Customer Reviews

The Egyptian Hermes: A Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind

5 star:		(3)
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Fowden, as a writer, is admittedly no model of lucidity; at the same time, he is writing for academics, and is thus able to compress a huge amount into a small space. If you are not used to academic prose, you will find this book very difficult; it would also help if you know a certain amount about the reception of the Hermetica in 19th and 20th century historiography, and perhaps a bit about the late Classical era.

At the same time, this book has been reprinted for a reason: it's the single most important historical argument about the Hermetica. For a long time, the Hermetica were understood to be purely Greek, essentially Hellenic misappropriations of pseudo-Egyptian ideas, recast in Neoplatonic style. What Fowden does is to show that these texts do have an important base within the dying Egyptian traditions of their day.

For non-specialists, this may seem like small potatoes. But it changes everything. If you have read Frances Yates, for example, she argued that these texts were grotesquely misread by Ficino and the Renaissance tradition, on three counts: (1) they thought the texts were really, really ancient, more or less contemporary with Moses; (2) they thought the texts were Egyptian, not Greek; and (3) they thought the texts were really about magic (and not philosophy). Now there's no question that the Hermetica are from 1st-2d century Alexandria, but they are _not_ simply Greek; they are, in a sense, Egyptian formulations that draw on the then-influential Greek modes of philosophical thought. Furthermore, it means that the texts we usually think of as the Hermetic Corpus can and should be correlated with the PGM (the Greek Magical Papyri and their Demotic associates), changing the whole character of the texts by giving them a wildly different literary and ritual context. In other words, the Renaissance got the dating wrong, but in many respects got the rest more or less right; as a result, Fowden's book not only changes the way we read the Hermetica in their Alexandrian context, but also how we make sense of the Renaissance magical revival (Ficino, Pico, Agrippa, Bruno, etc.).

If, having read this review, you think, "Who cares?" then this book is certainly not for you. If you think, "Wow! That's fascinating," then this is essential. I have seen the odd quibble with small points in Fowden's arguments, but I have not seen any serious attack on the main thrust of the book. Considering when it was first written, that's extraordinary.

But you do need to be comfortable with academic prose.

The curious writings on Magic, Astrology, Alchemy, and Spirituality traditionally attributed to the Egyptian god Hermes Trismegistus have fascinated scholars, theologians, mystics, and occultists alike for almost two thousand years. Since the early 1600's most academics regarded the spirituality oriented "philosophical Hermetica" as the products of Greek philosophy and Gnostic Christianity with no Egyptian religious content. In this influential and often referenced book, Garth Fowden establishes these works as a blend of Greek and authentic Egyptian sources in a classic "east meets west" scenario. Hence the title "The Egyptian Hermes".

Leaving aside the disputes of the learned, what I found most interesting about this book is Fowden's attempt to understand the mindset and social and religious environment of the anonymous 2nd and 3rd century creators of the Hermetica. For instance, even though I am trained in physics and chemistry, I now begin to understand why a first century Greek-Egyptian could find astrology, alchemy and magic to be sensible pursuits. I was also intrigued to find these so-called pagans sought a transcendent union with the single god who created the cosmos, which includes the other gods. These and other unexpected mixtures of pagan and typically Christian beliefs serve to illustrate the broad range of religious and philosophical ideas in the Roman Empire during the time that Christianity was becoming established. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of religion or philosophy, not just to students of Hermetic philosophy.

Be warned, however, that this book is not an easy read. Fowden is an academic writing for academics. Specialized terms are often not explained and the writing style is complicated rather than lucid. Keep your (unabridged) dictionary handy. He also sometimes indulges in that annoying academic habit of not translating quotes from languages other than English. If you are willing to put in the effort, this book will be richly rewarding.

