A popular magical deity in the ancient world, Abraxas (also called Abrasax) was depicted on classical amulet gems as a humanlike figure with a rooster’s head and serpents for feet, wielding a charioteer’s whip. The letters of his name in Greek add up to 365, the number of days in a year, which marked him as a solar deity and a lord of time.

In modern times, Abraxas has achieved a new popularity by way of the writings of psychologist Carl Jung, who gave him a central place in his Gnostic work, The Seven Sermons to the Dead, and elsewhere in his writings.