ancient city of Alexandria

Egyptian Ways of Initiation:

The Path of Initiation in Iamblichus’ De Mysteriis and the Hermetica.

In the Late Antique period, Greek and Egyptian philosophical, religious and spiritual practices became deeply intertwined in a syncretistic blend of cultural and spiritual praxis. Alexandria was the greatest example of this blend of spiritual cosmologies, mythologies and religious practices. Initiation was absolutely central to ancient religious and spiritual praxis within Egyptian, Greek and Roman contexts and mystery cults. It has long been recognized that some of the dialogues of the Hermetica deal with an initiatory path thought to culminate in a profound philosophical and spiritual gnosis. Less well known is the initiatory aspect of Iamblichus’ dialogue with Porphyry recorded in his work De Mysteriis