DOCSLIB.ORG

The Hermetic Λόγος: Reading the Corpus Hermeticum As a Reflection

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Hermetic Λόγος: Reading the Corpus Hermeticum As a Reflection The Hermetic Λόγος: Reading the Corpus Hermeticum as a Reflection of Graeco-Egyptian Mentality Dissertation zur Erlangung der Würde eines Doktors der Ägyptologie Vorgelegt der Philosophisch-Historischen Fakultät der Universität Basel Von Gurgel Pereira, Ronaldo Guilherme Von Rio de Janeiro - RJ, Brasilien Basel 2010 Genehmigt von der Philosophisch-Historischen Fakultät der Universität Basel, auf Antrag von Prof. Dr. Susanne Bickel Zignani (Referentin) Prof. Dr. Antonio Loprieno (Korreferent) Basel, den 26. Oktober 2010. Die Dekanin Prof. Dr. Claudia Opitz-Belakhal To my wife Daniela. 1 Acknowledgements Egyptology is not a subject traditionally taught at university in Brazil. Only few choose to study ancient Egypt and even fewer are actual Egyptologists. In most cases the enthusiasts for the land of the Nile are Historians, Anthropologists, journalists and alike. I have to admit that I was no better off when I arrived in Basle; I held a bachelor and a master‘s degree in History and had done research that focused on the Greeks‘ perception of and relations with Egypt in the Classical/Hellenistic period. The project of writing my dissertation began to take shape in 2005. I had only recently received my M.A. and commenced correspondence with Prof. Dr. Antonio Loprieno from the University of Basle. He later kindly introduced me to my advisor, Prof. Dr. Susanne Bickel, who reviewed my project and interviewed me in August 2006. I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. Bickel for the guidance and advice she offered me at meetings and debates. I regard it as one of my greatest achievements of the past four years to have been able to win her favour for my project. I also wish to thank all my lecturers, in particular the people who taught me some ancient Egyptian languages. I received help with Demotic from Dr. Andreas Stauder and Dr. Jullie Porchet-Stauder. Prof. PD Dr. Hanna Jenni introduced me to Classic Middle Egyptian, Prof. Dr. Matthias Müller taught me Coptic. Thanks are also due to Dr. Undine Stabrey for her encouragement and support. From Berlin I thank Dr. Sybille Schmidt, Dr. Barbara Janisch and my colleagues of the colloquium. I am also grateful to my colleagues, who patiently supported me and helped me prepare for seminars and presentations. Learning Egyptian languages and having Egyptological debates was a unique experience I will not forget. By the same token I will always remember the struggles I went through while I tried to come to terms with the German language (I look back with a mix of joy and shame to the days I spent trying to figure out when exactly the obscure ‗Egyptian queen‘ ―Nebeneffekt‖ lived). 2 I owe a special debt to the canton of Basel Stadt that supported me with a full scholarship. This dissertation would have never existed had it not been for the Stipendienkommission für Nachwuchskäfte aus Entwicklungsländern. I would like to take this opportunity to express the admiration and respect I have come to feel for Switzerland and its people during the four years of my stay. I grew up in a country where human life is considered to be of little worth. Dignity and justice are treated as mere commodities. Having this background and viewing Switzerland with my Brazilian eyes makes me realise how hard it would be to explain the respect people here have for another to my compatriots. Thus I would like to thank the Swiss for the ‗culture shock‘ they offered me which broadened my horizon. Basle and Switzerland have certainly taught me much more than just Egyptology. I will always carry these experiences with me. A special thank you goes to my German teacher Hellena Brinner, her mother Ekaterina, priest Dimitrios Korakas and the Hellenic-Swiss community of the Greek Orthodox Church at Münchenstein. I thank them for their hospitality and friendship. Last but certainly not least, I would like to thank my friends Sabine and Sandro de Gruttola, who kindly welcomed me in Switzerland and helped me at the beginning of my stay. My gratitude also goes to my father Airton Pereira, who financially supported me. Furthermore, I would like to thank my wife, Daniela Gurgel, for her unrelenting support and encouragement whenever I needed it. I would like to thank God for helping me with my dissertation. He guided my hands and heart until the very end of this chapter of my life. O God, thy arm was here; And not to us, but to thy arm alone, Ascribe we all! (William Shakespeare, Henry V, act 4, scene viii) 3 If you desire to read writings, come to me and I will have you taken to the place where that book is that Thoth wrote with his own hand, when he came down following the other gods. ―Setne Khamwas and Neferkaptah‖ (Setne I) – Pap. Cairo 30646 = M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature III. (Los Angeles: 2006), p.128. 