Way of Hermetica IV - The Egyptian Background

The Egyptian Background

The Corpus Hermetica benefits from being read in conjunction with a
description of the so-called

"Heliopolitan System of Theology"

ie:

Atum (Re)

¦

Shu (wind) + Tefnut (fire)

¦

Geb (earth) + Nuit (space)

¦

Isis + Osiris + Nephthys + Seth

¦

Horus


as amended by the so-called "Memphite Theology"
of the Shabaka Stone
(now in the BM)

"But much older is Ptah, who enlivened all the gods as well as their life-forces (kas) through this heart and through this tongue . . . His Ennead is in his presence in teeth and lips, which are the seed and hands of Atum; for Atum's Ennead evolved from his seed and his fingers, but the Ennead is teeth and lips in this mouth that pronounced the identity of everything and through which Shu and Tefnut emerged and gave birth to the Ennead."

Basically the Memphite Theology is same as Heliopolis but headed up by Ptah - an ancient Egyptian god often associated with the creation of the physical hieroglyphs.
(This is a role similar to that of Thoth - although Thoth is more often connected with the smaller set of "phonetic" hieroglyphic signs used by scribes)

The so-called "Memphite Theology" can also be seen as a complement to the Heliopolitan system - Ptah makes possible, or mediating the evolution of Atum's "substance" by the power of his "heart" (consciousness) and "voice" (word). In this way Ptah is very like the "demiurgos" of Neoplatonism - although preceeding it by more than 500 years.

"So has Ptah come to rest after his making everything as well as every divine speech (hieroglyph). . . so have the gods entered into their bodies"





Reading:

"The Religion of Ancient Egypt"
by S A B Mercer - Chapter on Theological Systems

"Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the language and culture of the Hieroglyphs"
by J P Allen pp. 171-3 "The Memphite Theology".

"The Epistle of Porphyry to the Egyptian Anebo"
(available online at: http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/porphyry_anebo_02_text.htm)

See also:
http://www.esotericism.co.uk/iamblichus-and-porphyry.htm




Question:
Read these and then consider again who is God in the Corpus Hermetica

next time:
The Mithras Liturgy