The Modern Artificiality of the Categorisation of Hermetica

Abstract

Between the 19th and 20th centuries, the collection of documents composed of ancient writings attributed to and/or related to Hermes Trismegistus (Ἑρμῆς Τρισμέγιστος) was classified by the academy as "Hermetica" or "Hermetic Literature." In the first half of the 20th century, this documentation was categorised into two distinct classes: one considered noble, addressing philosophical-religious matters, known as “hermétisme savant/hermétisme philosophique,” and the other deemed inferior, dealing with astrological, magical, alchemical, theurgical, and pseudoscientific practices, known as “hermétisme populaire.” In this article, we will analyse this documentation, providing an overview of its extent and examining its characteristics. Through historical contextualisation and the documentation itself, we will discuss the modern artificiality of this categorisation based on the perceptions and conceptions stemming from the extensive debate between magic and religion that permeated the academy in anthropology and the humanities in general between the 19th and 20th centuries. We will also examine the risks that a static application of this perspective to the analysis of sources may pose if the interconnections between both categories of Hermetica are not observed.