The Tradition of Hermes Trismegistus: The Egyptian Priestly Figure as a Teacher of Hellenized WisdomIn The Tradition of Hermes Trismegistus, Christian H. Bull argues that the treatises attributed to Hermes Trismegistus reflect the spiritual exercises and ritual practices of loosely organized brotherhoods in Egypt. These small groups were directed by Egyptian priests educated in the traditional lore of the temples, but also conversant with Greek philosophy. Such priests, who were increasingly dispossessed with the gradual demise of the Egyptian temples, could find eager adherents among a Greek-speaking audience seeking for the wisdom of the Egyptian Hermes, who was widely considered to be an important source for the philosophies of Pythagoras and Plato. The volume contains a comprehensive analysis of the myths of Hermes Trismegistus, a reevaluation of the Way of Hermes, and a contextualization of this ritual tradition. |
Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction | 1 |
Part 1 Who is Hermes Trismegistus? | 31 |
Part 2 What is the Way of Hermes? | 187 |
Part 3 Who Were the Hermetists?Situating the Way of Hermes | 373 |
Conclusion | 456 |
| 461 | |
Index of Ancient Sources | 515 |
Common terms and phrases
Agathodaimon Aion Ancient Ascl Asclepius Assmann astrological Berossus body Brill CH XI claims Copenhaver Corpus Hermeticum cosmos cult demiurge demons Demotic Diodorus divine dynasty earth Egypt Egyptian Egyptian Hermes Egyptian priests Ennead Festugière Fowden Gnosticism gods Greek Grese heaven Hermes Trismegistus Hermetic Hermetica Horus human hymn Iamblichus Ibid Isis Jan Assmann Kerchove king Leiden logos magical papyri Mahé Manetho mind myth Nechepsos noetic Ogdoad Osiris passage Perfect Discourse Petosiris philosophy Plato Poimandres Ptolemy rebirth refers Religion ritual Roman royal souls SH XXIII silence Sothic cycle spell spirit stela Syncellus teaching temple Thessalos Thoth tradition trans translation treatise University Press vision αἱ ἀπὸ γὰρ δὲ διὰ εἰς ἐκ ἐν τῷ ἐπὶ θεοῦ καὶ κατὰ μὲν μὴ οἱ οὐ πάντα περὶ πρὸς τὰ τὰς τε τῇ τὴν τῆς τὸ τοῖς τὸν τοῦ τοὺς τῶν ὑπὸ ὦ τέκνον ὡς