The second appointment of our new series of online conferences and presentations will be broadcast on our YouTube channel on Wednesday evening at 19:00. This week Paolo Riberi, author of the essays, will be with us "Abraxas: the magic of the drum" (Mimesis, 2021), "Red pill or black lodge?" (Lindau, 2017), "The Apocalypse of Adam" (Lindau, 2013), "Mary Magdalene and the others" (The Age of Aquarius, 2015) and "The Gnostic Apocalypse of Light" (Esther, 2020) .
LIVE VIDEO
ABSTRACT
Two thousand years ago, some Middle Eastern sects claimed to be the custodians of a secret teaching, imparted by Jesus himself to some chosen ones such as Mary Magdalene, James, Thomas and Judas: thus the Gnostic Gospels were born, which radically revolutionized the doctrines of official Christianity. The symbol of this movement was the serpent, the mythical bearer of Knowledge.
Despite the subsequent affirmation of the Church, Gnostic thought managed to survive under new forms and identities: this is the case of the Cathar heresy, which shook the foundations of medieval Europe, and of the initiatory writings of Hermes Trismegistus.
And not only that: in the contemporary era, Gnosis has ended up playing a leading role in the construction of the cultural identity of the West. Even today, his influence is omnipresent in pop culture, from cinema to TV series (Matrix, Westworld, Twin Peaks...) and beyond.
During the evening, Paolo Riberi will talk to us about two ancient Gnostic apocalypses, The Apocalypse of Adam and the Gnostic Apocalypse of Light, but he will also look at the influence of the apocryphal gospels on the contemporary world.
THE AUTHOR
Paul Riberiย he graduated in Philology and Literature of Antiquity and in Economics from the University of Turin. A scholar of ancient history and Christian origins, he is a member of the Italian Society of the History of Religions. He is the author ofย The Apocalypse of Adamย (2013);ย Mary Magdalene and the othersย (2015);ย Red Pill or Black Lodge? Gnostic messages in the cinemaย (2017);ย Over the horizonย (2019) andย The Gnostic Apocalypse of Lightย (2020), the first Italian translation of an unpublished Gnostic Gospel.ย
