Usually, John 1:1 is translated as:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” (John 1:1-2)

In the archē was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God. He was in the archē with God.

The word is translated differently in the epistle of Jude: “Both angels, having not kept their principality (archēn), but having left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day.” (Jude 1:6)

Perhaps John 1:1 may be more meaningfully translated as: “In the first principle was the Logos and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God. He was in the first principle with God.”

How the first principle was defined would depend on which school of Greek philosophy the author of the poem belonged to. Greek philosophy – back in the day – was heavily focused on investigating the nature of the divine.

“Do not the philosophers turn every discourse on God? … Is not this truly the duty of philosophy, to investigate the Deity?” (Justin Martyr. Dialogue with Trypho. Chapter 1)

“In Ancient Greek philosophy, arche represents the fundamental principle, or substance, that is both the origin of all things and the governing principle of the universe.”[1]

“Arche was derived from the verb archo, which meant “to begin” or “to reign”.” [2]

Over the centuries, the Greek philosophers propagated a variety of different meanings for the divine archē beyond its humble beginnings – pun intended. Depending on which school you’re referring to, it was alternately defined as the first principle, origin, substrate, axiom, or as in the case of Jude 1:6 – a heavenly domain.

Among the Greek philosophers, Thales – considered the very first philosopher of Greek philosophy – equated archē to water, Anaximenes to air, Anaximander argued that archē was indefinite, infinite, and boundless, Anaxagoras made mind his arche, and it is thought that Plato’s forms was his attempt to join the “the Presocratic quest for the archē of the cosmos.” [3] Elsewhere, “if Aristotle’s report is correct, and number really was for the Pythagoreans the substance of all things, they believed numerical form to be what he called the archē, or principle, of the cosmos.”[4]

The original author of the Christ-poem of John, arguably, did interpret archē in the Greek philosophical sense, especially as John 1:1 is coupled with the concept of Logos – first championed by Heraclitus and later adopted by Philo. Other words such as stoicheia (basic principle), dunamis (power), musterion (mystery), aeon (age), archon (ruler), pleroma (fullness), epignosis (knowledge), etc. had much more nuanced meanings within Pauline circles back in early Christianity. Centuries of Greek philosophy underlie the definition of some of these words, others were heavily used in Hellenic cults, and still others, arguably, originated from Paul’s own philosophical thought or came from some lost minor school of philosophy whose writings were not preserved but whose definitions were preserved in the writings of the descendants of Paul’s meat-sacrificed-to-idols eating/actively prophesizing disciples.

One could argue that to fully comprehend the scope of Paul (and some of his earliest followers who wrote in his name)’s cosmogony, one needs to brave an understanding of concept of heavenly aeons and archons and all the different ordered ranks of emanations of Godhead.

“You once walked according to the aeon of this world, according to the archon of the power of air, the Spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 2:2) (One should note that Anaximenes’ archē was air.)

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against the cosmic powers, against the archons of the darkness of this aeon, against spiritual (beings) of wickedness in the heavenly (places).” (Ephesians 6:12)

“now the manifold Wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly (realms), according to the purpose of the aeons which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ephesians 3:10-11)

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, who have tasted of the powers of the aeon to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance” (Hebrew 6:4-5)

“who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil aeon” (Galatians 1:4)

“Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the basic principles of the world.”(Galatians 4:3)

“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this aeon has blinded” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

It is of note that Simon Magus was likely learned in Greek philosophy.
“Simon… having disciplined himself greatly in Alexandria, which is in Egypt, in Greek culture, and being very powerful in magic, and being ambitious, wishes to be accounted a certain supreme Power” (Clementine Homilies II, XXII)
“Moreover, by cunningly explaining certain things of this sort, made up of Grecian myths, he deceives many” (Clementine Homilies II, XXV)

One can argue that the Greek culture Simon disciplined himself in was Greek philosophy as, within the historical records, there’s is an “account of Simon Magus, who is even said to have visited Philo of Alexandria, the Jewish philosopher who died about C.E. 45…The whole section dealing with Dusis, Simon Magus, and the Dosithean splinter groups has the appearance of having been translated from a Hebrew source” (Alan David. The Samaritans. Pg. 300)

Now ‘Simon’ wasn’t claiming to be a magician or that he was working magic – that was just a label his opponents gave him. He himself claimed to work miracles through God.

“he [Simon] said that he did, by means of godhead, the things that were done by magic” (Clementine Homilies II, XXVII)

[1] ** you do not have permission to see this link **
[2] Weinberg, Jes. Heritopia: World Heritage and Modernity. Pg 20.
[3] Patrick Lee Miller. Becoming God: Pure Reason in Early Greek Philosophy. Pg. 102.
[4] Patrick Lee Miller. Becoming God: Pure Reason in Early Greek Philosophy. Pg. 59.