Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Alchemy
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
=== Hellenistic Egypt === {{Hermeticism}} [[File:Zosimosapparat.jpg|thumb|Ambix, cucurbit and retort of [[Zosimos of Panopolis|Zosimos]], from [[Marcelin Berthelot]], ''Collection des anciens alchimistes grecs'' (3 vol., Paris, 1887–1888)]] The start of Western alchemy may generally be traced to ancient and [[Hellenistic Egypt]], where the city of [[Alexandria]] was a center of alchemical knowledge, and retained its pre-eminence through most of the Greek and Roman periods.<ref>''New Scientist'', 24–31 December 1987</ref> Following the work of André-Jean Festugière, modern scholars see alchemical practice in the Roman Empire as originating from the Egyptian goldsmith's art, Greek philosophy and different religious traditions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Festugière |first=André-Jean |title=La révélation d'Hermès Trismégiste, Vol.1 |publisher=Les Belles Lettres |year=2006 |location=Paris |pages=218–219}}</ref> Tracing the origins of the alchemical art in Egypt is complicated by the [[pseudepigraphic]] nature of texts from the Greek alchemical corpus. The treatises of [[Zosimos of Panopolis]], the earliest historically attested author ([[Floruit|fl.]] c. 300 AD),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Martelli |first1=Matteo |title=L'alchimista antico |date=2019 |publisher=Editrice Bibliografica |isbn=978-88-7075-979-2 |pages=73–86}}</ref> can help in situating the other authors. Zosimus based his work on that of older alchemical authors, such as [[Mary the Jewess]],<ref>See {{cite book |last=Patai |first=Raphael |title=The Jewish Alchemists: A History and Source Book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LorvA_5Ex_UC&pg=PA60 |year=1995 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-00642-0 |pages=60–91}}</ref> [[Pseudo-Democritus]],<ref name="Martelli, The Four Books of Pseudo-Democritus">{{cite book |last1=Martelli |first1=Matteo |title=The Four Books of Pseudo-Democritus |date=2014 |publisher=Maney |location=Leeds}}</ref> and [[Agathodaemon (alchemist)|Agathodaimon]], but very little is known about any of these authors. The most complete of their works, The ''Four Books'' of [[Pseudo-Democritus]], were probably written in the first century AD.<ref name="Martelli, The Four Books of Pseudo-Democritus" /> Recent scholarship tends to emphasize the testimony of Zosimus, who traced the alchemical arts back to Egyptian metallurgical and ceremonial practices.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Martelli |first1=Matteo |title=L'alchimista antico |date=2019 |publisher=Editrice Bibliografica |isbn=978-88-7075-979-2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Grimes |first=Shannon |url=https://rubedo.press/becoming-gold |title=Becoming Gold |publisher=Rubedo Press |year=2018 |location=Auckland|access-date=12 February 2020|archive-date=12 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212203123/https://rubedo.press/becoming-gold|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Dufault |first1=Olivier |title=Early Greek Alchemy, Patronage and Innovation in Late Antiquity |date=2019 |publisher=California Classical Studies |location=Berkeley |isbn=978-1-939926-12-8 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2ks0g83x |access-date=12 February 2020 |archive-date=12 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212203119/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2ks0g83x |url-status=live}}</ref> It has also been argued that early alchemical writers borrowed the vocabulary of Greek philosophical schools but did not implement any of its doctrines in a systematic way.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dufault |first1=Olivier |s2cid=10823051 |title=Transmutation Theory in the Greek Alchemical Corpus |journal=Ambix |year=2015 |volume=62 |issue=3 |pages=215–244 |doi=10.1179/1745823415Y.0000000003 |pmid=26307909 |url=https://hcommons.org/deposits/download/hc:24472/CONTENT/dufault-transmutation-theory-in-the-greek-alchemical-corpus.pdf/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://hcommons.org/deposits/download/hc:24472/CONTENT/dufault-transmutation-theory-in-the-greek-alchemical-corpus.pdf/ |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> Zosimos of Panopolis wrote in the ''Final Abstinence'' (also known as the "Final Count").