Published in The rise and fall of Western tradition

Language:

Portuguese, Brazil

This article analyzes the reception of Hermes Trismegistus in De Civitate Dei 8.23–24 by Augustine of Hippo, especially concerning the interpretation of the Asclepius and the notion of deos facere. The study examines how Augustine transforms Hermes into an involuntary witness of the destruction of Egyptian religion and of the falsity of pagan idolatry. Attention is given to the hermeneutical tension produced by Augustine’s reading of Asclepius 37, mainly regarding the conjunction quoniam, interpreted by Augustine in a predominantly causal sense, although the hermetic text also allows a temporal-narrative nuance. The article argues that Augustine reconfigures hermetic discourse according to his providential and Christocentric conception of history, integrating Hermes Trismegistus into the framework of prophetica historia. Thus, the hermetic prophecy becomes subordinated to the Christian narrative of the fall of paganism and the triumph of the Civitas Dei. Finally, the paper demonstrates that Augustine’s appropriation of Hermes oscillates between recognizing him as a partial witness of divine truth and condemning him as an instrument of demonic deception.