The Roman Cult of Hermes and the Egyptian Gods
The Roman Cult of Hermes and the Egyptian Gods
Hieroglyphics symbolizing protection and all life are created in the Egyptian style and based on ancient models In the Book of Exodus Moses and Aaron defeat Pharaoh's magicians by transforming their staffs into serpents that devour the Egyptian magicians Later Christianity regarded Moses as a man educated in Egyptian wisdom During the Middle Ages and Renaissance Moses was also seen as bridging the high monotheism of Egyptian religion or polytheism with revealed monotheism American illustrator and muralist Violet Oakley conveyed Moses Egyptianness in a sketch for an altar in the Samuel S. Fleischer Memorial Temple of Art formerly of the Graphic Sketch Club in Philadelphia. This sketch focuses on Moses and the unnamed Egyptian princess who rescues him from the water
The Greek-Roman god Thoth was the patron of record-keepers and writers and the Greek god Hermes was a mythical figure born from the fusion of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth a messenger of the gods and a spiritual guide The explanations originated from the Egyptian term Thoth-Hermes thus forming Hermeticism an ancient knowledge that revealed the Egyptian view of the creation of the world which was linked to the Greek-Roman parallel to Moses According to Egyptian origins the fundamental teachings of Hermes linked to the Greco-Roman were that man is the mirror of immortality and man is the model of the universe As summarized in the Hermetica it states that what is above is what is below This conclusion is the Emerald Tablet of Hermes a fusion of Greek gods
Some aspects of Greek Hermetic writings greatly influenced Western medieval and Renaissance thought and the papyrus fragments shown here include dialogues between Thoth and his disciples which deal with bulls agriculture and mentions writings of the House of Darkness likely referring to writings about the underworld The demotic script on this papyrus is an abridged version of the earlier cursive Heratic script These fragments are part of a longer work known as the Book of Thoth which contains dialogues between the god Thoth often referred to as the Book of Thoth The Lord of Hezert or the Praiser of Knowledge Egyptian artists also transformed raw elements into idols of the gods who created them and placed them on earth For example Ptah the patron god of artists was known for his perfect appearance and for his mastery of sacred metallurgy symbolizing the inner workings of the universe through his creations on tablets depicting treasure trophies gold gems and other precious metals
