DOCSLIB.ORG

Kyranides on the Occult Virtues of Plants, Animals & Stones Hermetic & Talismanic Magic

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Kyranides on the Occult Virtues of Plants, Animals & Stones Hermetic & Talismanic Magic Kyranides On the Occult Virtues of Plants, Animals & Stones Hermetic & Talismanic Magic Renaissance Astrology Facsimile Editions " 1 .IT ( ' •; T H fe MAG I C K * K I R° A N I King of P E R S I A, AND OF HARPOClR. ATlbN; CONT A INING THE Magical Mid Medicinal Vertuesof Stones, Herbs , Fijbes, Beajls and Birds. A Work much fought for by the Learned, but feen by few 5 (aid to have been in the Vatican-l ibrary in Rome; but not to be found there, nor in all the Famous - Libraries of the Empire. Now Publifhed and Tranllated into Engli[h from a Copy found in a private Hand. Printed in the Year MDCLXXXV. 1 | Renaissance Astrology Facsimile Editions The Renaissance Astrology Facsimile Edition Series is copyright 2005, by Christopher Warnock All rights reserved under US and International law. No portion of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or means, graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or information storage and retrieval systems, without the express written consent of the copyright holder. Printed in USA Renaissance Astrology Website http://www.renaissanceastrology.com Facsimile Editions T T H fe MAG ICK» K I R° A N I King of P E R S I A, AND OF HARPO'CR ATION; CONTAINING THE Magical and Medicinal Vermes of Stotiet, Herbs , Fijhes ± Beajls and Birds. A Work much fought for by the Learned, but feen by few ; (aid to have been in the Vatie.in-I ibrary in Rome; but not to be found there, nor in all the Famous < Libraries of the Empire. Now Publilhed and Tranllated into Englipn from a Copy found in a private 1 land. Printed in the Year MDCLXXXV. TO THE R E AD E R. Fter diligent Searth for t;His M, having by happy s*cfcWtnt'tfttt'^i!i it , and procured it forttiuft:; finite I am minded tt> Cqttimnicltt it to thc"Ctutious and Worthy, 1 (Ml give you fortie account of the Authors, anfltneirl Work, the Authors are Riranvt'AiffBfr. | pocratiffft. lKiranut was Ring of Pa^.'lc which Crotvn none but Magicians c^ta-bt admitted, and*of whidh Kingdom tht fefeoui Zvroaflrcj'the firft Magitiaii, was. This wotk of his htfd ^jet^n for many Ages turnedout of1 the Ptrfah \ nto the Sjriac^ Arabic^ and moft Eiftern Tongues. H,ir.pocratit»\ as the Learned arc of opinion, was a Grkm, There Were ftvcral of this Name. One of them wrote a Lixicon upon the Ten Gretk Orators. jfacob/ts Mattjjatus publiftcd him . with Notts and a critical Difcourfe upon A a him) To the Reader. To the Reader. l>im j where he mentions feveral Harpocrati- ons, and among the reft ours, as the Sequel " flic red to Bacchus,, becaufe it defends the will prove. He is at a mighty lofi about one Har- " Brain from Drunkennefs. But I am afraid " frnall heed is to be given to thefe things, focration-y whom Tertnllian mentions in his; <; Book De Corona M/htif. Tertullian's Words! and that Pamelius (peaks as an Ear rather are thefe } Liberum , e/mdem apud TEgyptiusi " than as an Eyc-witne(s. For I remember I Oftrin indiiflriH hederatum argit-1 «very carefully perufed at Aujpurg a Cata- , Harpocration tc mntatur , quod hcder<c natura Jit cerebrum ub' logue of all the Books in the Vatican-Li- David Hefchecl/us, IXIHCO defenfarc. In Englilh thus } Harpocru- " brary, lent me by with tion docs argue , that Bacchus , the fame irith "other Catalogues of Libraries at Aujpurg, Oliris among the /Egyptians, is pictured with "Bavaria, Vienna, the Emperor's, St. Ma^at Ivy on purpofe, becaufe it is the nature of Ivy " Venice , and St. Laurence at Florence, and to defend the Brain from Drunkennefs. Now " I met not with any thing of