Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius

The Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius is a collection of aphorisms attributed to the legendary Hellenistic figure Hermes Trismegistus (a syncretic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth).

It has mainly been preserved in a sixth-century CE Armenian translation, but the Greek original likely goes back to the first century CE.[1] As such, it is the oldest of the religio-philosophical Hermetica (writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus), which were mainly written between c. 100 and c. 300 CE.[2] The main argument for the early dating of the Definitions is the fact that some of its aphorisms are cited in multiple independent Greek Hermetic works.[3]

According to Jean-Pierre Mahé, these aphorisms contain the core of the teachings which are found in the later Greek religio-philosophical Hermetica.[4]

Text and translation

Mahé, Jean-Pierre 1978-1982. Hermès en Haute-Egypte. Vol. I-II. Quebec: Presses de l'Université Laval. (critical edition of the Armenian text)[5]
Mahé, Jean-Pierre 1999. "The Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius" in: Salaman, Clement et al. (eds.). The Way of Hermes. London: Duckworth, pp. 99–122. (English translation)

References

Mahé, Jean-Pierre 1999. "The Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius" in: Salaman, Clement et al. (eds.). The Way of Hermes. London: Duckworth, pp. 99–122, p. 101.
Bull, Christian H. 2018. The Tradition of Hermes Trismegistus: The Egyptian Priestly Figure as a Teacher of Hellenized Wisdom. Leiden: Brill, p. 9. Note, however, that some of the so-called 'technical' Hermetica may go back as far as to the second or third century BCE; see Copenhaver, Brian P. 1992. Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius in a New English Translation, with Notes and Introduction. Cambridge University Press, p. xxxiii; Bull 2018, pp. 2-3. Garth Fowden (1986. The Egyptian Hermes: A Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 3, note 11) is somewhat more cautious, noting that our earliest testimonies date to the first century BCE.
Mahé, Jean-Pierre 1999. "The Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius" in: Salaman, Clement et al. (eds.). The Way of Hermes. London: Duckworth, pp. 99–122, p. 101.
Mahé, Jean-Pierre 1999. "The Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius" in: Salaman, Clement et al. (eds.). The Way of Hermes. London: Duckworth, pp. 99–122, pp. 101-108.
See also the review by Roelof van den Broek in: Vigiliae Christianae, 39(4), 1985, pp. 403-406.

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[1] Mahé, Jean-Pierre 1999. "The Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius" in: Salaman, Clement et al. (eds.). The Way of Hermes. London: Duckworth, pp. 99–122, p. 101.

[2] Bull, Christian H. 2018. The Tradition of Hermes Trismegistus: The Egyptian Priestly Figure as a Teacher of Hellenized Wisdom. Leiden: Brill, p. 9. Note, however, that some of the so-called 'technical' Hermetica may go back as far as to the second or third century BCE; see Copenhaver, Brian P. 1992. Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius in a New English Translation, with Notes and Introduction. Cambridge University Press, p. xxxiii; Bull 2018, pp. 2-3. Garth Fowden (1986. The Egyptian Hermes: A Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 3, note 11) is somewhat more cautious, noting that our earliest testimonies date to the first century BCE.

[3] Mahé, Jean-Pierre 1999. "The Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius" in: Salaman, Clement et al. (eds.). The Way of Hermes. London: Duckworth, pp. 99–122, p. 101.

[4] Mahé, Jean-Pierre 1999. "The Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius" in: Salaman, Clement et al. (eds.). The Way of Hermes. London: Duckworth, pp. 99–122, pp. 101-108.

[5] See also the review by Roelof van den Broek in: Vigiliae Christianae, 39(4), 1985, pp. 403-406.