Zosimos of Panopolis and the Book of Enoch: Alchemy as Forbidden Knowledge
TL;DR: It is stated in the ancient and divine scriptures that certain angels lusted for women, and descending from the heavens, they taught them all the arts of nature, and on account of this, says the scripture, they offended god, and now live outside heaven and now teach to men all the evil arts which are of no advantage to the soul.
Abstract: It is stated in the holy scriptures or books, dear lady, that there exists a race of daimons who have commerce with women. Hermes made mention of them in his Physika; in fact almost the entire work, openly and secretly, alludes to them. It is related in the ancient and divine scriptures that certain angels lusted for women, and descending from the heavens, they taught them all the arts of nature. On account of this, says the scripture, they offended god, and now live outside heaven—because they taught to men all the evil arts which are of no advantage to the soul.
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05 Oct 2017
TL;DR: In this article, a collection of essays dealing with perceptions of wisdom, femaleness, and their interconnections in a wide range of ancient sources, including papyri, Nag Hammadi documents, heresiological accounts and monastic literature is presented.
Abstract: Women and Knowledge in Early Christianity offers a collection of essays that deal with perceptions of wisdom, femaleness, and their interconnections in a wide range of ancient sources, including papyri, Nag Hammadi documents, heresiological accounts and monastic literature.
85 citations
01 Nov 2017
TL;DR: The effect that Byzantine work has had on our perception of ancient Greek language and literature (especially Homer and drama) is discussed in this paper, where the authors discuss the effect of Byzantine work on their perception of Greek language.
Abstract: Discusses the effect that Byzantine work has had on our perception of ancient Greek language and literature (especially Homer and drama).
17 citations
11 Dec 2019
TL;DR: This paper argued that the true depth of William Seward Burroughs II's ideological legacy within Western esotericism has been somewhat underappreciated by historians of religion, and this is evidenced by the insufficient credit given to his pivotal role in the emergence of the 2012 phenomenon.
Abstract: This paper argues that the true depth of William Seward Burroughs II’s ideological legacy within Western esotericism has been somewhat underappreciated by historians of religion, and this is evidenced by the insufficient credit Burroughs has thus far received for his pivotal role in the emergence of the “2012 phenomenon.” The purpose of this paper is to distinguish Burroughs’ works as centrally spiritual, thus providing a context that can allow scholars to properly measure the communities that gravitate to his ideas. The body of this paper begins by examining Burroughs’ role in the 2012 phenomenon, and it will be argued that “anti-magical polemics” are perhaps partly responsible for somewhat reducing the awareness of Burroughs’ roles in esoteric currents of the twentieth century. A diachronic comparison is then undertaken by analyzing Gnosticism to provide a foundational context for situating Burroughs’ worldview as a transhistorical pattern of thought that herein will be defined as ‘archontism.’ The concept of archontism is then used to more accurately classify Burroughs’ literature as ‘books of the dead,’ and this paper concludes with a refutation of anti-magical polemics that explicitly denigrate the study of esotericism.
17 citations
01 Jan 2017
16 citations