4 Abstract: This study analyses Hermetic literature and focuses on the seventeen treatises of the so- called Corpus Hermeticum. It takes as its starting point the assumption that what are nowadays known as the Philosophical Hermetica emerged as a product of a Graeco- Egyptian process of self-perception. As will be demonstrated, Hermetic literature helps our understanding of how reformulations of symbolic universes led to a specific Graeco-Egyptian mentality. The Hermetica will be treated as the result of cross-cultural exchange between Greek and Egyptian symbolic universes. Hermetic literature will therefore be analysed according to its historical context, i.e. as part of a Greek-Egyptian dialogue. 5 Table of Contents Dedication Acknowledgements Epigraph Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………..5 Table of Contents………..…………………………….…………………………...….....6 List of Tables...........................................................................................................9 List of Abreviations................................................................................................10 Introduction............................................................................................................13 1. The Hermetica and their Cultural Environment in Graeco-Roman Egypt..................21 1. 1 Background of Cultural Interactions between Greeks and Egyptians................28 1.1.1 Greeks and Egyptians prior to the Hellenistic age...................................30 1.1.1.1 Late Period Egypt and Archaic/Classical Hellade.......................32 1.1.1.2 The Persian Invasions of Egypt and Classical Hellade...............38 1.1.1.3 Herodotus attitude towards of the Persians...............................40 1.1.2 The Ptolemies: Egyptian Religion as a Political Instrument......................42 1.2 Cultural Identity and Hellenistic Society in Graeco-Roman Egypt ...................54 1.2.1 The Roman Conquest and the Reconstruction of Identities......................65 1.3 Hellenistic Mentality and Religious Thought in Graeco-Roman Egypt.............73 1.4 Hermetism and Hellenism............................................................................81 6 2. Thoth-Hermes Trismegistos and the Hermetica.....................................................87 2.1 Technical Hermetica and Philosophical Hermetica...........................................90 2.1.1 Hermetic Mythology in the Corpus Hermeticum....................................105 2.2 (Neo-) Platonism vs. Gnostic systems..........................................................114 2.2.1 The universe and the material world as evil..........................................115 2.2.2 The creation of new obscure concepts...................................................116 2.2.3 A magical gnosis as a ‗short-cut‘ to salvation........................................117 2.3 The Corpus Hermeticum and its Cosmogony................................................... 118 2.3.1 The Hermetic Trinity and their emanations..............................................119 2.4 Hermetic Logos, Nous and Gnosis.................................................................141 2.5 Hermetic receptivity to Egyptian concepts........................................................166 3. The Hermetica in Discursive Practices..................................................................176 3.1 Groups of Reception and Interpretation.........................................................177 3.1.1 Hermetic Mysticism and Gnostics........................................................178 3.1.1.1 On Gnostic/Hermetic communities...............................................179 3.1.1.2 Christian