The Hermetica: The Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs [Paperback]

Timothy Freke (Author), Peter Gandy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 8, 1999

Credited to Hermes, an Egyptian sage who lived around 3000 BC, "The Hermetica" is the foundation of the western mystery tradition. This text contains historical background information and a selection of Hermes' writings.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Greek, Latin

About the Author

Timothy Freke is the author of many books on mystical philosophy, including The Tao Te Ching and, with Peter Gandy, The Complete Guide to World Mysticism. He lives in England.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher (March 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874779502
• ISBN-13: 978-0874779509
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #381,557 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Thought Made Accessible, August 18, 2000

By 

F. P. Kovacs (Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hermetica: The Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs (Paperback)

I was wary of this book when I first purchased it, but to my delight it turned out to be the best introduction to the Hermes/Thoth literature available. Beyond the value of its clear and readable presentation of some of the oldest wisdom tracts in the Western World, the authors also briefly touch on the provinence of the works. Because the Hermes Corpus was declared a fraud in the 17th century, the heavy lifting required to point out that they are not is simply beyond the scope of this volume. But any reader who is intrigued by the material can go on and discover for themselves the story of Hermes and make their own judgement. I place the rediscovery of the Hermes Corpus on the same level as the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts, so this fine introductory volume should be considered by anyone interested in ancient literature and spirituality.

44 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars well sumaarized, December 31, 1999

By 

O. B. Makhubela (South Africa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hermetica: The Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs (Paperback)

The book is very easy to read and follow: which is the intention of the authors. The chapters are excellently introduced and short. I liked also the authors arguments that the Hermetica is an ancient Egyptian wisdom, and NOT Greek. Hermes is a Greek god equated to Tehuti: Tehuti (Egyptian) is the author of the "Hermetica", who is also called Thoth, or Hermes. The focus of the book is on the origin of existence and its intricacies. A good summarized book on Hermetic wisdom.

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful insight to source of religious thought, May 24, 2000

By 

Mr P. J. Ruane - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hermetica: The Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs (Paperback)

I found this an interesting book. It begins with a history of the Hermetica, which is an ancient Egyptian religious/philosophical work, which gives an insight into the nature of God Man and the Universe. The analogies are very easy to follow and understand and give a new insight into what it's all about, and often fills many blanks left by other religions. The history also relates how the Greeks adopted the teachings and how during the last several thousand years the work has resurfaced from obscurity many times and each time caused a renaissance and advancement of mankind.

The original Hermetica is then presented in a condensed form which is designed to be easily read and accessable. This is a good method as it gives the reader the main ideas and if they like this form of philosophy they can then read the entire book Corpus Hermetica which is the whole teaching.

Despite being Egyptian texts, they predate the Isis/Osiris religion and are monothesist. It is surprising that few people are aware of the Corpus Hermetica which also predates the bible and old testament. Many ideas in more than one religion can be attributed to having roots in Hermetica. It is only beaten into first place as the oldest religious texts by the epic of Gilgamesh. Whilst many occult groups are referred to as being Hermetic, this does no justice to Hermetic thought which is easily compatable with most religions.

5 stars for making Corpus Hermetica easily accessable to the reader.