Harpocration's Maujj'acus, after he had confuted the Miftakes j " but the Lexicon, neither when I was in the of feveral Commentators upon thefe words j " Vatican at Rome, to compare the Printed of Tcrtulliany who would make him to mean " Harpocations with a Manufcript that was Harpocration that wrote the Lexicon, comes " there , could I meet with any thing be- to one Commentator, whom he thinks in the " fides concerning him , nor could I learn right. Thefe arc the Words of Maujj'acus. " any thing from two Grecians, the Father " jacobus Pamelius, the lalt Commentator up- " and the Son, who had the care of writing " on Tertullian, has taken another, and a quite " out the Manufcript Books, and who have " new courfe : For he thinks that Harpocra- " the Catalogue of that Library by heart. " lion, whom Tertullian mentions, is the fame "But I would not have Pamelius therefore "with him, whole Manufcript Book ifet <pu- | <c rafhly cenfured, nor his Opinion receded "<mw fwuaLixjtw is kept in the Vatican. And I "from, becaufe perhaps, he did not, as from " if we relie on his Credit, Tertullian % words "himlelf, affirm, that Harpocration's Manu- " may not unfitly be accommodated to that ; " fcript iri£/. fuffinuv tTaoa'juwcov, was in the Va- " Author, who wrote about the Natural j " titan , but he has been told fo by fome, "Virtues of things, Gnce it belongs to Na- " either whofe Memory or Honefty failed tural Philofophy to teach , that th" Ivy is | " them, as by Simlerus, who firft told him in " facred "his Epitome Bibliothec.it Qefneriana , that a A * ct Book ± To the Reaihr. To the Reader. «< " it perfwades me, that that Author docs not Booltof Kiwtil and Harpocration wpi <pv <c cc differ much from ours, I need not declare: oinZiy JW/xewi' Wds in the Vatican at Rome. u ,c for the Alphabetical order, which wc find But, till all know more certainly and firm- «( " he obferved, what does it argue, but that ly , that Harpocration'Boole irpi (pvcmwv CC " he was a Lexicographer, not much unlike bwifbhUiuv is fomewheic extant, and till it i tc "ours in his way of writing, though he dif- is i)iitd, whether that Paflage be in him, | (I " fer in the Subjett ? I with I could obtain Mfhjchi is cited by Tcrtullian, it is my judg- ; tc " that Treafure, that I might publifh it with mcnt th^c the bufinefs muft hang in fuf-j (( cc this of ours, we (hould not be fo much in pence, and the Trial ("as Lawyers talk)'! (t " the Dark about this controverted place in muft be put ofF, till another day. For, to i tc " Tertullian , and it would prefently appear fay any thing pofmvely about the Inter- CI " whether the Author of thefe two Books pretation of this placc, and immediately to It " were the fame, after which we are fo folli- vouch it for Truth, would be no man's aft (( " citoufly inquifitive. Now that Treafure who remembers he is a Man : It was wit- <c which Mauffacus fo much wifht for, I here tily faid by a wife man of old anuria, to <( offer to you : for it is the Book of Kimi vfrjov impose* (Z&tHgiv.Ignorance is in the great- C( and Harpocration, as Gefner's Bibliotheca cites cfl jbark of Mortals, which though we find' tc it} and it goes Alphabetically as Putean hys confentaneous to Truth in other Cafes, yet his Harpocration did in the Cardinal's Libra- «t then moft, when we take upon us to open « ry. And as for the controverted Place in and interpret fome Places in the Writings tc Tertullian, confult but the Letter ©, pag. 16. of the Ancients, that are controverted,and tc of the fit ft Book, and you may be fatisficd, not well undcrftood. But the Learned (( that Tertullian quoted no other Harpocration Puteawj, while this was in the Prefs, told' K but ours. Read on to pag. 18. and you have me, they read in a Catalogue, which their (C this Pallage. " That yon may be without Dm- Father had a moft. com pleat one of all the tc " kennefs , and for all favour and health III Libraries in Italy, that Harpocrution's Book cc " the Stone Thyrfites engrave the Bird T/.