| Hermetism is a esoteric or occult teaching that originated in the Hellenistic age,matured during the Roman Empire,and was taught by the Hermes Trismegistus.It is mainly composed of beliefs,religious concepts,and occult knowledge systems that reflected in a number of Hermetic literature.It was roughly formed from the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD,and after several transmissions,it evolved into Renaissance Hermetism after the 15 th century,and it had a tremendous impact on the modern scientific spirit and some practices.Modern researchers divide its main content into two categories: theoretical or philosophical Hermetism literature and popular Hermetism culture.The former includes a philosophical understanding of the world,a belief in the God One,and personal religious theories about redemption,while the latter combines mystical knowledge and occult science such as astrology,alchemy,and sorcery or magic,using these as means to achieve the completion and redemption of the soul,which adhering to the core concepts of Hermetism.The ancient Hermetism,characterized by primitive unity,provided a highly inclusive framework of religious knowledge,combining the understanding of the mind with the occult sciences.The Hermes Trismegistus is the core role of Hermetism.This role originated from the worship of the Thoth god and was transformed by Greek religious discourse and terms.The evolution of his identity and image reflects the development of ancient religion and changes in religious cognition,and a need and shaping of an authoritative religious tradition.It can be seen that Hermetism has multiple cultural backgrounds and is capable of religious rewriting of multiple sources of social and natural knowledge,becoming a sacred and esoteric knowledge and technology.It not only inherits the tradition of Thoth worship and mystery in Egypt,but also integrates the religious tradition of astrology in Western Asia or Near East with the worship of Hermes in Greece,and ultimately presents it in a Greek style expression.Religion is an important carrier and form,which the ancient knowledge existed and developed within,with a general characteristic that embedded in ancient social life.As a kind of religious knowledge,ancient Hermetism is closely related to the social and historical background of the ancient Eastern Mediterranean region.The social situation,ideological atmosphere,and human circumstances of the Hellenistic era and the Roman Empire era have built a reaction furnace for the growth of Hermetism.It not only reflects the collision and fusion of various ideological trends such as Gnosticism,mysticism,Stoic philosophy,and local religions and mysteries,but also as a way of change that ancient scientific knowledge after the prosperity of hellenistic age,while it is the stage result of the long-standing knowledge exchange process between Greek and Western Asian and North African civilizations.Therefore,it is an important component and case of the history of knowledge and cultural exchange in the ancient Eastern Mediterranean region. |