Mysticism and Hermetism.............................................182 3.1.1.2.1 St. Paul as Hermes...............................................................185 3.1.2 Philosophical Hermetica and Christian Thought...................................190 3.1.2.1 Tertullian of Carthage as a Hermetist..............................................194 7 3.1.2.2 Cyrill of Alexandria as a Hermetist..............................................197 3.1.2.3 Christians and their separation of Hermetica..................................201 3.1.3 Technical Hermetica and Pagan Thought............................................205 3.1.3.1 Iamblichus of Chalcis as a Hermetist...............................................207 3.1.3.2 Sabians and their fusion of Hermetica............................................215 3.2 The Hermetica as a Social Discourse................................................................217 3.3 Textual Circularity and Social Interpretations of the Hermetic Logos..............222 Conclusion...........................................................................................................226
Load more

Recommended publications
  • MORALITY and the AMORAL AGENT by GREGORY WILLIAM
    MORALITY AND THE AMORAL AGENT by GREGORY WILLIAM DURWARD B.Math., University of Waterloo, 1969 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF . THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF . DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of Philosophy) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September, 1978 © .Gregory; William Durward, I978: In presenting this thesis ih partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of Philosophy The University of British Columbia 2075 Wesbrook Place Vancouver, Canada V6T 1W5 Date fyiA^ |\<\V) ABSTRACT The thesis is an exploration of the possibility and rationality of amoral agency. A characterization of the moral agent and his mode of practical deliberation is developed, taking as central the objectivity or impersonal validity of moral judgments and principles, and the concern of morality with the welfare of persons in general. This provides the framework for a discussion of two main forms of amorality. A person may qualify as an amoral agent either because he has little or no concern for other persons' well-being and recognizes no valid claim on him to thus concern himself, or because he operates with a radically subjectivist view of practical reasons and principles of action.
    [Show full text]
  • Marginalia and Commentaries in the Papyri of Euripides, Sophocles and Aristophanes
    Nikolaos Athanassiou Marginalia and Commentaries in the Papyri of Euripides, Sophocles and Aristophanes PhD thesis / Dept. of Greek and Latin University College London London 1999 C Name of candidate: Nikolaos Athanassiou Title of Thesis: Marginalia and commentaries in the papyri of Euripides, Sophocles and Aristophanes. The purpose of the thesis is to examine a selection of papyri from the large corpus of Euripides, Sophocles and Aristophanes. The study of the texts has been divided into three major chapters where each one of the selected papyri is first reproduced and then discussed. The transcription follows the original publication whereas any possible textual improvement is included in the commentary. The commentary also contains a general description of the papyrus (date, layout and content) as well reference to special characteristics. The structure of the commentary is not identical for marginalia and hy-pomnemata: the former are examined in relation to their position round the main text and are treated both as individual notes and as a group conveying the annotator's aims. The latter are examined lemma by lemma with more emphasis upon their origins and later appearances in scholia and lexica. After the study of the papyri follows an essay which summarizes the results and tries to incorporate them into the wider context of the history of the text of each author and the scholarly attention that this received by the Alexandrian scholars or later grammarians. The main effort is to place each papyrus into one of the various stages that scholarly exegesis passed especially in late antiquity. Special treatment has been given to P.Wurzburg 1, the importance of which made it necessary that it occupies a chapter by itself.
