of the life and person of this prophet except that he lived in the 6th century BC.
- Herod Antipas (21 BC-AD 39) was the son of Herod the Great and the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea (4 BC-AD 39).
- Herod Archelaus was the son of Herod the Great from whom he inherited Judea, Samaria and Idumaea.
- Herodias was the second wife of Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee from 4 BC to AD 39. She was responsible for the execution of John the Baptist.
- Herod Philip was the son of Herod the Great from whom he inherited the princedom of Batanaea, Trachonitis, Ituraea and Auranitis.
- Herod the Great (73-4 BC) was the Roman-backed king of Judea (37-4 BC), portrayed as a tyrant in Christian and Jewish tradition.
- Hosea was a 8th century BC minor prophet and the only one of the writing prophets to have lived and prophesied in Israel, or the northern kingdom.
- Isaac (Hebrew, "laughter"), an Old Testament patriarch, was the son of Abraham, half brother of Ishmael, and father of Jacob and Esau.
- Isaiah was born about 760 BC. He prophesied during the reign of Ahaz, king of Judah. According to tradition, Isaiah was martyred in either 701 or 690 BC.
- Ishmael (Hebrew, "may God hear") was the elder son of Abraham and the ancestor of many Arabian tribes.
- Jacob, in the Old Testament, was a Hebrew patriarch, the son of Isaac and Rebekah, and the grandson of Abraham.
- Jehovah, a form of Yahweh, the sacred Hebrew name for God revealed to Moses (Exodus 3:14). Yahweh was too holy to pronounce and about 200's B.C., the Jews used the word Adonai (Lord).
- Jehu, in the Old Testament, was a king of Israel. A prophet, the son of Hanani, was also called Jehu.
- Jeremiah was a Hebrew prophet, reformer, and author of an Old Testament book that bears his name.
- Joel was one of the twelve Minor Prophets but nothing is known about him and his life
- Jonah is one minor Hebrew prophet of the 8th century BC. He is the assumed author of an Old Testament book of the same name.
- Josephus Flavius, 38/107 AD, Jewish historian who defected to the Romans, mentioned Jesus Christ. His book, Bellum Judaicum (History of the Jewish War), was written in seven parts between AD 75 and 79.
- Joshua was the leader of the Israelite tribes after the death of Moses. Joshua a charismatic warrior who led Israel in the conquest of Canaan after the Exodus from Egypt.
- Justus of Tiberias, Jewish author.
- Leah was the first wife of Jacob and the traditional ancestor of five of the 12 tribes of Israel and the mother of six of Jacob's sons.
- Levi, the 3d son of Jacob, is the ancestor of one of the main tribe of Israel, priestly in character.
- Malachi was the author of the last book of the Twelve Minor Prophets.
- Micah was a minor Jewish prophet of the 8th century BC whose name was given to an Old Testament Book, part of which may have been written later.
- Moses was a Hebrew prophet and lawgiver, and the founder of Israel, or the Jewish people.
- Nahum of Elkosh was one of the twelve Minor Prophets.
- Nathan was a prophet and confidential adviser of David.
- Nehemiah was a Jewish leader who supervised the rebuilding of Jerusalem in the mid-5th century BC after his release from captivity by the Persian king Artaxerxes I.
- Obadiah is the name of one of the twelve Minor Prophets whose name was given to one of the books of the Old Testament.
- Philo Judaeus, a Greek-speaking Jewish philosopher, he was the most important representative of Hellenistic Judaism. Pythagorean author, (15BC/45 AD).
- Ruth was a Moabite woman who married the son of a Judaean couple living in Moab. After the death of her husband, Ruth moved to Judah where she became the wife of Boaz, a wealthy kinsman of her former husband, and bore Obed, who, according to the final verses of the book that was named after her, was the grandfather of David.
- Salome was the daughter of Herodias and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. She is said to be responsible for the execution of John the Baptist.
- Samson was an Israelite hero, a Nazirite and a legendary warrior who did incredible exploits.
- Samuel was a religious hero in the history of Israel: seer, priest, judge, prophet, and military leader. His greatest role was in the establishment of the monarchy in Israel.
- Saul was the first king of Israel (c. 1021-1000 BC) chosen by the judge Samuel and by the public.
- Simeon ben Yohai was one of a select group of Palestinian rabbinic teachers, one of the most eminent disciples of the martyred Rabbi Akiba ben Joseph and, traditionally, author of the Zohar.
- Solomon lived in the 10th century BC; he was the son and successor of David and traditionally regarded as the greatest king of Israel.
- Yahweh, the God of the Israelites, his name had been revealed to Moses as four Hebrew consonants (YHWH) called the TETRAGRAMMATON. As Judaism became a universal religion in the Greco-Roman world, the word Elohim, meaning "god," replaced Yahweh.
- Zadok is the name of the founder of an important branch of the Jerusalem priesthood. He was a descendant of Eleazar, the son of Aaron.
- Zechariah was a Jewish minor prophet. Zechariah was active from 520 to 518 BC and a contemporary of the prophet Haggai.
- Zephaniah was one of the Israelite Minor Prophets and the author of one of the Old Testament prophetical books. He lived in the 7th century BC.

5- Others

- Acacius of Caesarea was an exponent of Arianism who became bishop of Caesaria in Palestine in 340.
- Agricola (AD 40/93) was a Roman general celebrated for his conquests in Britain.
- Allah is the God of the Muslims.
- Ammianus Marcellinus was born around 330 in Antioch, Syria and he died in 395 at Rome. He was the last major Roman historian.
- Aratus lived from about 315 to 245 BC in Macedonia. He was a Greek poet of Soli in Cilicia best remembered for his poem on astronomy, Phaenomena.
- Aristophanes, 445/395 BC, Greek initiate of the Mysteries and writer.
- Arius (about 256/336 AD) studied at the theological school of Lucian of Antioch. After he was ordained a priest in Alexandria, in 319, Arius became involved in a controversy with his bishop concerning the divinity of Christ.
- Asterius the Sophist (died after 341AD) was the pupil of Lucian of Antioch who became a leader of the Arian movement.
- Auxentius (died in 373 or 374) was Bishop of Milan from 355 to his death. He was a Cappadocian by birth and Arian in theology.
- Böehme Jakob, (1575-1624), a theosophist and mystic, had a mystical experience in 1600 that led him towards meditation on the divine.
- Boethius (circa 480-524) was a Roman philosopher and statesman.
- Bruno Giordano, 1548-1600, an Italian philosopher, astronomer, mathematician, and occultist.
- Buddha (Gautama but he was also called Siddhartha) is the founder of Buddhism, a religion and philosophical system.
- Cicero, 106/43 BC, Roman lawyer and politician, initiated at Eleusis in 80 BC.
- Crowley Edward Alexander (Aleister), 1875-1947, a British writer and 'magician' who became interested in the occult, later founded the order known as the Silver Star.
- Dee John, 1527-1608, an English alchemist, astrologer, and mathematician.
- Goethe, 1749/1832, German poet, novelist, playwright, and natural philosopher, a great figure of the German Romantic period and of German literature.
- Hesse, Hermann (1877/1962) was a German novelist, poet, and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946.
- Jung 1875/1961, a Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist who founded analytic psychology.
- Krishna, the most revered and popular of all Indian divinities, worshipped as the eighth incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu and also as a supreme god in his own right.
- Melville, Herman (1819-91) was an US novelist, short-story writer, and poet.
- Newton was an English physicist and mathematician and a leading figure of the scientific revolution of the 17th century.
- Paracelsus Philippus Aureolus, 1493-1541, a German-Swiss physician and alchemist who established the role of chemistry in medicine.