Zósimo de Panópolis e a alquimia antiga:
uma introdução
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34019/2237-6151.2022.v19.39056Keywords:
EnglishAbstract
Zosimus of Panopolis (fl. 3rd-4th centuries AD) was an Egyptian priest-craftsman whose work was of immense importance to ancient alchemy. Writing in Greek during a period when Roman Egypt was experiencing a decline in prestige and encouragement of temple activities, Zosimos discusses metallurgical practices relying on a religious and theoretical frame of reference, sometimes in brief recipees, sometimes in tractates and letters (addressed mostly to Theosebeia). His infuential On the letter omega, for one, has a strong syncretic flavor, whereby Zosimos points out parallels between the Greek, Egyptian and Hebrew traditions, setting out to explore how the metallurgic arts hinge on a spiritual approach. In this article I examine some main aspects of his writings in order to present Zosimos to an interested audience.
Downloads
References
ABRILE, E. Olimpiodoro. Commentario al libro de Zosimo “Sulla Forza”, alle sentenze di Ermete e degli altri filosofi. Milano: Mimesis Edizioni, 2008.
BARBIERI, P. Soteriologia e cosmogonia no Corpus hermético: o caminho iniciático do hermetismo antigo. Tese de doutorado. São Paulo: Universidade de São Paulo, 2022.
BERTHELOT, M. & RUELLE, CH.-ÉM. Collection des anciens alchimistes grecs [CAAG], 4 vols. Paris: Georges Steinheil, 1887-1888.
BERTHELOT, M. & DUVAL. R. La chimie au Moyen Age [CMA], 3 vols. Paris: Imprimerie Nátionale, 1893.
BULL, C. H. The Tradition of Hermes Trismegistus: The Egyptian Priestly Figure as a Teacher of Hellenized Wisdom. Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2018.
CLARYSSE, W. “Egyptian Temples and Priests: Graeco-Roman”. In: A Companion to Ancient Egypt. Edited by A. B. Lloyd. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010, 274-90.
DIELEMAN, J. Priests, Tongues, and Rites: The London-Leiden Magical Manuscripts and Translation in Egyptian Ritual (100–300 CE). Religions in the Graeco-Roman World 153. Leiden: Brill, 2005.
DUFAULT, O. “Transmutation Theory in the Greek Alchemical Corpus.” Ambix, vol. 62, no. 3, 2015, 215-244.
DUFAULT, O. Early Greek Alchemy, Patronage and Innovation in Late Antiquity. Berkeley: California Classical Studies, 2019.
DUFAULT, O. Lovers of the Soul, Lovers of the Body. Philosophical and Religious Perspectives in Late Antiquity. Edited by S. Slaveva-Griffin & I. L. E. Ramelli. Harvard: Harvard University Press, 2022 (paginação da versão no prelo).
FAIVRE, A. The Eternal Hermes: From Greek God to Alchemical Magus. Translated by Joscelyn Goodwin. Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press, 1995.
FESTUGIÈRE, A.-J. La révélation d’Hermès Trismégiste, 4 vols. Paris: Gabalda, 1944-1954.
FORSHAW, J. P. “Isn’t alchemy a spiritual tradition?” In: Hermes Explains: Thirty Questions about Western Esotericism. Edited by Wouter Hanegraaff, Peter Forshaw and Marco Pasi. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2019, 105-112.
FRANKFORT, H. Ancient Egyptian Religion. An Interpretation [1948]. Dover: Mineola, New York, 1975.
GRIMES, S. Zosimus of Panopolis: Alchemy, Nature and Religion in Late Antiquity. Tese de doutorado. Universidade de Siracusa, 2006.
GRIMES, S. Becoming Gold: Zosimos of Panopolis and the Alchemical Arts in Roman Egypt. Aukland: Rubedo Press, 2018a.
GRIMES, S. “Secrets of the God Makers: Re-Thinking the Origins of Greco-Egyptian Alchemy”. Syllecta Classica, vol. 29, 2018b, 67-89.
GRIMES, S. “Divine Images: Zosimos of Panopolis’s Spiritual Approach to Alchemy”. La Rosa di Paracelso, vol. 2, 2019, 69-81.
GRIMES, S. “Zosimos and Theosebeia: An Erotics of Alchemical Pedagogy”. Gnosis, vol. 7, 2022a, 1-16.
GRIMES, S. “Defining Greco-Egyptian Alchemy”. Gnosis, vol. 7, 2022b, 70-80.
HALLUM, B. The Reception of Zosimos of Panopolis in the Arabic/Islamic World. Tese de doutorado. Warburg Institute, 2008.
HALLEUX, R. Les alchimistes grecs. Tome I. Papyrus de Leyde, Papyrus de Stockholm, fragments de recettes. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1981.
HOPKINS, A J. Alchemy, Child of Greek Philosophy. New York: Columbia University Press, 1934.
HORNUNG, E. Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt. The One and the Many. Translated from the German by John Baines. Cornell University Press: Ithaca, New York, 1996.
JACKSON, H. M. Zosimos of Panopolis. On the Letter Omega. Missoula, Montana: Scholars Press, 1978.
JUNG, C. G. Estudos alquímicos. Tradução de Dora Mariana R. Ferreira da Silva, Maria Luiza Appy, 4a ed. Petrópolis: Vozes, 2013.
MARTELLI, M. The Four Books of Pseudo-Democritus. Sources of Alchemy and Chemistry: Sir Robert Mond Studies in the History of Early Chemistry. Leeds: Maney Publishing; Ambix 60, supplement 1, 2013.
MARTELLI, M. L’alchimista antico. Dall’Egito greco-romano a Bisanzio. Milano: Editrice Bibliografica, 2019.
MERTENS, M. Les alchimistes grecs. Tome IV, 1ère partie. Zosime de Panopolis. Mémoires authentiques. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1995.
RITNER, R. K. The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical Practice. Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization, no. 54. Chicago, Illinois: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 1997.
SHAW, G. “Taking the Shape of the Gods: A Theurgic Reading of Hermetic Rebirth”. Aries – Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism, vol. 15, 2015, 136-69.
TAYLOR, F. S. “The Visions of Zosimos”. Ambix, vol. 1, no. 1, 1937, 88-92.
VAN DEN KERCHOVE, A. La voie d’Hermès: Pratiques rituelles et traités hermétiques. Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2012.
ZUBER, M. A. Spiritual Alchemy: From Jacob Boehme to Mary Anne Atwood. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Pedro Barbieri
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Sacrilegens is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
