The Hermetica are a body of theological-philosophical texts written in late antiquity, but long believed to be much older. Their supposed author, Hermes Trismegistus, was thought to be a contemporary of Moses, and the Hermetic philosophy was regarded as an ancient theology, parallel to the received wisdom of the Bible. This first English translation based on reliable texts, together with Brian P. Copenhaver's comprehensive introduction, provide an indispensable resource to scholars in ancient philosophy and religion, early Christianity, Renaissance literature, and history, the history of science, and the occultist tradition in which the Hermetica have become canonical texts.

The first easily accessible translation of the esoteric writings that inspired some of the world's greatest artists, scientists, and philosophers. Here is an essential digest of the Greco-Egyptian writings attributed to the legendary sage-god Hermes Trismegistus (Greek for thrice-greatest Hermes), a combination of the Egyptian Thoth and the Greek Hermes. The figure of Hermes was venerated as a great and mythical teacher in the ancient world and was rediscovered by the finest minds of the Renaissance. The writings attributed to his hand are a time capsule of Egyptian and Greek esoteric philosophy and have influenced figures including Blake, Newton, Milton, Shelley, Shakespeare, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Jung. Providing a fascinating introduction to the intersection of the Egyptian and Hellenic cultures and the magico-religious ideas of the antique world, The Hermetica is a marvelous volume for anyone interested in understanding the West's roots in mystical thought.

The Hermetica, otherwise known as The Corpus Hermeticum, The Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs, or The Divine Pymander is a collection of texts attributed to Hermes Trismegistus (Greek god Hermes and Egyptian god Thoth -- Trismegistus for “The Thrice-Greatest”) which brought forth the principles of the Hermetics with eighteen treaties/tracts. The book is often divided into two main categories: The technical (astrology, medicine and pharmacology, alchemy, and magic) and the religio-philosophical (anthropology, cosmology, theology). The Hermetica, and Hermeticism from it, claims that there is One true theology of the world, and said theology is the Root and Source. It presents a tautology to God Itself, that the Source is Source Itself, Source “containeth every number, but is contained by none; engendereth every number, but is engendered by no other one.” The Hermetica presents that past all our mullings over different gods, there is Source Itself behind all religions. While a lot of The Hermetica is presented as gospel, it is mainly a discourse on principles concerning a hermetic philosophy. It remains a source of continuous, unfolding interpretations. The beauty of this work is not in its rigidity, but its fluidness to be open to new interpretations, which has solidified its staying power for centuries.

This volume presents in new English translations the scattered fragments and testimonies regarding Hermes Thrice Great that complete Brian Copenhaver's translation of the Hermetica (Cambridge, 1992). It contains the twenty-nine fragments from Stobaeus (including the famous Kore Kosmou), the Oxford and Vienna fragments (never before translated), an expanded selection of fragments from various authors (including Zosimus of Panopolis, Augustine, and Albert the Great), and testimonies about Hermes from thirty-eight authors (including Cicero, Pseudo-Manetho, the Emperor Julian, Al-Kindī, Michael Psellus, the Emerald Tablet, and Nicholas of Cusa). All translations are accompanied by introductions and notes which cite sources for further reading. These Hermetic texts will appeal to a broad array of readers interested in western esotericism including scholars of Egyptology, the New Testament, the classical world, Byzantium, medieval Islam, the Latin Middle Ages, and the Renaissance.

When Dase finds an old news article behind the wall panel of their module--an article from a different world--everything starts to unravel. Who's going to believe Dase, when everyone knows they're a little crazy? And who is even in charge of Hermetica? In a universe of total surveillance and parallel worlds, consensus reality isn't what you think.

The Hermetica is the name given to an extraordinary collection of writings ascribed to Hermes Trismegistus, the Greek name for the legendary teacher, prophet and scribe deified by the Egyptians as the god Thoth and known to the Hebrews as Enoch. When in about 1460 AD a Greek manuscript of the Corpus Hermeticum came into the possession of Cosimo de Medici, Duke of Florence, he ordered Marsilio Ficino to leave aside the works of Plato and concentrate instead on these 'Lost works of Hermes'. Later scholarship indicates that these writings are not as old as was thought, in fact they probably date from only the second and third centuries AD. However, they are clearly the work of an esoteric school involved in self-development and it is very likely that this school belonged to a tradition going back to the earlier Egypt of Hermes. The Hermetica can be studied from many different angles. They were a source of inspiration to C G Jung when he was developing his system of depth psychology, they are clearly one of the main sources of Gurdjieff's cosmology and they are in close agreement with the doctrine gleaned from the readings of Edgar Cayce.For the reader today the Hermetica are still alive and vital. Like the Upanishads of India they have the power to uplift the soul and to open the mind to wider horizons.