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In The Tradition of Hermes Trismegistus, Christian H. Bull argues that the treatises attributed to Hermes Trismegistus reflect the spiritual exercises and ritual practices of loosely organized brotherhoods in Egypt. These small groups were directed by Egyptian priests educated in the traditional lore of the temples, but also conversant with Greek philosophy. Such priests, who were increasingly dispossessed with the gradual demise of the Egyptian temples, could find eager adherents among a Greek-speaking audience seeking for the wisdom of the Egyptian Hermes, who was widely considered to be an important source for the philosophies of Pythagoras and Plato. The volume contains a comprehensive analysis of the myths of Hermes Trismegistus, a reevaluation of the Way of Hermes, and a contextualization of this ritual tradition.

Hermes, --- Hermetism --- Brotherhoods --- Brotherhood --- Church societies --- Men --- Secret societies --- Societies --- Ermete, --- Hermes Mercurius, --- Hermès, --- Hermes Trismegistus. --- Mercurius, --- Thoth, --- Trismegistus, Hermes --- هرمس، --- Hermes --- Ermete Trimegisto --- Ermete Trismegisto --- Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus --- Hermès Trismégiste --- Hermes Trismegistos --- Mercurius Trismegistus --- Thoth

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Since their discovery in 1945, the significance of the texts contained in the thirteen papyrus manuscripts now known as the Nag Hammadi Codices has been fiercely debated. In the history of scholarship, the texts have primarily been analyzed in light of the contexts of their hypothetical Greek originals, which in a majority of cases have been thought to have been authored in the second and third centuries CE in a variety of contexts. The articles in this volume take a different approach. Instead of focusing on hypothetical originals, they ask how the texts may have been used and understood by those who read the Coptic papyrus codices in which the texts have been preserved and take as their point of departure recent research indicating that these manuscripts were produced and used by early Egyptian monastics. It is shown that the reading habits and theological ideas attested historically for Upper Egyptian monasticism in the fourth and fifth centuries resonate well with several of the texts within the Nag Hammadi Codices.

Manuscripts (Papyri) --- Monastic and religious life --- History --- Nag Hammadi codices --- Criticism, interpretation, etc.