The origins of Hermes Trismegistus, the sage cult hero of Graeco-Roman Egypt, to many people has seemingly been lost in the midst of time. This is the first investigation undertaken into his mystic by a social historian. The technical and philosophical aspects of Hermetica as normally seen as separate entities, but the author argues for their togetherness as was typical of philosophy and religion of that era. The book has no illustrations or photos and in that sense it is quite scholarly. Definitely for those who are religion-orientated, especially and more precisely interested in Hermes.

While Fowden's prose does occassionally get wearisome (personally, I think that even considering the academic tone necessarily employed by him, he could have done much better), this book nonetheless remains a truly unsurpassed study of the syncretic influences of the Alexandrian period and the Hermetic traditions that arose from it.

Fowden carefully traces out the variety of Greek and Egyptian influences that went into formulating the body of thought and literature now collectively referred to as "Hermetica," or "Hermetism" and convincingly demonstrates that ultimately these things did in fact have a clear precedent in pre-Ptolemaic Egypt. Much as Wilkinson and other Egyptologists have done for pre-Hellenistic Egyptian thought and religion, so Fowden has done for post-Hellenistic Egyptian thought, in demonstrating a kind of continuity that was previously dismissed by academics as overly "idealistic" (i.e. a general continuity of thought carried forward from ancient Egypt into the Classical world).

As another reviewer rightly noted, this has immense implications for the field of Graeco-Egyptian studies, and for the study of all "esoteric" modes of thought and literature that follow it.

The book is also wonderfully concise, and does not droll on endlessly as some academic works tend to do. So, despite the sometimes excessively dry language, Fowden manages to say just what needs to be said - no more, and no less. This book is a genuine accomplishment, and a must for any serious student of the Graeco-Egyptian period, or of the Hermetic revival(s) that later drew upon it.

The Egyptian Hermes is a very concise and rich analysis of the Hermetic mysteries in late Antiquity. Fowden draws parallels between the Hermetic system and other esoteric philosophies and movements of the time, like Iamblichus' Neoplatonic theurgy, the Magical Papyri, and Gnostic literature. The result is a brilliant scholarly work, that is possibly the most valuable survey of the Hermetic movement written so far. Fowden's writing style is a bit convoluted at times, and the beginning student may have some difficulty absorbing all the information on the first read, but aside from that this book is a work of genius. Fowden's book, plus a good translation of the Hermetica (like those of Walter Scott, Brian Copenhaver or Clement Salaman), is all the reader will need to begin a serious study of Hermetism.

This is a very interesting book on Hermes centered Egyptian-Greek religious practice in the pre-Christian era, much more illumination than the mere reading of mythologies. However the writing of it is unfortunate. The author fills, not just each page, but each paragraph with 1960's cliché and psychobabble that was popular with hip academia of the day. It is a trip back in time to read this now archaic speech.
This book deserves 4 or 5 stars except for its unreadability. It is difficult and arduous reading, as I found myself having to parse each sentence to extract it's meaning. I could only keep it up for short periods of time and hope to be able to finish the book someday.
If only the publishers were to have the book rewritten by someone with a broader writing ability, this book would be an invaluable addition to anyone's library with an interest in Egyptian-Greek pagan religion as practiced in that era.
Even with the books faults, the subject matter is so interesting that it may be worth the trouble for the hardy.

Fowden does a good job of tracing the orgins of Hermitist to Ancient Egypt. He's able to show and explain the mixing of the cultures of Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome that led to influences being passed down and around.

I purchased this book, hoping it would examine the _ancient_ Egyptian source of the ideas within the Corpus Hermeticum. But, in that respect this book is entitled in a misleading manner. The author is a researcher for the Center for _Greek_ and _Roman_ Antiquity of the National _Hellenic_ Research Foundation in _Athens_. And, as the name of his foundation clearly implies, his academic zeal begins and ends with Greece and Rome.

Yes, everyone knows that the Corpus Hermeticum we now have was written by Greeks. But, my interest is in discovering the Kemetian source those Greeks worked from to come up with their Corpus Hermeticum. Alas, this book was no help.