Why "wonder"?: a discussion of the anthropology of "Poimandres" (CH I) and how to read it

The aim of the article is to discuss the anthropology of Poimandres (CH I) by taking as point of departure the intriguing fact that the result of the merging of Anthropos and Nature is called a thaûma thaumasiótaton -- and is among the things said to have been a «mystery which has been kept secret u...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni
Main Author: Petersen, Tage (Author)
Format: Print Article
Language:English
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Published: Morcelliana [2017]
In: Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni
Year: 2017, Volume: 83, Issue: 1, Pages: 61-74
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Corpus Hermeticum. Poimandres / Philosophical anthropology / Creation
RelBib Classification:AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism
BE Greco-Roman religions
BF Gnosticism
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Summary:The aim of the article is to discuss the anthropology of Poimandres (CH I) by taking as point of departure the intriguing fact that the result of the merging of Anthropos and Nature is called a thaûma thaumasiótaton -- and is among the things said to have been a «mystery which has been kept secret until this day» (ch i, 16). Although the creation of man in previous research generally has been read in light of "Gnosticism", the article argues that this probably is a misreading of the text. Instead, the article poses the question as to how a reader of Late-Antiquity well versed in the Hermetica could have read the anthropogony. This takes place through a short investigation of the use of wonder (thaûma) in other Hermetica as well as through a discussion of hermetic cosmology before turning to an analysis of the anthropogony of Poimandres.
ISSN:0081-6175
Contains:Enthalten in: Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni