The Greek Magical Hymn to Hermes

This paper investigates the so-called “magical hymn” to Hermes, a short hexametrical invocation preserved in the corpus of the Greek magical papyri (PGM) in three different papyri of different dates: PGM V 401–20, VII 668–80, and XVIIb (fourth, third, and second/third centuries CE respectively). Some of the most interesting features are analyzed in the light of both Greek and Egyptian traditions in order to illuminate the cultural background of the divine persona described by the hymn. Though the composition appears to address a quite balanced syncretistic deity, a more thorough examination reveals that the nature of the god addressed, despite the Greek meter, is closer to Hermes’ Egyptian counterpart, Thoth. Nevertheless, the hymn does not have to be the product of philosophical Hermetism (as it has often been argued), but it could just represent an earlier stage of translation of the Egyptian conception into Greek.