>jr, irff>i (puviHon'S'twdfMttovy written Alphabetical- (C " and Bacchus holding the Bird, and under ly, was in the Library of Cardinal St. An- "the ftone enclofe the Root of the Herb, <Cgflo , which is now fallen to his Brother " ("meaning Ivy) and wear it, and you will Cardinal Favnefius. Which thing, how fir " Jt A 4 "be To the Reader. To the Reader. "be without Drunkennefc, and will have of his Age. Barthius would by all means have- favour with all men* and moreover you had it publiftied, being a Book of fuch infinite w.ll be without danger in the Palacc For value : And the rather becaufe it has fbme- this is a divine Dionyfuck ,and weakens the thing of Harpocration in it, who is fo highly fhength of Bacchus. "For )o fhyes Harpocra- A d and defervedly valued by Learned Men. And _, " that learned Father Tertullian he reckons it to be Tertullian's Harpocration, layes, narprrratioH argues , that Bacchus , the as Pa melius before him imagined, and as by ftnie rr/Z/i Ofiiis among the ^Egyptians, it pi. Unreel Kith Ivy on purpofe, becaufe it is the Na-comparing the Paflages in thefe two Authors frc nfIvy to defend the Brain from Drunken- we have already proved. So that it is not >>cjs. So that Harpocration's and Tertullian'sonl y my Opinion, but it is the Conjefture (?f , c a 'ogcthtr the /nine. And this muft Pamelius, who could not after his nioft in- bejhc hook which no Jcfs a Man than Tcr- quifitive Search and Refearch, meet with mliau quoted as an Author, and which ma- Harpocration and it is the clear Judgment of ny Learned Men fince him have lonced to that vaftly Learned Man Barthius, who faw but could not.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Early Greek Alchemy, Patronage and Innovation in Late Antiquity CALIFORNIA CLASSICAL STUDIES
    Early Greek Alchemy, Patronage and Innovation in Late Antiquity CALIFORNIA CLASSICAL STUDIES NUMBER 7 Editorial Board Chair: Donald Mastronarde Editorial Board: Alessandro Barchiesi, Todd Hickey, Emily Mackil, Richard Martin, Robert Morstein-Marx, J. Theodore Peña, Kim Shelton California Classical Studies publishes peer-reviewed long-form scholarship with online open access and print-on-demand availability. The primary aim of the series is to disseminate basic research (editing and analysis of primary materials both textual and physical), data-heavy re- search, and highly specialized research of the kind that is either hard to place with the leading publishers in Classics or extremely expensive for libraries and individuals when produced by a leading academic publisher. In addition to promoting archaeological publications, papyrolog- ical and epigraphic studies, technical textual studies, and the like, the series will also produce selected titles of a more general profile. The startup phase of this project (2013–2017) was supported by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Also in the series: Number 1: Leslie Kurke, The Traffic in Praise: Pindar and the Poetics of Social Economy, 2013 Number 2: Edward Courtney, A Commentary on the Satires of Juvenal, 2013 Number 3: Mark Griffith, Greek Satyr Play: Five Studies, 2015 Number 4: Mirjam Kotwick, Alexander of Aphrodisias and the Text of Aristotle’s Meta- physics, 2016 Number 5: Joey Williams, The Archaeology of Roman Surveillance in the Central Alentejo, Portugal, 2017 Number 6: Donald J. Mastronarde, Preliminary Studies on the Scholia to Euripides, 2017 Early Greek Alchemy, Patronage and Innovation in Late Antiquity Olivier Dufault CALIFORNIA CLASSICAL STUDIES Berkeley, California © 2019 by Olivier Dufault.
