Poimandres, the Shepherd of Men, a Hermetic Gospel: Corpus Hermeticum, Book 1

The Corpus Hermeticum is a series of short philosophical and religious treatises dating from the beginning of the Common Era. Most of the texts take the form of a dialogue between Hermes Trismegistos and one or more of his disciples. The texts are loosely related but clearly separate tracts seemingly written by many different authors who use the character of Hermes Trismegistos as a prop to express their unique philosophies. The Poimandres, often called "Pymander" by older translators, is the arguably the most important as it contains a very complete creation story and description of salvation. There are obvious parallels between the story in this book and the biblical creation, and while the book is clearly not Christian, it is certainly Gnostic. Also included in this book is the second book of the Corpus Hermeticum, Hermes to Asclepius, and GRS Mead's comment on the Poimandres.