〓犬〓：新頁面: '''Hermes Trismegistus''' (Greek: {{polytonic|Ἑρμῆς ὁ Τρισμέγιστος}}, "thrice-great Hermes"; Latin: ''Mercurius ter Maximus'') i...

2007-12-25T11:40:52Z

新頁面: '''Hermes Trismegistus''' (Greek: {{polytonic|Ἑρμῆς ὁ Τρισμέγιστος}}, "thrice-great Hermes"; Latin: ''Mercurius ter Maximus'') i...

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'''Hermes Trismegistus''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: {{polytonic|Ἑρμῆς ὁ Τρισμέγιστος}}, "thrice-great Hermes"; [[Latin language|Latin]]: ''Mercurius ter Maximus'') is the [[syncretism]] of the [[Greek mythology|Greek]] god [[Hermes]] and the [[Egypt]]ian god [[Thoth]].<ref>(Budge ''The Gods of the Egyptians'' Vol. 1 p. 415)</ref> In [[Hellenistic]] Egypt, the Egyptian god [[Thoth]] was given as [[epithet]] the Greek name of Hermes. He has also been identified with [[Enoch (ancestor of Noah)|Enoch]]<ref>[http://www.library.rochester.edu/camelot/TEAMS/jwstxt2.htm ''The Dicts and Sayings of the Philosophers'', 2. Hermes]</ref>. Other similar syncretized gods include [[Serapis]] and [[Hermanubis]]{{Fact|date=June 2007}}.

Hermes Trismegistus might also be explained in [[Euhemerus|Euhemerist]] fashion as a man who was the son of the god, and in the [[Kabbalah|Kabbalistic tradition]] that was inherited by the [[Renaissance]], it could be imagined that such a personage had been contemporary with [[Moses]], communicating to a line of adepts a parallel wisdom, from [[Zoroaster]] to [[Plato]]. A historian, however, would leave such speculation to the history of [[alchemy]] and the nineteenth-century history of [[occultism]].
[[Image:Siena.Duomo.floor01.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Hermes Trismegistus, floor mosaic in the [[Duomo di Siena|Cathedral of Siena]] ]]

==Origin==
Both [[Thoth]] and [[Hermes]] were gods of [[writing]] and of [[magic and religion|magic]] in their respective cultures. Thus, the Greek god of interpretive communication was combined with the Egyptian god of wisdom as a patron of [[astrology]] and alchemy. In addition, both gods were [[psychopomp]]s; guiding souls to the afterlife.

The majority of [[ancient Greece|Greeks]], and later [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], did not accept Hermes Trismegistus in the place of Hermes{{Fact|date=December 2007}}. The two gods remained distinct from one another. Cicero noted several individuals referred to as "Hermes" ''(De natura deorum III, Ch. 56)'':
:''the fifth, who is worshipped by the people of Pheneus [in [[Arcadia]]?], is said to have killed [[Argus]], and for this reason to have fled to Egypt, and to have given the [[Egyptians]] their laws and alphabet: he it is whom the Egyptians call Theyn [[Thoth]].''

The Hermetic literature added to the Egyptian concerns with conjuring spirits and animating statues that inform the oldest texts, Hellenistic writings of Greco-[[Babylon]]ian astrology and the newly developed practice of alchemy (Fowden 1993: pp65–68). In a parallel tradition, [[Hermetic philosophy]] rationalized and systematized religious [[Cult|cult practices]] and offered the adept a method of personal [[Ascension of Jesus Christ|ascension]] from the constraints of physical being, which has led to confusion of Hermeticism with [[Gnosticism]], which was developing contemporaneously [http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Merkur.html]

As a divine fountain of writing, Hermes Trismegistus was credited with tens of thousands of writings of high standing, reputed to be of immense antiquity. [[Plato]]'s ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]'' and ''[[Critias (dialogue)|Critias]]'' state that in the temple of [[Neith]] at [[Sais]], there were secret halls containing historical records which had been kept for 9,000 years. [[Clement of Alexandria]] was under the impression that the Egyptians had forty-two sacred writings by Hermes, encapsulating all the training of Egyptian priests. Siegfried Morenz has suggested (''Egyptian Religion'') "The reference to Thoth's authorship...is based on ancient tradition; the figure forty-two probably stems from the number of Egyptian [[Nome (Egypt)|nomes]], and thus conveys the notion of completeness." The [[neoplatonism|Neo-Platonic]] writers took up Clement's "forty-two essential texts".

The so-called "Hermetic literature", the ''[[Hermetica]]'', is a category of [[papyrus|papyri]] containing spells and induction procedures. In the dialogue called the ''[[Asclepius dialogue|Asclepius]]'' (after the Greek god of healing) the art of imprisoning the souls of demons or of angels in statues with the help of herbs, gems and odors, is described, such that the statue could speak and prophesy. In other papyri, there are other recipes for constructing such images and animating them, such as when images are to be fashioned hollow so as to enclose a [[magic (paranormal)|magic]] name inscribed on gold leaf.

