Monday, August 17, 2026

On Hermes Trismegistos and the Sibyls

ETHNIC RELATIONS AND MIGRATION IN THE ANCIENT WORLD: Egyptian and Babylonian wisdom: Lactantius on the authority of Hermes Trismegistos and the Sibyls (early fourth century CE) (Philip A. Harland).

The Sybilline Oracles and the Sibyl(s) have come up now and then on PaleoJudaica. Some posts are here and links, and here, here, here, and here. And recently (and occasionally earlier) on the ancient Hermetic literature here (cf. here) and Renaissance Hemeticism here.

The late-antique Christian writer Lactantius collected some fascinating ancient traditions about both.

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