Hermesthe fascinating, mercurial messenger of the gods, eloquent revealer of hidden wisdom, and guardian of occult knowledge has played a central role in the development of esotericism in the West. Drawing upon many rare books and manuscripts, this highly illustrated work explores the question of where Hermes Trismegistus came from, how he came to be a patron of the esoteric traditions, and how the figure of Hermes has remained lively and inspiring to our own day.

Antoine Faivre, the most prominent scholar of esoterism to have appeared since Mircea Eliade, is Director of Studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (Section des Sciences Religieuses, Sorbonne), University Professor of Germanic Studies at the University of HauteNormandie, and director of the Cahiers del Hermetisme(Albin Michel).