    [Show full text]
  • The Druze: Culture, History and Mission
    The Druze A New Cultural and Historical Appreciation Abbas Halabi 2013 www.garnetpublishing.co.uk 1 The Druze Published by Garnet Publishing Limited 8 Southern Court South Street Reading RG1 4QS UK www.garnetpublishing.co.uk www.twitter.com/Garnetpub www.facebook.com/Garnetpub blog.garnetpublishing.co.uk Copyright © Abbas Halabi, 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. First Edition 2013 ISBN: 9781859643532 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Jacket design by Garnet Publishing Typeset by Samantha Barden Printed and bound in Lebanon by International Press: [email protected] 2 To Karl-Abbas, my first grandson And the future generation of my family 3 Preface Foreword Introduction Chapter 1 Human geography Chapter 2 The history of the Druze, 1017–1943 Chapter 3 Communal and social organization Chapter 4 Traditional culture and the meaning of al-Adhā feast Chapter 5 Civil status law Chapter 6 The diaspora and cultural expansion Chapter 7 The political role of the Druze from independence to the present time Chapter 8 The Druze message: plurality and unity Summary and conclusion Appendix 1 The impact of European influences on the Druze community: “The new look” Appendix 2 Sheikh Halīm Taqī al-Dīn: a man of knowledge,
    [Show full text]
  • Redalyc.Kabbalah, Symbolism and Metaphysicsin Russian Freemasonry of the XVIII Th–XIX Th Centuries
    REHMLAC. Revista de Estudios Históricos de la Masonería Latinoamericana y Caribeña E-ISSN: 1659-4223 [email protected] Universidad de Costa Rica Costa Rica Khalturin, Yuriy Kabbalah, Symbolism and Metaphysicsin Russian Freemasonry of the XVIII th–XIX th centuries REHMLAC. Revista de Estudios Históricos de la Masonería Latinoamericana y Caribeña, vol. 7, núm. 1, mayo-noviembre, 2015, pp. 128-140 Universidad de Costa Rica San José, Costa Rica Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=369539930009 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative REHMLAC+, ISSN 1659-4223, Vol. 7, no. 2, Mayo - Noviembre 2015/ 128-140 128 Kabbalah, Symbolism and Metaphysics in Russian Freemasonry of the XVIIIth – XIXth centuries Yuriy Khalturin PhD in Philosophy (Russian Academy of Science), independent scholar, member of ESSWE. E-mail: [email protected] Fecha de recibido: 20 de noviembre de 2014 - Fecha de aceptación: 8 de enero de 2015 Palabras clave Cábala, masonería, rosacrucismo, teosofía, sofilogía, Sephiroth, Ein-Soph, Adam Kadmon, emanación, alquimia, la estrella llameante, columnas Jaquín y Boaz Keywords Kabbalah, Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, Theosophy, Sophiology, Sephiroth, Ein-Soph, Adam Kadmon, emanation, alchemy, Flaming Star, Columns Jahin and Boaz Resumen Este trabajo considera algunas conexiones entre la Cábala y la masonería en Rusia como se refleja en los archivos del Departamento de Manuscritos de la Biblioteca Estatal Rusa (DMS RSL). El vínculo entre ellos se basa en la comprensión tanto de la Cabala y la masonería como la filosofía simbólica y “verdaderamente metafísica”.
    [Show full text]
  • Rosicrucianism from Its Origins to the Early 18Th Century
    CHAPTER TWO ROSICRUCIANISM FROM ITS ORIGINS TO THE EARLY 18TH CENTURY In order to understand the 18th-century Rosicrucian revival it is necessary to know something of the origins and early history of Rosicrucianism. This ground has already been covered many times,1 but it is worth covering it again here in broad outline as a prelude to my main investigation. The Rosicrucian legend was born in the early 17th century in the uneasy period before religious tensions in Central Europe erupted into the Thirty Years' War. The Lutheran Reformation of a century earlier had finally shat­ tered the religious unity of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. On the other hand, as the historian Geoffrey Parker has observed, the Reformation had not produced the spiritual renewal that its advocates had hoped for.2 In the prevailing atmosphere of political and religious tension and spiritual malaise, many people turned, in their dismay, to the old millenarian dream of a new age. This way of thinking, dating back to the writings of the 12th-cen­ tury Calabrian abbot Joachim of Fiore, had surfaced at various times in the intervening centuries, giving rise to movements of the kind described by Nor­ man Cohn in his Pursuit of the Millennium3 and by Marjorie Reeves in her Joachim ofFiore and the Prophetic Future.4 Joachim and his followers saw history as unfolding in a series of three ages, corresponding to the three per­ sons of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in that order. They believed that hitherto they had been living in the Age of the Son, but that the Age of the Spirit was at hand.
