Sexuality and Sexual Symbolism in Hermetic and Gnostic Thought and Practice (Second–Fourth Centuries)

SEXUALITY AND SEXUAL SYMBOLISM IN HERMETIC AND GNOSTIC THOUGHT AND PRACTICE (SECOND–FOURTH CENTURIES) Roelof van den Broek In this fi rst chapter we will be dealing with two broad, variegated, and partly interconnected religious currents that both fl ourished in Late Antiquity and emphasized the importance of spiritual knowledge ( gnōsis). One of them is known as Hermetism, and the other is usually called Gnosticism. The hermetic current claimed to transmit the teachings of the ancient Egyptian sage Hermes Trismegistus.1 The magical, astrological, and alchemical hermetic writings attributed to Hermes, and usually referred to as the “technical hermetica,” fall beyond the scope of the present chapter, which concentrates on what is known as “philosophical Her- metism.” Its most characteristic feature is the idea of an indissoluble interrelationship between God, the cosmos, and man, which implies the unity of the universe. The fi nal aim of the hermetic teaching was to lead its adepts to the worship of the supreme God as the source of being, and eventually to union with him through initiation. Although it is common usage to speak of “Hermetism” in the singular, we should realize that its doctrines showed a great variety and never developed into one coherent system.2 The hermetic writings are strongly infl uenced by various Greek philosophical ideas, some of them quite incompat- ible, but also by Jewish and Egyptian mythological and theological speculations. The gnostic current was characterized by a strong emphasis on the esoteric and salvifi c character of the spiritual knowledge it claimed to possess. In the second and third centuries A.D., this general current led to a number of elaborate mythological gnostic systems, which are known from original documents and from the refutations by opponents (both Christian theologians and Greek philosophers). In his brilliant book of 1 On Hermes Trismegistus and ancient Hermetism in general, see Fowden, The Egyptian Hermes, and van den Broek, “Hermes Trismegistus I: Antiquity,” “Hermetism,” and “Hermetic Literature I: Antiquity.” 2 On this variety, see van den Broek, “Hermetism.” 2 roelof van den broek 1996, Rethinking “Gnosticism,” Michael Williams has convincingly shown that the popular view of Gnosticism as a monolithic religious move- ment is untenable. He concluded that it would be better to dismantle the whole category of “Gnosticism” altogether, and that terms such as “gnosis” or “Gnosticism,” “gnostic,” and “gnostic religion” are so vague that they have lost any specifi c meaning and should be avoided as well.3 Elsewhere I have argued that while Williams’ analysis is con- vincing, his solution is too radical. The terms “gnosis” and “gnostic” are perfectly applicable to all ideas and currents, from Antiquity to the present day, that emphasize the idea of a revealed secret gnosis (spiritual knowledge) as a gift that illuminates and liberates man’s inner self. The term “Gnosticism,” however, should better be restricted to the mythological gnostic systems of the fi rst centuries.4 Under the infl uence of Platonism, the philosophical and religious thought of late antiquity was pervaded by an ascetic tendency, which often led to a negative view of the body and sexuality and, for that reason, to the propagation of sexual asceticism. These views exerted a strong infl uence on early Christianity (especially in Egypt and Syria) and on Gnosticism, but to a much lesser extent on Hermetism, as will be seen. Although the hermetists generally considered the body a dan- ger for the soul, there is only one hermetic text, the Poimandres (Corpus Hermeticum I ), that sees sexual desire as the cause of death and of all evil. Most of the gnostic writings, on the other hand, both Christian and non-Christian, interpret sexuality as the bad demiurge’s principal instrument for enslaving the human being. The fi fty-two gnostic writings found at Nag Hammadi in 19455 contain not a single passage that could give support to the common anti-gnostic allegation that sexual libertinism and promiscuity were practiced among the gnostics. It is therefore all the more interesting that certain hermetic and gnostic texts, as well as ancient reports on specifi c gnostic views, testify to a positive view of sexuality and even see it as indispensable for salvation. Most notable in this regard are the hermetic Asclepius (chapter 21) and, on the gnostic side, the alleged views of the Valentinians and Borborites. Since the Valentinian speculations on marriage and sexuality are dis- 3 Williams, Rethinking “Gnosticism.” 4 Van den Broek, “Gnosticism I: Gnostic Religion”; see also Pearson, Ancient Gnosti- cism, 8–12. 5 On the discovery of the Nag Hammadi Library and its later vicissitudes, see Robinson, “Nag Hammadi: The First Fifty Years.”.

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