Who was Hermes Trismegistus? | The Hermetica Explained

The writings attributed to "thrice-great Hermes," whether the Corpus Hermeticum, the Nag Hammadi texts, the Emerald Tablet, or the Book of Thoth, have fascinated many people. Where do these texts come from? Are they Egyptian, Greek, or something else? Dr. Miano addresses the claims made by Peter Gandy, co-author of the book, The Hermetica: Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs.

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► REFERENCES
Original video featuring Gandy:

On the Egyptian god Thoth:

On the Book of Thoth:

On the origin of the Greek gods:

An English translation of the Corpus Hermeticum:

Books on Hermes Trismegistus:

On Hermes Trismegistus and Gnosticism:

On Marsilio Ficino:

More on the Hermetica:

Professor Miano's handy guide for learning, "How to Know Stuff," is available here:

Follow Professor Miano on social media:

[borbonic]

I commented on another video recently. This channel needed to be on Youtube 10 years ago, I can really learn about history without having to wade through YouTube click bait geniuses.

Here, I get to learn how archeology and ancient history tell the real truth about many over-hyped ancient history myths.

Every discussion is expertly analyzed to present great arguments to support the conclusions presented in the video on multiples subjects.

I guess if I watched too much Graham Hancock then I might have been devastated by all the facts I find on this channel.

Thanks for all the research and details. The way you make your arguments to support your conclusion usually kicks ass. If I can say that..

[tombombaddie]

“Challenge the argument, not the person.” Great framework for comments and this video. I’m so glad you’re balancing misinformation and wishful thinking with facts, and doing it in a respectful manner. Definitely earned yourself a follow!

[mistyhaney]

I find it incredibly frustrating that on one side there are those who want to deny ancient Egyptians their own culture, art, and architecture, and on the other there are those who want to deny the innovations of the societies that came later, claiming Egypt as the source of all knowledge. Ancient Egypt was amazing, and undoubtedly had influence, especially on the Greeks who ruled there, just as the Greeks would later influence the Romans. I am often confused by the desire of people to deny ancient civilizations their own accomplishments. That, to me, is what both sides of this dichotomy are doing. One side insists that Egypt's own accomplishments aren't really Egyptian, while the other claims that all accomplishments, including religions, and scientific discoveries belong to Egypt.

[OAlem]

I'm always sceptical when people claim censorship. The Hermetica never needed to be banned in the Middle Ages. What was the literacy rate back then? All books were secret except to monks and royalty.

[straightfrom]

Professor, I believe you can change the world with these kinds of clear rebuttals. Thank you for the time you take.

All the best.

[jsoth]

gotta love when the lecturer starts off with his personal spiritual experience. thanks again dr.miano your contributions are much appreciated.

[usergiodmsilvaPT]

These debunking videos are great, and the best are they are done in a respectful manner. Love your work.

[philpaine]

Chuckle. I was reading the Hermetica as a kid, years before this guy says he came across it. It was in a small-town Ontario public library. I had heard references to it long before I came across it. You could order copies from ads in popular magazines. Mr. Gandy talks about it like he found it in some cobwebby vault under a castle in Transylvania.

[feralfoods]

i appreciate the amount of research you did for this video. i've been researching and enjoying the colourful history of Hermes Trismegistus for a couple years, . it is indeed a minefield of fact & fiction, myth & legend, tall tales & subjective opinions. i'm happy to have found this video. i'll need to re-watch there is so much here. i really dig your channel, thank you for everything!

[dazuk]

All this is new to me. I even had to look up what hermetica meant. You have defo raised the bar with this one David....which is a good thing. It would be wrong for me to to comment any more until i have watched it a few times and researched it myself...only then will i have a valid opinion. Great stuff David, peace to ya.

[dannyvanhecke]

People pulling and changing stories out of their imagination for centuries... and people today STILL take it (too) seriously.

[deathstarHQ]

Hermes Trismegistus became a pen name for many philosophers writing with hermetic principles as the frame work for their teachings.

[juhonieminen]

People are calling this a "debunking" video, but you are merely clarifying things. I like that. I've read the Hermetica some years ago, and it was interesting window to hellenistic ideas. In finnish edition the prologue all ready told many of the things you say here. This video works as a good prologue to the book.

[tieck]

The world.
The fantastic world.
Certain authors: "This ancient group had all the wisdom, was widely influential, thoroughly oppressed, wrote the Republic, discovered the Higgs boson, and created civilization everywhere by means of trepanation."

[onyxcircle]

Actual hermeticist here. we are philosofers not theologens. Hermes trismagistice is an architype of wisdom, not a god or literal person.

[MysteriousSlip]

I appreciate you making this video. I have an amateur interest in how the ancients thought of the world and had tried to cut the "Hermes Trismagistus" Gordian knot but was never certain if I had gotten to real history or if there was still some legend intertwined. This video is likely to be a touchstone for me in the future.

[SiskaRobert]

Very enlightening video! Never cared to go too much to go deep into the hermetism, but this actually explains so much! The way I see it, esoterism and gnosticism pretty much naturally evolved into New Age beliefs and up to this day a lot of theories are based on hermetic-like sources and the "sacred knowledge" (Blavatsky, Cayce, etc.)

[oddpuppet]

Thank you! I have often wondered about this topic. I now have some ammuniton for when a friend starts babbling about the "ancient widsdom" in these texts. I have read them, some good things to model a life around. Thank you again. New subscriber who can't wait to keep delving into your library.

[MysticMuttering]

Most modern people who actually use the Hermetic corpus & related texts for spirituality and magic tend to not go quite so hard with the pseudohistory of the texts in my experience.

[erinmcgraw]

I look forward to watching your channel grow! 💙 These videos can be watched over & over, I continue to learn & have a few laughs (I appreciate your subdued & sly sense of humor when discussing unfounded & outlandish beliefs!!)