THE POIMANDRES The name means "Shepherd of Men"; it is the foundational text of the Hermetic tradition, describing a mystical revelation of the universe's creation. OF HERMES

THRICE-GREATEST.

THE DEFINITIONS OF ASCLEPIUS In these texts, Asclepius is portrayed as a student of Hermes Trismegistus, rather than the god of medicine himself.

TO KING AMMON.

THE POIMANDRES OF MERCURY The Latin name for the Greek god Hermes.

THRICE-GREATEST, or on the power and wisdom

of God.

THE DEFINITIONS OF AESCULAPIUS

to King Ammon.

b PRINTED AT THE ROYAL PRESS.

A vertical woodcut printer's device depicting a serpent coiled upward around a leafy branch or rod bearing fruit. This is the mark of Adrien Turnèbe, the King's Printer for Greek.

To the good king and mighty spearman.

original: "Βασιλεῖ τ᾿ ἀγαθῷ κρατερῷ τ᾿ αἰχμητῇ" — This is a quotation from Homer’s Iliad (3.179), used here by the printer to honor his patron, King Henri II of France.

AT PARIS, 1554.

At the workshop of Adrien Turnèbe, Printer to the King.

BY ROYAL PRIVILEGE.

A "privilege" was an early form of copyright granted by the monarch, giving the printer exclusive rights to publish the work for a set number of years.