Oldal 15 [15]
INITIATION IN THE HERMETICA
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ENDRE ÁDÁM HAMVAS
ABSTRACT
In this paper, I discuss the function of initiation into the mysteries in the
Hermetica.
In the first half of the 20" century, Richard Reitzenstein proposed that the
Hermetic texts can be interpreted in the ritual context of a religion rooted in
the Hellenistic Egyptian religious communities, like the magical papyri. Later,
he modified this suggestion and applied his widely known theory of “Lese¬
Mysterium” to explain the Hermetica as a Hellenistic mystery-religion.
In his voluminous book La revelation d’Hermes Trismegiste, Andre¬
Jean Festugiere contested this theory, suggesting that any references to
initiative practices in the corpus are literary cliches without real religious
content. In his opinion, the Hermetic texts were written with didactic purposes
under the influence of the contemporary school-philosophy.
In the present paper, I intend to show that Reitzenstein’s view can serve
as a good foundation, with modifications, for further research, and that it is
possible to reconstruct a real mystical father-son relationship in the Hermetica.
The teacher in the texts is the mystagogue, while the pupil and the reader are
the initiates. The Hermetica is, hence, a real initiation in this sense.
1. THE DEFINITION OF HERMETIC INITIATION
In my paper, I outline the nature of Hermetic initiation. I first draft a
conceptual frame for my research on the basis of W. Burkert’s definition!
of mysteries, and I then demonstrate with examples how this concept of
! Walter Burkert, Ancient Mystery Cults, Cambridge, Harvard University Press 1987. About
the Greek mysteries see: Michael B. Cosmopoulos (ed.), Greek Mysteries: The Archaeology
and Ritual of Ancient Greek Secret Cults, London-New York, Routledge, 2013.
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