The secret lore of Egypt : its impact on the West

Translator's Note Vll
Introduction 1
1. The Ancient Roots of the "Other" Egypt 5
2. Foreign Wonderland on the Nile: The Greek Writers 19
3. Power and Influence of tne stars 26
4. Alchemy: The Art of Transformation 34
5- Gnosis: Creation as Haw 43
6. Hermetism: Thoth as Hermes Trismegistus 48
7. Egypt of the Magical Arts 55
8. The Spread of Egyptian Cults: Isis and Osiris 64
9. Medieval Traditions 73
10. The Renaissance of Hermetism and Hieroglyphs 83
11. Travels to Egypt: Wonder upon Wonder 92
12. Triumphs of Erudition: Kircher, Spencer, and Cudworth 98
13. "Reformation of the Whole Wide World": The Rosicrucians 106
14. The Ideal of a Fraternity: The Freemasons 116
15. Goethe and Romanticism: "Thinking Hieroglyphically" 128
16. Theosophy and Anthroposophv 141
17. Pyramids, Sphinx, Mummies: A Curse on the Pharaohs 155
18. Egypt a la Mode: Modern Egyptosophy and Afrocentrism 173
19- Outlook: Egypt as Hope and Alternative 189
Chronology 203
Glossary 207
Bibliography 209
Index 221