Customer Reviews

The Secret History of Hermes Trismegistus: Hermeticism from Ancient to Modern Times

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While the traditional discussion of the Corpus Hermeticum begins with Marsilio Ficino's 1471 translation for Cosimo de' Medici, the discussion soon stalls with the centuries' old debate of the text and if the ideas it expresses are truly Egyptian wisdom or are merely a Hellenistic patch-work infused with Egyptian atmosphere.

In The Secret History of Hermes Trismegistus: Hermeticism from Ancient to Modern Times, Florian Ebeling takes a fresh approach by focusing on the character/author Hermes Trismegistus within countless literary sources attributed to him from Coptic, European and Arabic sources. Florian, beginning in Antiquity, isolates two distinct traditions and then follows them through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the enlightenment up to the twentieth Century, arguing that Hermes Trismegistus did not spontaneously appear in Italy during the Renaissance but was consistently popular, often referenced in both Europe and in the Middle East since his first appearance over 2000 years ago. Ebeling continues by outlining how Hermes as well as hermetic wisdom was eventually discredited then more recently vindicated by historic, religious and scientific opinion.

This new approach benefits from recent scriptural finds from Nag Hammadi, decipherment of Egyptian Hieroglyphics, and a greater, more critical understanding of the Hellenistic cultural milieu. By building on recent scholarly works like The Eternal Hermes by Antoine Faivre, The Egyptian Hermes by Garth Fowden and Hermetica by Brian P. Copenhaver, Florian Ebeling, breathes fresh life into the religious tradition of the Thrice Great Hermes allowing these ancient scriptures an increasingly wider audience.

I love to read about Hermes. I am disappointed in this book because the print is so small that it is very difficult to read. It hurts your eyes, and after awhile, it gives you a headache.