Podcast episodes – The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP) The First Western Esotericist: Philo of Alexandria
Mar 11, 2019
Philo of Alexandria, the first true western esotericist, is discussed in this episode. Topics include his involvement in politics and philosophy, his fusion of Greek philosophy with Judaism, his projects and structure of works, his belief in hidden esoteric meanings of scriptures, and his pioneering work on numerical interpretation of texts.
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Philo's Roman Embassy
- Philo led an official Jewish delegation from Alexandria to Emperor Gaius (Caligula) around 39–40 CE.
- Josephus and Philo himself record this embassy, anchoring key biographical facts about Philo.
Moses As Esoteric Philosopher
- Philo was a highly Hellenized Jew who fused Greek philosophy with Jewish scripture.
- He reads Moses as an esoteric philosopher whose writings hide Platonic and Stoic doctrines.
Philo As Early Western Thinker
- The podcast defines the West as the Abrahamic–Hellenic synthesis and locates Philo as an early exemplar.
- Philo represents one of the first mature syntheses of Jewish faith and Hellenic thought in Western culture.