The article aims at exploring and ascertain the hypothesis of Egyptian influence on the complex theogonical process sketched in the Apocryphon of John. By detecting an overall scheme as well as single features of the mythological discourse, common both to our text and Egyptian sources, the analysis ends up shedding light on a cultural milieu in Alexandria, which shows familiarity with Greek, Jewish, Egyptian and Iranian traditions and asserts its ‘Christian’ identity and ritual practice on the basis of this multifaceted knowledge.