Conclusion
The Making of the Arabic Hermes
This final chapter summarizes the results of the source-based investigations conducted through the previous five chapters and presents an outline of the history of the legend of Hermes in Arabic and its reception. The myth of the Arabic Hermes is a synthesis of late antique traditions, with later accretions, that had a fruitful and wide-ranging career in Arabic letters lasting until recent times. The account of Hermes’ identity turns out to have had an importance partially independent of the Hermetica themselves. It is also now possible to correct a present-day misunderstanding of early Arabic literature: there never was an “Islamic Hermeticism.” This is a false modern category. Rather, the accounts of Hermes held an interest for all Arabic scholars with an interest in the ancient, pre-Islamic past and recondite book learning, regardless of their different doctrines.
Keywords: legend of Hermes, reception, Arabic scholars, pre-Islamic, Islamic Hermeticism
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