    [Show full text]
  • The Corpus Hermeticum: a Mirror for the Evolution of Christian Orthodoxy
    THE CORPUS HERMETICUM: A MIRROR FOR THE EVOLUTION OF CHRISTIAN ORTHODOXY By CHARLES FLOWERS A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2008 1 © 2008 Charles Flowers 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Even an activity as solitary as researching history is never accomplished without the ongoing support and encouragement of others. To begin my foray into history, Sandy and Jimmy Pozzetta, Dr. Fred Gregory, and Dr. Jeff Needell were all instrumental in helping me move from one career to enter an entirely new one. Without their confidence, I could not have taken my initial steps. For the hard part of writing history--from analysis and understanding, to forming my own voice and gaining confidence in my own opinion--I am completely in debt to Dr. Andrea Sterk, Dr. Nina Caputo, and Dr. Howard Louthan. They have shared their time, skills, and opinions to make me a better historian and in the process, I have gained not only colleagues, but friends. Without their encouragement, I would never have succeeded along this journey. But my greatest thanks go to my wife Nikkie. The experience of extracting ideas from my head and having them appear coherent on the written page has not always been a pleasant one. She has endured many days in which my doubts threatened to overcome my progress. Throughout, she has always supported me and helped me to take the next step. Without her love, my success would have no meaning. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    [Show full text]
  • 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).
    [Show full text]
  • The Hermetica As Ancient Science
    The Hermetica as Ancient Science Robert Zoller The Corpus Hermeticum 1(CH) is a compilation of philosophical, theosophical, mystical and cosmological texts dating, in their present form, from the third-fourth centuries C.E. and attributed, according to tradition, to Hermes Trismegistus. These texts exerted considerable influence upon western philosophers, scientific thinkers and mystics throughout the Middle Ages, especially influencing the Renaissance Neoplatonists. Scholarly discussions of the Hermetica once focused upon this Corpus, which some have felt contains lofty ideals and noble speculations. Recently, however, attention has been turning to that other source of Hermetica which is neither a Corpus nor so lofty, namely the numerous texts, scattered in sundry libraries around the world, which deal with the practical aspects of the occult arts of astrology, alchemy and magic alluded to in the philosophical corpus. This literature has not yet been collected, edited and translated and hence cannot itself yet be considered a ‘corpus’. In many cases there is dispute as to precisely which texts can even claim legitimately to be a part of the relevant literature. 2 Occasionally there is no clear idea of the true author, while the dating of many of these texts is in doubt. In addition, there are few critical editions and until recently there has been a reluctance on the part of scholars to take this literature seriously. The reluctance to study this material may be due to the fact that its subject matter varies so dramatically from that of the Corpus Hermeticum (CH), which contains religio-philosophical opinions and may be tagged ‘the philosophical hermetica ’.
    [Show full text]
  • Bild Und Schrift Auf ‚Magischen' Artefakten
    Bild und Schrift auf ‚magischen‘ Artefakten Materiale Textkulturen Schriftenreihe des Sonderforschungsbereichs 933 Herausgegeben von Ludger Lieb Wissenschaftlicher Beirat: Jan Christina Gertz, Markus Hilgert, Hanna Liss, Bernd Schneidmüller, Melanie Trede und Christian Witschel Band 19 Bild und Schrift auf ‚magischen‘ Artefakten Herausgegeben von Sarah Kiyanrad, Christoffer Theis und Laura Willer ISBN 978-3-11-060162-6 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-060433-7 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-060492-4 ISSN 2198-6932 Dieses Werk ist lizenziert unter der Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence. Weitere Informationen finden Sie unter http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Library of Congress Control Number: 2018941194 Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.dnb.de abrufbar. © 2018 Kiyanrad et al., publiziert von Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston Dieses Buch ist als Open-Access-Publikation verfügbar über www.degruyter.com. Einbandabbildung: P. Heid. Inv. Kopt. 679 © Institut für Papyrologie, Universität Heidelberg, Foto: Elke Fuchs Satz: Sonderforschungsbereich 933 (Jessica Dreschert), Heidelberg Druck und Bindung: CPI books GmbH, Leck www.degruyter.com Vorwort Der vorliegende Band beinhaltet Beiträge, die auf einem interdisziplinären Workshop des Sonderforschungsbereichs 933 Materiale Textkulturen – Materialität und Präsenz des Geschriebenen in non-typographischen Gesellschaften an der Ruprecht-Karls-Uni- versität Heidelberg am 19. Juli 2013 am Ägyptologischen Institut vorgestellt wurden. Ausgerichtet wurde der Workshop mit dem Titel „Methodische Reflexionen zum Spannungsverhältnis zwischen magischem Text und Bild“ von den MitarbeiterInnen des Teilprojekts A03 „Materialität und Präsenz magischer Zeichen zwischen Antike und Mittelalter“ Sarah Kiyanrad, Christoffer Theis und Laura Willer.
