A leading German theosophical writer, Karl Kiesewetter (1854 95) published several influential works in the years just before his early death. They included a history of modern esotericism (1891), a biography of Mesmer (1893, also reissued in this series), studies of John Dee and of the Faust legend (both 1893), and this two-volume account of occult beliefs and practices in the ancient world (1895), which was completed by Ludwig Kuhlenbeck (1857 1920), a scholar of ancient philosophy and law. Volume 2 focuses on the civilisations of the Mediterranean (Greece, Alexandria, Rome) and northern...

A leading German theosophical writer, Karl Kiesewetter (1854 95) published several influential works in the years just before his early death. They included a history of modern esotericism (1891), a biography of Mesmer (1893, also reissued in this series), studies of John Dee and of the Faust legend (both 1893), and this two-volume account of occult beliefs and practices in the ancient world (1895), which was completed by Ludwig Kuhlenbeck (1857 1920), a scholar of ancient philosophy and law. Volume 1 focuses on the civilisations of the ancient Near East, including Babylon, Persia, Egypt and...

A leading German theosophical writer, Karl Kiesewetter (1854 95) produced a number of works on esotericism and occult beliefs and practices. This book, first published in 1891, remains one of the most extensive histories of modern esotericism. In his account of its development, Kiesewetter focuses on a number of historical figures who were, in his opinion, highly influential in the field. He discusses the Renaissance esotericism of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1486 1535) and devotes much consideration to Paracelsus (1493 1541), whom he considers to be 'the Luther of medicine'. He also engages...