    [Show full text]
  • Rosicrucianism in the Contemporary Period in Denmark
    Contemporary Rosicrucianism in Denmark 445 Chapter 55 Contemporary Rosicrucianism in Denmark Rosicrucianism in the Contemporary Period in Denmark Jacob Christiansen Senholt Rosicrucian ideas were present in Denmark already during the seventeenth century, fuelled by the publication of the tracts Fama fraternitatis rosae crucis and Confessio fraternitatis in Germany in 1614 and 1615 respectively. After a gap in the history of Rosicrucian presence in Denmark of almost 300 years, modern Rosicrucian societies spread across the world, and following this wave of Rosi­ cru cian fraternities, Danish offshoots of these fraternities also emerged. The modern­day Rosicrucians and their presence in Denmark stem from two differ­ ent historical roots. The first is an influence from Germany via the Rosicrucian Society in Germany (Rosenkreuzer­Gesellschaft in Deutschland), and the other comes from the United States, with the formation of Antiquus Mys ti cus­ que Ordo Rosæ Crucis (AMORC) by Harvey Spencer Lewis (1883–1939) in 1915. The Rosicrucian Fellowship The history of modern Rosicrucianism in Denmark starts in 1865 when Carl Louis von Grasshoff (1865–1919), later known under the pseudonym Max Heindel, was born. Although born in Denmark, Heindel was of German ances­ try, and spent most of his life travelling in both the United States and Germany. He was a member of the Theosophical Society and met with the later founder of Anthroposophy, Rudolf Steiner, in 1907. In 1909 he published his major work, The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception, which dealt with Christian mysticism and esotericism, and later that year Heindel founded The Rosicrucian Fellowship. It was a German spin­off of this group lead by occultist and theosophist Franz Hartmann (1838–1912) and later Hugo Vollrath, that later became influential in Denmark.
    [Show full text]
  • Hermeticism Pt 1\374
    "I wish to learn about the things that are, to understand their nature and to know God. How much I want to hear!" from [Discourse] of Hermes Trismegistus : Poimandres Hermeticism "The fifteen tractates of the Corpus Hermeticum, along with the Perfect Sermon or Asclepius, are the foundation documents of the Hermetic tradition. Written by unknown authors in Egypt sometime before the end of the third century C.E., they were part of a once substantial literature attributed to the mythic figure of Hermes Trismegistus, a Hellenistic fusion of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. This literature came out of the same religious and philosophical ferment that produced Neoplatonism, Christianity, and the diverse collection of teachings usually lumped together under the label "Gnosticism": a ferment which had its roots in the impact of Platonic thought on the older traditions of the Hellenized East. There are obvious connections and common themes linking each of these traditions, although each had its own answer to the major questions of the time." John Michael Greer : An Introduction to the Corpus Hermeticum "The Corpus Hermeticum landed like a well-aimed bomb amid the philosophical systems of late medieval Europe. Quotations from the Hermetic literature in the Church Fathers (who were never shy of leaning on pagan sources to prove a point) accepted a traditional chronology which dated "Hermes Trismegistus," as a historical figure, to the time of Moses. As a result, the Hermetic tractates' borrowings from Jewish scripture and Platonic philosophy were seen, in the Renaissance, as evidence that the Corpus Hermeticum had anticipated and influenced both.
    [Show full text]
  • The Routledge Handbook of Neoplatonism the Alexandrian
    This article was downloaded by: 10.3.98.104 On: 25 Sep 2021 Access details: subscription number Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG, UK The Routledge Handbook of Neoplatonism Pauliina Remes, Svetla Slaveva-Griffin The Alexandrian classrooms excavated and sixth-century philosophy teaching Publication details https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315744186.ch3 Richard Sorabji Published online on: 30 Apr 2014 How to cite :- Richard Sorabji. 30 Apr 2014, The Alexandrian classrooms excavated and sixth-century philosophy teaching from: The Routledge Handbook of Neoplatonism Routledge Accessed on: 25 Sep 2021 https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315744186.ch3 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR DOCUMENT Full terms and conditions of use: https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/legal-notices/terms This Document PDF may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproductions, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The publisher shall not be liable for an loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. 3 The Alexandrian classrooms excavated and sixth-century philosophy teaching Richard Sorabji It was announced in 2004 that the Polish archaeological team under Grzegorz Majcherek had identifi ed the surprisingly well-preserved lecture rooms of the sixth-century Alexandrian school.1 Th is was a major archaeological discovery.2 Although the fi rst few rooms had been excavated twenty-fi ve years earlier, identifi cation has only now become possible.