    [Show full text]
  • Ancient Magic: a Survey of the Technical Hermetica Kristin Pfanku, M.A., SRC
    Ancient Magic: A Survey of the Technical Hermetica Kristin Pfanku, M.A., SRC ess well known than the Philosophical as the Greeks and Romans influenced it more Hermetica of the Corpus Hermeticum, than two thousand years ago, magic was still La large number of ancient technical or very much alive in Greco-Roman Egypt, practical volumes on magic, alchemy, astrology, where the technical Hermetica were created. and a host of other subjects are also part of the This ancient sense of magic can be seen Hermetic legacy. In this survey, Professor Kristin in these technical Hermetica, the textual Pfanku introduces readers to the technical counterparts of the philosophical Hermetica. Hermetica and its wide array of themes. At first, Focusing primarily on esoteric magic, these texts seem very different from the sublime astrology, and the alchemy of the last century mysticism of the Philosophical Hermetica, bce to the third century ce, these works build however, modern scholarship indicates that both on Aristotle’s objective investigation and are part of a consistent whole, the Hermetic classification of phenomena, but mingled transmission of the wisdom of ancient Egypt. with this is a belief in universal forces that can The technical Hermetica begin here below be advantageous once one knows the esoteric, and ascend, while the Philosophical Hermetica magical knowledge. The technical Hermetica complete the journey above. As the Emerald show the human will and ability to penetrate Tablet of Hermes teaches, “As above, so below, and make use of the secret, hidden powers of and as below, so above, to accomplish the the natural and divine worlds.
    [Show full text]
  • Rosicrucian Digest Vol 89 No 1 2011 Hermetism
    Each issue of the Rosicrucian Digest provides members and all interested readers with a compendium of materials regarding the ongoing flow of the Rosicrucian Timeline. The articles, historical excerpts, art, and literature included in this Digest span the ages, and are not only interesting in themselves, but also seek to provide a lasting reference shelf to stimulate continuing study of all of those factors which make up Rosicrucian history and thought. Therefore, we present classical background, historical development, and modern reflections on each of our subjects, using the many forms of primary sources, reflective commentaries, the arts, creative fiction, and poetry. This magazine is dedicated• to all the women and men throughout the ages who have contributed to and perpetuated the wisdom of the Rosicrucian, Western esoteric, Tradition. May we ever be •worthy of the light with which we have been entrusted. In this issue, we explore• the tradition associated with Hermes Trismegistus—from the wisdom of Thoth in ancient Egypt, through Renaissance Hermeticism, to alchemy, and modern mysticism. One of the most influential and pervasive mystical traditions, the Hermetic path is founded on the essential unity of all things, “As above, so below.” Its practitioners strive for the practical means to achieve reunion with the source of all Being. No. 1 - 2011 Vol. 89 - No. 1 Peter Kingsley, Ph.D. “Paths of the Ancient Sages: A Pythagorean History” Giulia Minicuci and Mary Jones, S.R.C. “Pythagoras the Teacher: From Samos to Metapontum” Ruth Phelps, S.R.C. “The School of Pythagoras”Hermetism and Hermeticism: An Introduction 2 AnonymousOfficial “The Magazine Golden Versesof the of Pythagoras”Staff of the Rosicrucian Digest Worldwide Antoine Fabre d’Olivet, “Excerpt fromThe Exa Hermeticmination Tradition of the Golden Verses” 5 Rosicrucian Order Hugh McCague, Ph.D., F.R.C.
