The Asclepius is one of two philosophical books ascribed to the legendary sage of Ancient Egypt, Hermes Trismegistus, who was believed in classical and renaissance times to have lived shortly after Moses. The Greek original, lost since classical times, is thought to date from the second or third century AD. However, a Latin version survived, of which this volume is a translation.Like its companion, the Corpus Hermeticum, the Asclepius describes the most profound philosophical questions in the form of a conversation: the nature of the One, the role of the gods, the stature of the human being. Not only does this work offer spiritual guidance, but it is also a valuable insight into the minds and emotions of the Egyptians in ancient and classical times.