C.2.6 The Legend of Hermes

In the Legend of the Craft, Hermes is said to have discovered one of the pillars erected by the sons of Lamech, and to have divulged to the world the scientific information written on it. Hermes, believed to be the son of Taut or Thoth, was a God to the Egyptians who believed that he invented writing and all the sciences; they also believed that he was the founder of their religious rites. Hermes is also believed to have been an Egyptian legislator and priest, as well as the author of books on philosophy, theology, and medicine. The Alchemists took him as their patron, and this explains why Alchemy is described as the Hermetic science.