    [Show full text]
  • The Quadripertitus Hermetis in Anglo-Norman
    The Quadripertitus Hermetis in Anglo-Norman Tony Hunt he first book of the Cyranides, a Greek work in four books dealing with medicine and magic,1 contains chapters in which Tthe making of a talisman is described, each talisman receiving its power from a precious stone, from the figure engraved on it, and from the part of a plant or animal joined to it. It is a compilation of two earlier works, one said to be by Kyranos, king of Persia, who in the prologue of the compilation attributes his knowledge to Hermes Trismegistos. The transmission of the Latin translation of this work goes back to the 12th Century. In the little treatise derived from it and attributed to “Hermes”2 there is added a strong astrological element and the resulting Quadripertitus Hermetis thus treats of the fifteen stars, fifteen precious stones, fifteen plants, and the fifteen designs. It is simply one of a vast number of works surviving in late medieval manuscripts which are attributed to, or associated with, Hermes. It was used by Gower in Book 7 of the Confessio amantis.3 It was Ptolemy, mentioned in the Anglo-Norman redaction but not in the Latin, who distinguished fifteen stars of the first magnitude. The Greek text is lost and the Latin one that has survived is a translation of the summary Arabic version by Messalah in the 8th century. This Latin text was further reduced in the adaptation attributed by some to “Enoch,” by others to Thebith ben Corat. The present Anglo-Norman version of the Quadripertitus was first noticed by Paul Meyer and summarily 1 See Lynn Thorndike, A History of Magic and Experimental Science II (New York: Columbia Univ.
    [Show full text]
  • The Materiality of Magic
    DIETRICH BOSCHUNG AND JAN N. BREMMER (EDS.) THE MATERIALITY OF MAGIC MORPHOMATA The Materiality of Magic is an exciting new book about an aspect of magic that is usually neglected. In the last two decades we have had many books and proceedings of conferences on the concept of magic itself as well as its history, formulas and incantations in antiquity, both in East and West. Much less attention, however, has been paid to the material that was used by the magicians for their conjuring activities. This is the first book of its kind that focuses on the material aspects of magic, such as amulets, drawings, figurines, gems, grimoires, rings, and voodoo dolls. The practice of magic required a specialist expertise that knew how to handle material such as lead, gold, stones, papyrus and terra cotta—material that sometimes was used for specific genres of magic. That is why we present in this well illustrated collection of studies new insights on the materiality of magic in antiquity by studying both the materials used for magic as well as the books in which the expertise was preserved. The main focus of the book is on antiquity, but we complement and contrast our material with examples ranging from the Ancient Near East, via early modern Europe, to the present time. BOSCHUNG, BREMMER (EDS.) – THE MATERIALITY OF MAGIC MORPHOMATA EDITED BY GÜNTER BLAMBERGER AND DIETRICH BOSCHUNG VOLUME 20 EDITED BY DIETRICH BOSCHUNG AND JAN N. BREMMER THE MATERIALITY OF MAGIC WILHELM FINK unter dem Förderkennzeichen 01UK0905. Die Verantwortung für den Inhalt der Veröffentlichung liegt bei den Autoren.
