KANEKO’S CRIB NOTES XXIX: ABRAXAS Abraxas is the other cock-headed demon in the Shin Megam

KANEKO’S CRIB NOTES XXIX: ABRAXAS Abraxas is the other cock-headed demon in the Shin Megami Tensei compendium (besides Sindura and the original Basilisk–wait, who’d you think I meant?), though he sadly doesn’t appear as often as he should. What’s not to love about Abraxas? He’s a supreme being in Gnosticism no matter the source, with some serious celestial number symbolism going on–whether his name is inscribed as Abraxas or the variant Abrasax, the Greek system of isopsephy, which assigns number values to letters, assigns A-B-R-A-X-A-S the sum of 365. That’s quite the obvious celestial number that appears repeatedly in mythology; for another example, Biblical patriarch Enoch lived for 365 years. Abraxas is famously depicted on the so-called Abraxas stones, where he is seen as a chimeric being called the Anguipede, with serpents for legs. One of the most notable Abraxas stones is included in the photoset above. It’s apparent that Kaneko used that stone as the inspiration for Devil Summoner’s Abraxas, as it shares tiny details right down to the fins on the serpents’ heads, though does exchange Abraxas’ usual whip for a branch. Hey, it could have been worse. Imagine if Kaneko’s design model was instead the 1990 sci-fi disasterpiece Abraxas: Guardian of the Universe, starring former wrestler/ex-Minnesota governor/modern conspiracy nut Jesse Ventura in the eponymous role, an “intergalactic police officer.” And you can’t say it wouldn’t be thematically appropriate, as Abraxas: Guardian of the Universe is a supreme cosmic monstrosity all 365 days of the year! -- source link

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