The Hermetica
The Greek philosophical Hermetica, their Latin reception and modern echoes.
The philosophical Hermetica are Greek treatises of the Roman period attributed to Hermes Trismegistus. Ficino’s Latin translation of 1463 (printed 1471) made them central to Renaissance thought until Isaac Casaubon redated them in 1614.
The Emerald Tablet belongs to a separate Arabic alchemical Hermetic tradition, and the twentieth-century Kybalion only borrows the name.
The Lineage
Listed in approximate chronological order. The label above each title states how it relates to the rest of the family.
The Corpus Hermeticum
The collection of seventeen Greek treatises.
Hermetis Trismegisti Poemander — Corpus Hermeticum (Greek, ed. Parthey 1854)
Nineteenth-century critical edition of the Greek text of the Poimandres.
Hermetis Trismegisti Poemander — Corpus Hermeticum (Greek, ed. Parthey 1854)
Hermes Trismegistus
Hermetis Trismegisti Poemander — Corpus Hermeticum (Greek, ed. Parthey 1854)
Hermes Trismegistus
1854 · Greek · Egyptian Mysticism
The Divine Pymander of Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus, in XVII Books
John Everard’s English rendering, made from the Latin tradition.
The Divine Pymander of Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus, in XVII Books
Hermes Trismegistus (trans. John Everard)
The Divine Pymander of Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus, in XVII Books
Hermes Trismegistus (trans. John Everard)
English · Egyptian Mysticism
The Divine Pymander
Reprint tradition of the 1650 English version.
Asclepius (The Perfect Discourse)
The Asclepius survives in Latin and circulated alongside the Corpus.
Emerald Tablet of Hermes
Arabic alchemical Hermetism, a different branch from the Greek treatises.
The Kybalion
Modern New Thought work using Hermetic branding; no textual relation to the Greek Hermetica.
Relationship Labels
Root text: The earliest surviving text the family is organised around.
Direct textual relationship: Shares or reworks text, or is a translation or edition, of an earlier member (supported by manuscript or textual scholarship).
Similar tradition: Belongs to the same current or genre; no textual dependence is claimed.
Influence: Draws on ideas, names or structures from earlier members without reproducing their text.