The next on-line seminar of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry will be given by Joshua Werrett (University of Oxford) who will present:
Imitatio Christi and the Aesthetics of Martyrdom in The Visions of Zosimos of Panopolis
This will be live on Thursday, 19 September 2024, beginning at 5.00pm BST (6.00pm CEST, 12 noon EST, 9.00am PDT). The format will be a talk of 20-30 minutes, followed by a moderated discussion of half an hour.
As with recent seminars the Zoom link can be freely accessed by anyone, member of SHAC or not, by booking through the following Ticket Source link:
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/society-for-the-history-of-alchemy-and-chemistry/t-dvqkvvg
The seminar will be also accessible live on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/live/CELBazvrfeQ
Most previous on-line seminars can be found on the SHAC YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/SocietyforHistoryofAlchemyandChemistry
Imitatio Christi and the Aesthetics of Martyrdom in The Visions of Zosimos of Panopolis
Joshua Werrett
The alchemical practice of Zosimos of Panopolis is not just about the transformation of metals; it is about the transformation of the self. This double meaning is found throughout Zosimos’ works, but is perhaps most noticeable in his Visions. In this text, Zosimos uses alchemy as a theurgic practice to understand salvation, a practice which is allegorised as having four major stages: baptism; violent punishment; the separation of body and soul in death; and rebirth as a spiritual entity. These steps, taken by several characters throughout the text, clearly mimic major points in the life and death of Christ. In this talk, I present the argument that the imitation of Christ and the imitation of early Christian martyrs, themselves imitating Christ, are key motifs in the violent, redemptive, sacrificial aesthetics of Zosimos’ text. Analysing the main ideas, images, and phrases in The Visions, I conclude that themes from the New Testament and martyrological literature are pervasive. Overall, I hope to demonstrate that those being reborn as spirits throughout Zosimos’ text are not being reborn in a vacuum; rather, Zosimos suggests that, in being reborn, they follow in the footsteps of alchemists and Christian martyrs before them, in a long imitative line of suffering and transformation, which ultimately starts with Christ.