On the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans and Assyrians [Paperback]

Iamblichus (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2006

This volume, On the Mysteries, by Iamblichus (Abamun) is a unique form or scripture out of the Ancient Egyptian religious tradition. It is written in a form that is not usual or which is not usually found in the remnants of Ancient Egyptian scriptures. It is in the form of teacher and disciple, much like the Eastern scriptures such as Bhagavad Gita or the Upanishads. This form of writing may not have been necessary in Ancient times, because the format of teaching in Egypt was different prior to the conquest period by the Persians, Assyrians, Greeks and later the Romans. The question and answer format can be found but such extensive discourses and corrections of misunderstandings within the context of a teacher - disciple relationship is not usual. It therefore provides extensive insights into the times when it was written and the state of practice of Ancient Egyptian and other mystery religions. This has important implications for our times because we are today, as in the Greco-Roman period, also besieged with varied religions and new age philosophies as well as social strife and war. How can we understand our times and also make sense of the forest of spiritual traditions? How can we cut through the cacophony of religious fanaticism, and ignorance as well as misconceptions about the mysteries on the other in order to discover the true purpose of religion and the secret teachings that open up the mysteries of life and the way to enlightenment and immortality? This book, which comes to us from so long ago, offers us transcendental wisdom that applied to the world two thousand years ago as well as our world today.

Product Details

• Paperback: 404 pages
• Publisher: Sema Institute (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 188456464X
• ISBN-13: 978-1884564642
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #897,418 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I hold this book second only to the Bible..., June 19, 2008

By 

A. Vasquez (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: On the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans and Assyrians (Paperback)

Well, not quite. But this edition of Thomas Taylor's translation of Iamblichus' apologia for the pagan cult is affordable and highly accessible, and a necessary read for anyone who wants to find out the essence of ancient religion. For Iamblichus, the sacred is not about thinking, and the divine is not a matter of opinion, but a reality to be performed in cultic theurgy. You only "know" God by doing, by entering into the symbol and being transformed by it. For those who just want to know the basics, this is a good deal, with few footnotes and recourse to scholarly language. Specialists, however, might want to search for another edition. But I would buy this one too in any event.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a review, July 28, 2010

By 

C. Stinson - See all my reviews

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This review is from: On the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans and Assyrians (Paperback)

I bought this book for the Thomas Taylor translation. He has a keen sense of what the ancients meant and gets to the heart of theurgy, together with his many notes throughout and at the end of the book. The translation itself is a facsimile of the 1895 edition of Taylor's work. The publisher (Sema Institute) did not include pages 344 and 345. The 1895 edition's copyright has expired and is in the public domain, so the missing pages can be read from Archive.org.
[...]

I didn't really care for the rather New Age, neo-pagan foreword and a section inserted towards the end of the book, written by Muata Ashby. For a much more scholarly and lengthy introduction to Iamblichus, see the translation by Clarke, Dillon, and Hershbell: Iamblichus: De Mysteriis (Writings from the Greco-Roman World, V. 4.)

This really deserves five stars, but had to knock one off for these issues.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More important than, "Is it a good book?", January 28, 2009

By 

Robert Elm "Coyoteknight" (Reseda California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: On the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans and Assyrians (Paperback)

This is a book that is of inestimable import. Yes it is a good book, well written, well translated and extremely well organized but more importantly it is one of the only surviving sources of Pagan religious practice and theology left to us. The picture Iamblichus paints of the ancient practice of Theurgy is a vivid and technical one, a picture made all the more vivid by the questions posed to him by Porphyry which in and of themselves aid us in understanding the beliefs of the Pagan world and the various views of the people of late antiquity. This was a book recommended by Emperor Julian as a basis for his planned church of "Hellenismos" which was for good or ill never brought to the light of day. It is a book to be respected and a book that is more than just a good read. It is to my knowledge the only surviving text on the religious landscape of the ancient world to survive that is written by a priest of the mysteries about the mysteries themselves.