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demiurge | |
1. n. (Platonic philosophy) The (usually benevolent) being that created the universe out of primal matter. | |
A demiurge or craftsman god takes pre-existing matter and fashions it in light of the eternal Forms. | |
2. n. (Gnosticism) A (usually jealous or outright malevolent) being who is inferior to the supreme being, and sometimes seen as the creator of evil. | |
3. n. (figuratively) Something (such as an idea, individual or institution) conceived as an autonomous creative force or decisive power. | |
4. n. (historical, Ancient Greece) The title of a magistrate in a number of states of Ancient Greece, and in the city states (poleis) of the Achaean League. | |