ancient city of Alexandria

Alexandria

Crossroads of Judaism, Hellenism, Gnosticism, and Christianity

Alexandria around the time of Christ opened a new age of infinite possibilities— of paths taken and not taken. During this period, Jewish philosophers like Philo, so-called gnostics like Basilides and Valentinus, Neoplatonists like Plotinus, and Christian theologians like Clement and Origen rubbed shoulders with Egyptian priests, Gymnosophists from India, and alchemical adepts. Out of this mix Rabbinic Judaism, Christianity, and Hermeticism would arise. This talk aims to evoke the amazing richness, newness, and fruitfulness of what was given birth and also considers those spiritual impulses which still perhaps await germination