==Hermetic revival==
:''For the main article, see [[Hermeticism]]. For the career of the Corpus Hermeticum, see [[Hermetica]]''.
During the [[Middle Ages]] and the [[Renaissance]], the writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus known as ''[[Hermetica]]'' enjoyed great credit and were popular among alchemists. The "hermetic tradition" therefore refers to alchemy, magic, astrology and related subjects. The texts are usually distinguished in two categories the "philosophical" and "technical" hermetica. The former deals mainly with issues of [[philosophy]], and the latter with magic, potions and alchemy. Among other things there are spells to magically protect objects; hence the origin of the term "[[Hermetically sealed]]".

The classical scholar [[Isaac Casaubon]] in ''De Rebus sacris et ecclesiaticis exercitiones XVI'' ([[1614]]) showed, by the character of the Greek, the texts that were traditionally written at the dawn of time, to be more recent: most of the "philosophical" ''[[Corpus Hermeticum]]'' can be dated to around [[AD 300]]. However, flaws in this identification were uncovered by the [[17th century]] scholar [[Ralph Cudworth]], who argued that Casaubon's allegation of forgery could only be applied to three of the seventeen treatises contained within the ''[[Corpus Hermeticum]]''. Moreover, Cudworth noted Casaubon's failure to acknowledge the codification of these treatises as a late formulation of a pre-existing (possibly oral) tradition. According to Cudworth, the text must be viewed as a ''terminus ad quem'' and not ''a quo''.

==Hermes Trismegistus in Islamic tradition==

[[Antoine Faivre]], in ''[[The Eternal Hermes]]'' (1995) has pointed out that Hermes Trismegistus has a place in the [[Islam]]ic tradition, though the name ''[[Hermes]]'' does not appear in the ''[[Qur'an]]''. [[Hagiographer]]s and chroniclers of the first centuries of the Islamic [[Hijra (Islam)|Hegira]] quickly identified Hermes Trismegistus with [[Idris (prophet)|Idris]], the ''[[nabi]]'' of [[sura]]hs 19.57; 21.85, whom the ''[[Arabs]]'' also identify with [[Enoch (ancestor of Noah)|Enoch]] (cf. Genesis 5.18-24). Idris/Hermes is called "Thrice-Wise" Hermes Trismegistus because he was threefold: the first of the name, comparable to [[Thoth]], was a "civilizing hero," an initiator into the mysteries of the divine science and wisdom that animate the world; he carved the principles of this sacred science in [[Egyptian hieroglyph|hieroglyphs]]. The second Hermes, in [[Babylon]], was the initiator of [[Pythagoras]]. The third Hermes was the first teacher of [[alchemy]]. "A faceless prophet," writes the Islamicist Pierre Lory, "Hermes possesses no concrete or salient characteristics, differing in this regard from most of the major figures of the Bible and the Quran." (Faivre 1995 pp.19-20)

==New Age revival==
Modern occultists continue to suggest that some of these texts may be of Pharaonic origin, and that "the forty two essential texts" that contained the core work of his religious beliefs and his life philosophy remain hidden away in a secret library.

In some of the readings of ''[[Edgar Cayce]]'', Hermes or Thoth was an engineer from the submerging ''[[Atlantis]]'' and he built or designed or directed the construction of the ''[[Egyptian pyramids|Pyramids of Egypt]]''.

Within the occult tradition, Hermes Trismegistus is credited with several wives, and more than one son who took his name, as well as more than one grandson. This repetition of given name and surname throughout the generations may at least partially account for the legend of his longevity, especially as it is believed that many of his children pursued careers as priests in the religion he started.

==Fictional references==
*''[[The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman|Tristram Shandy]]'', the famous protagonist of ''[[Laurence Sterne]]'', was to be named "Trismegistus" to counter the negative circumstances of his birth. He was instead named "Tristram", meaning "sad", further damaging his future.

*''[[Charles Baudelaire]]'' plays with the idea of 'Hermes Trismegistus' in ''[[Au Lecteur]]'', the introduction to his poetry anthology ''[[Les Fleurs du mal]]'', by referring to 'Satan Trismégistre' ('thrice-great Satan').

*The book ''[[Foucault's Pendulum]]'' by ''[[Umberto Eco]]'' concerns a universal conspiracy theory which revolves around ''[[Hermetic]]'' tradition. The main character and narrator of the book is called Casaubon.