    [Show full text]
  • See No Evil, Speak No Evil? Morality, Evolutionary Psychology, and the Nature of International Relations Brian C
    See No Evil, Speak No Evil? Morality, Evolutionary Psychology, and the Nature of International Relations Brian C. Rathbun and Caleb Pomeroy Abstract A central theme in the study of international relations is that anarchy requires states set aside moral concerns to attain security, rendering IR an autonomous sphere devoid of ethical considerations. Evolutionary and moral psychology, however, suggest that morality emerged to promote human success. It is not despite anarchy but because of anarchy that humans have an ethical sense. Our argument has three empirical implications. First, it is almost impossible to talk about threat and harm without invoking morality. Second, state leaders and the public will use moral judgments as a basis, indeed the most important factor, for assessing international threat, just as research shows they do at the interpersonal level. Third, foreign policy driven by a conception of international relations as an amoral sphere will be quite rare. Word embeddings applied to large political and non-political corpora, a survey experiment in Russia, surveys of the Chinese mass public, and an in-depth analysis of Hitler’s foreign policy thought suggest that individuals both speak evil, condemning aggressive behavior by others, and see evil, screening for threats on the basis of morality. The findings erode notions of IR as an autonomous sphere and upset traditional materialist-ideational dichotomies. A frequent theme in international relations (IR) theory is that foreign affairs is an amoral realm where everyday ethical norms know no place. Under anarchy, ethical considerations must be set aside because morality’s restraints hinder the necessary pursuit of egoistic interests through the use of threats and violence.
    [Show full text]
  • 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]
  • Hermeticism in Sweden 189
    Hermeticism in Sweden 189 Chapter 24 Hermeticism in Sweden Hermeticism in Sweden Susanna Åkerman The fragmentary sources for tracing Hermeticism in Sweden stem from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when these texts still formed a basis for cosmological thinking. The Corpus Hermeticum was often associated with another Hermetic text, the Tabula smaragdina or Emerald Tablet. Translated into Latin from the Arabic in the twelfth century, the text was particularly pop- ular among German alchemists, who rarely read the Corpus Hermeticum but instead based their understanding of Hermeticism on the short sentences from the Emerald Tablet. The Emerald Tablet was furthermore used to present alchemy in a simple but enigmatic form. The Tablet formulated the kernel of Hermeticism in a widely spread maxim on the parallels between the cosmo- logical macrocosm and the human microcosm: “As above, so below”. This figure of thought had a great influence on Hermeticism in Sweden. Swedenborg, for example, reformulated it to treat of correspondences between the natural, the spiritual, and the heavenly realms. Hermetic philosophy likewise influenced three other currents: mysticism, alchemy, and Rosicrucianism. Seventeenth-Century Metaphysics Hermeticism began to be an important current in Sweden with Johan Skytte (1577–1645), who was the Chancellor of Uppsala University. In the 1640s Skytte delivered an oration in which he praised King Gustavus II Adolphus for having opened the doors for “Theophrastus [Paracelsus] and [Hermes] Trismegistos” to the Swedish universities. This was a clear signal that the older pagan phi- losophy was compatible with Christian beliefs. In the same spirit, the Finnish natural philosopher Sigfrid Aron Forsius (1560–1624) edited several almanacs to be used for astrological purposes.
    [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]