Das Geheimnis des Hermes Trismegistos

Hermes Trismegistus, the "thrice-great Hermes," is one of the most enigmatic figures in the history of thought. The legendary wise Egyptian has been regarded since antiquity as the author of a series of mystical and magical writings. Renaissance philosophers celebrated Hermes Trismegistus as the founder of philosophy, Freemasons made him their ancestral lord, and Enlightenment thinkers fought in his name for religious tolerance. To this day, Hermes Trismegistus remains a central figure in esotericism. Florian Ebeling provides an accessible overview of the Corpus Hermeticum, presents the writings that were authored in Hermes' name, and traces the reception history of hermetic literature from antiquity through the Renaissance and Enlightenment to the present. This marks the first serious introduction to the history of Hermeticism that is free from mystification.