*The sequence of books by contemporary American author ''[[John Crowley]]'' known as the ''Aegypt Quartet'' is in part a meditation on the influence of Hermetic ideas in the European Renaissance, and more or less indirectly on the lives of characters living in the second half of the twentieth-century. In his author's notes, Crowley acknowledges his debt to ''[[Frances Yates]]'', whose pioneering work ''[[Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition]]'' largely inspired the portions of Crowley's work which deal with the life of ''[[Giordano Bruno]]'' and the English mage ''[[John Dee]]''. The motto of the novels is authentically, if at times ironically, Hermetic in spirit: "There is more than one history of the world."

*In the book "The Astrological Diary of God" by Bo Fowler The main character thinks he is the reincarnation of Hermes Trigmegistus whom he names "the thrice-great one".

*The book series "The Chaos Chronicles" by [[John C. Wright]] features Hermes Trismegistus amongst many other Greek deities.

*In [[comic books]] published by [[DC Comics]], the spirit of Hermes Trismegistus was briefly bound to the evil sorcerer [[Felix Faust]] and battled the [[Justice League of America]].

*The final boss of the [[video game]] ''[[Atelier Iris]]'' is named Trismegistus (called Amalgam in the official US release).

*In the [[video game]] ''[[Wild Arms]]'', Mother uses an attack called Hermes Trismegistus (improperly [[romanization|romanized]] as Hermes Toris Megistos).

*In the [[video game]] ''[[Persona 3]]'', Junpei Iori's Persona is named Hermes, and has a second form named Trismegistus.

==See also==

*[[Alchemy]]
*[[Astrology]]
*[[Emerald Tablet|Emerald Table (TABULAE SMARAGDINAE of Hermes Trismegistus)]]
*[[Hermetic]]
*[[Hermetica]]
*[[Hermeticism]]
*[[Hermetic Qabalah]]
*[[Kybalion]]
*[[Occultism]]
*[[Herbert Silberer]]

==Source==
{{Wikisourcelang|el|Ερμής ο Τρισμέγιστος|Works of Hermes Trismegistus}}*Copenhaver, Brian P. 1995.''Hermetica: the Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius in a new English translation, with notes and introduction'', Cambridge; New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press, 1995 ISBN 0-521-42543-3.

== References ==
<references />
*Ebeling, Florian, ''The secret history of Hermes Trismegistus: Hermeticism from ancient to modern times'' [Translated from the German by David Lorton] (Cornell University Press: Ithaca, 2007), ISBN 9780801445460.
*Festugière, A.-J.,''La révélation d'Hermès Trismégiste''. 2e éd., 3 vol., Paris 1981.
*Fowden, Garth, 1986. ''The Egyptian Hermes: A Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (Princeton University Press, 1993): deals with Thoth (Hermes) from his most primitive known conception to his later evolution into Hermes Trismegistus, as well as the many books and scripts attributed to him.)
*Merkel, Ingrid and Allen G Debus, 1988. ''Hermeticism and the Renaissance: intellectual history and the occult in early modern Europe'' Folger Shakespeare Library ISBN 0-918016-85-1
*CACIORGNA, Marilena e GUERRINI, Roberto: ''Il pavimento del duomo di Siena''. L'arte della tarsia marmorea dal XIV al XIX secolo fonti e simologia. Siena 2004.
*CACIORGNA, Marilena: ''Studi interdisciplinari sul pavimento del duomo di Siena''. Atti el convegno internazionale di studi chiesa della SS. Annunziata 27 e 28 settembre 2002. Siena 2005.

== External links ==
{{commons|Hermes Trismegistus|Hermes Trismegistus}}
*[http://altreligion.about.com/library/graphics/bl_trismegistus.htm Hermes Trismegistus Gallery]
*[http://www.hermeticresearch.org Hermetic Research] is a Portal on Hermetic study and discussion.
*[http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/Merkur.html Dan Merkur, "Stages of Ascension in Hermetic Rebirth"]
*[http://www.aussagenlogik.org/asclepius-mercurii-trismegisti-dialogus/ Asclepius] - Latin text of the edition Paris: Henricus Stephanus 1505.
*[http://www.aussagenlogik.org/mercurii-trismegisti-liber-de-potestate-dei-i-ix/ Pimander] - Latin translation by Marsilio Ficino, Milano: Damianus de Mediolano 1493.
*[http://andras-nagy.com/Virgin.html The Virgin of the World by Hermes Trismegistus]
*[http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/pym/index.htm THE DIVINE PYMANDER of Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus in English]
[[Category:Egyptian gods]]
[[Category:Magic gods]]
[[Category:Alchemists]]
[[Category:Astrologers]]
[[Category:Hermeticism]]
[[Category:Occult writers]]
[[Category:Primordial Teachers]]

Ἑρμῆς ὁ Τρισμέγιστος - 修訂歷史

〓犬〓：新頁面: '''Hermes Trismegistus''' (Greek: {{polytonic|Ἑρμῆς ὁ Τρισμέγιστος}}, "thrice-great Hermes"; Latin: ''Mercurius ter Maximus'') i...