    [Show full text]
  • Wicked Angels and the Good Demon: the Origins of Alchemy According to the Physica of Hermes
    Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies 3 (2018) 3–33 brill.com/gnos Wicked Angels and the Good Demon: The Origins of Alchemy According to the Physica of Hermes Christian H. Bull University of Oslo and Princeton University [email protected] Abstract The alchemist Zosimus of Panopolis, writing around 300 CE, is our only source for a series of treatises by Hermes called the Physica, which reportedly spoke about angels who had intercourse with women, as in 1 Enoch, and which credited the revelation of alchemy to an enigmatic figure called Chemeu. The present contribution aims to show that Zosimus has in fact harmonized the account of 1 Enoch with the Physica of Hermes, identifying the Watchers of the former treatise with wicked angels who perverted the authentic art of alchemy, originally revealed to Hermes by Chemeu, who should be identified with Agathodaimon. It is further argued that the Physica likely served as a source for the Hermetic treatises the Perfect Discourse (Ascl. = NHC VI,8) and Kore Kosmou (Stob. herm. 23). This indicates that the literary relationship be- tween the technical and theoretical Hermetica is tighter than hitherto assumed. Keywords hermetism – Zosimus of Panopolis – alchemy – perfect discourse – Kore Kosmou – letter of Isis The corpus of Hermetic literature is conventionally divided into two groups. By far the most well-known group is called the philosophical, or theoretical. This group consists of the Corpus Hermeticum, the Hermetic excerpts from Stobaeus, the Latin Asclepius, the three Coptic Nag Hammadi Hermetica (NHC VI,6–8), the Greek and Armenian Definitions of Hermes to Asclepius, as well as a number of fragments and excerpts.
    [Show full text]
  • UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Writing Gems: Ekphrastic Description and Precious Stones in Hellenistic Epigrams and Later Greek Prose Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8394c37k Author Rush, Emily Michelle Publication Date 2012 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Writing Gems: Ekphrastic Description and Precious Stones in Hellenistic Epigrams and Later Greek Prose A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Classics by Emily Michelle Rush 2012 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Writing Gems: Ekphrastic Description and Precious Stones in Hellenistic Epigrams and Later Greek Prose by Emily Michelle Rush Doctor of Philosophy in Classics University of California, Los Angeles, 2012 Professor John Papadopoulos, Co-Chair Professor Mario Telò, Co-Chair This study investigates how inscribed gems and precious stones serve as a particularly useful model for discussing a variety of concerns of the Hellenistic world. These widely circulated objects, typically made from valuable materials and ranging in type from uncarved gems to decorative cameos and seal stones, were anything but inert objects. Rather, as I argue, precious stones were not only treasured for their economic value, but were also charged with social, political, and cultural signifi cance. Such stones functioned as more than ornamentation, frequently serving as markers of personal authority and social identity, thus possessing signifi cant semiotic power despite their typically small size. Due to their highly symbolic and multifaceted nature, gemstones seem to have deeply engraved themselves upon the literary imagination of a number of ii writers of Greek poetry and prose from the third century B.C.E.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 2. Late Antiquity: Hermetica We Have Seen in Section 1.3, the Long Line of Plato, a More Or Less Continuous Line from Ancient Egypt to the Renaissance
    Abraham, Ficino Outline 17 May 5, 2001 9:48 am Chapter 2. Late Antiquity: Hermetica We have seen in Section 1.3, The Long Line of Plato, a more or less continuous line from Ancient Egypt to the Renaissance. We now skip over a considerable segment of this line, from Aristotle to Plotinus, a segment of about six centuries, including the middle Platonists, and espe- cially Philo. Our goal in this chapter and the next is to recall the paradigm of late antiquity at the time when Early Christianity and the Middle Ages took over the field. The influence of Aristotle eventually outstripped that of Plato, but Platonism continued as an underground current, with occasional surges to the surface. One such surge was the Middle Pla- tonism of the Hellenistic period, another was the Neoplatonist movement of Roman times. But first, we shasll review the Hermetica: philosophical and technical. And in addition to the three cities of Chapter 1, we have now a fourth city, Byzantium. 2.1. Alexandria The relocation of Aristotle's library from Athens to Alexandria is symbolic of the rise of Alexandria as the dominant center of intellectual activity. The arrival of Euclid around 300 BCE made it the leading mathematical center. Athens remained the center of philosophy until 2nd cen- tury CE. The Ptolemaic period begins with the death of Alexander, and ends with the domination of Rome in 50 BCE. Sources [Abraham, 1994, p. 221], [Canfora, 1989], [Empereur, 1998], [Forster, 1961], [Fraser, 1972], [Parsons, 1952] 2.2. Corpus Hermeticum There was a myth, from ancient times to the 17th century, of the prisci theologi (sing., prisca theologia).
    [Show full text]