Podcast episodes – The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP)

In Part I of a two-parter we explore the contours of East Roman alchemy from the seventh century onward. Gerasimos Merianos is our guide to the many and varied authors writing in the alchemical genre aside from (but including) the great Stephanos. The roots of the western alchemical tradition lie in the east.

In Part II we explore two of Stephanos' works: the astrological piece entitled Apotelesmatikē pragmateia, with its katarchic ‘Horoscope of Islam’, and his influential, vexing, and beautiful alchemical work, On the Great and Holy Art of Gold-Making.

We speak with Maria Papathanassiou about Stephanos of Alexandria: the last known Platonist/Aristotelean philosopher trained at Alexandria, a politically-connected courtier at Herakleios' Constantinople, a Christian, an astrologer, an alchemist, and more.

We head back to Constantionple with Jonathan Greig at the controls, to discuss the quintessentially Orthodox mystic, Maximus the Confessor. Late-Platonist apophasis meets hard-core ascesis, and Maximus follows the theology where it wants to go, sometimes to his own cost.

Christopher Bonura introduces us to the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodios, a seventh-century Syriac prophetic universal history. Come for the Arab conquests reflected in Christian revelation, stay for the apocalyptic Roman emperor.

In this interview we explore a crucial document of seventh-century Judaism: the Sefer Zerubbabel, an apocalyptic ‘future history’ allegedly written in the past. The Temple will descend, the evil Armilus (son of Satan and a statue) will wreak havok, and two messiahs will arise to redeem Israel.

Touraj Daryaee, a Chair in Persian Studies at UC Irvine and an expert on Zoroastrianism, delves into the fascinating world of this ancient religion during the Sasanian Empire. He discusses the political dynamics that established Zoroastrianism as a state religion and its interactions with Christianity and Judaism. Daryaee also highlights the challenges of sourcing Persian historical evidence, the evolution of Zoroastrianism post-Arab conquest, and the intriguing relationship between Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism, revealing its lasting influence on later religious thought.

In Part I we looked at the political events leading up to the formation of the Shi'a. In Part II we see that it did not take long for things to get very esoteric. Come for the programmatic esoteric hermeneutics, stay for the occult sciences.

We pick up from our last episode, where geopolitics and esotericism met in the crucible of Roman, Sassanian, and Arab political struggles. Ahab Bdaiwi threads the labyrinth of the earliest historical sources for the birth of the movement within Islām which came to be known as the Party of ‘Alī, or the Shi‘ā.

The podcast delves into the pivotal changes in the Eastern Mediterranean during the 7th century, highlighting the reign of Emperor Justinian and the emergence of Islam. It discusses the fall of Jerusalem and Heraclius's military campaigns, shaping the landscape of Western esotericism. The influence of the Sasanian Empire on Zoroastrianism and philosophical thought is unpacked. It also covers the cultural flourishing in Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate, and the rise of early Islamic leadership, which laid the groundwork for Shia esotericism.