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Gnosticism

Gnosticism and Hermetica

Dantis Amore, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti [1859-60] (Public Domain Image)

This page indexes resources about Gnosticism, the Hermetica, and other related belief systems at sacred-texts.

GNOSTICISM

 Fragments of a Faith Forgotten by G.R.S. Mead [1900]
An indispensable and comprehensive sourcebook about the Gnostics.

 The Gnostics and Their Remains by Charles William King [1887]
King’s pioneering summary of what was known about the Gnostics prior to the Nag Hammadi discoveries.

 Pistis Sophia
Translated by G.R.S. Mead [1921].
The first complete Gnostic text to be translated in the modern era. Found in Ethiopia in the 19th century.
 Early Church Fathers
Another historically important source of information on the Gnostics are the writings against them by the early Church Fathers.

HERMETICA

Thrice-Greatest Hermes, Vol. 1 by G.R.S. Mead [1906]
The first volume of Mead’s survey of the literature attributed to the legendary Egyptian sage, Hermes Trismegistus.

Thrice-Greatest Hermes, Vol. 2 by G.R.S. Mead [1906]
G.R.S. Mead’s translation of the Corpus Hermeticum, the works attributed to Hermes Trismegistus.

Thrice-Greatest Hermes, Vol. 3 by G.R.S. Mead [1906]
Fragments of lost Hermetica from Stobaeus and the Early Church Fathers.

 The Divine Pymander
of Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus, translated by John Everard [1650]

 The Virgin of the World
of Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus, translated by Anna Kingsford and Edward Maitland [1885]

 

RELATED TEXTS

 The Hymn of Jesus, Echoes from the Gnosis
tr. by G.R.S. Mead [1907].
 Gnostic John the Baptizer Selections from the Mandæan John-Book
tr. by G.R.S. Mead [1924].
While the Mandaeans are not Christians, this text is important for the study of Gnostic beliefs.
 The Book of Giants
A fragmentary Manichaean text.

Fragmentary non-canonical Gospels which show Gnostic influence:

 The Gospel of Thomas [ca. 200 A.D.]

 Excerpts from the Gospel of Mary
This fragment, of disputed authenticity, puts the relationship between Mary Magdalen, Jesus and the Apostles in a radically different perspective than traditional beliefs.