<ref>The title of the τελευταὶα ἀποχή is traditionally translated as the "Final Count". Considering that the treatise does not mention any count nor counting and that it makes a case against the use of sacrifice in the practice of alchemy, a preferable translation would be "the Final Abstinence". See {{Cite book |last=Dufault |first=Olivier |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2ks0g83x |title=Early Greek Alchemy, Patronage and Innovation |publisher=California Classical Studies |year=2019 |location=Berkeley |pages=127–131 |isbn=978-1-939926-12-8|access-date=12 February 2020|archive-date=12 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212203119/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2ks0g83x|url-status=live}}</ref> Zosimos explains that the ancient practice of "tinctures" (the technical Greek name for the alchemical arts) had been taken over by certain "demons" who taught the art only to those who offered them sacrifices. Since Zosimos also called the demons "the guardians of places" ({{lang|el|οἱ κατὰ τόπον ἔφοροι}}, {{transliteration|el|hoi katà tópon éphoroi}}) and those who offered them sacrifices "priests" ({{lang|el|ἱερέα}}, {{transliteration|el|hieréa}}), it is fairly clear that he was referring to the gods of Egypt and their priests. While critical of the kind of alchemy he associated with the Egyptian priests and their followers, Zosimos nonetheless saw the tradition's recent past as rooted in the rites of the Egyptian temples.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dufault |first=Olivier |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2ks0g83x |title=Early Greek Alchemy, Patronage and Innovation |publisher=California Classical Studies |year=2019 |location=Berkeley |pages=118–141 |isbn=978-1-939926-12-8|access-date=12 February 2020|archive-date=12 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212203119/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2ks0g83x|url-status=live}}</ref> ==== Mythology ==== Zosimos of Panopolis asserted that alchemy dated back to [[Ancient Egypt|Pharaonic Egypt]] where it was the domain of the priestly class, though there is little to no evidence for his assertion.<ref>{{cite book |last=Garfinkel |first=Harold |title=Ethnomethodological Studies of Work |publisher=Routledge &Kegan Paul |year=1986 |page=127 |isbn=978-0-415-11965-8}}</ref> Alchemical writers used Classical figures from Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythology to illuminate their works and allegorize alchemical transmutation.<ref>Yves Bonnefoy. 'Roman and European Mythologies'. University of Chicago Press, 1992. pp. 211–213</ref> These included the pantheon of gods related to the Classical planets, [[Isis]], [[Osiris]], [[Jason]], and many others. The central figure in the mythology of alchemy is [[Hermes Trismegistus]] (or Thrice-Great Hermes). His name is derived from the [[deity|god]] [[Thoth]] and his Greek counterpart [[Hermes]].<ref>A survey of the literary and archaeological evidence for the background of Hermes Trismegistus in the Greek Hermes and the Egyptian Thoth may be found in Bull, Christian H. 2018. ''The Tradition of Hermes Trismegistus: The Egyptian Priestly Figure as a Teacher of Hellenized Wisdom''. Leiden: Brill, pp. 33–96.</ref> Hermes and his [[caduceus]] or serpent-staff, were among alchemy's principal symbols. According to [[Clement of Alexandria]], he wrote what were called the "forty-two books of Hermes", covering all fields of knowledge.<ref>[[s:Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume II/CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA/The Stromata, or Miscellanies/Book VI/Chapter IV.|Clement, ''Stromata'', vi. 4.]]</ref> ==== ''Hermetica'' and ''Emerald Tablet'' ==== {{Main|Hermetica|Emerald Tablet}} The ''Hermetica'' are texts attributed to [[Hermes Trismegistus]]. Many of them have close historical connections with Western alchemical philosophy and practice (which was sometimes called the [[hermeticism|hermetic philosophy]] by its practitioners). By modern convention, the ''Hermetica'' is usually subdivided into two main categories, the "technical" and "religio-philosophical" ''Hermetica''. The "technical" ''Hermetica'' deals with alchemy, [[History of astrology|astrology]], medicine, [[History of pharmacy|pharmacology]], and [[Magic (supernatural)|magic]]. Its oldest parts were written in Greek and may go back as far as the second or third century BC.<ref>{{harvnb|Copenhaver|1992|p=xxxiii}}; {{harvnb|Bull|2018|pp=2–3}}. Garth Fowden is somewhat more cautious, noting that our earliest testimonies date to the first century BC (see {{harvnb|Fowden|1986|p=3, note 11}}).</ref> Many of the texts in the "technical" ''Hermetica'' were later translated, [[Graeco-Arabic translation movement|first into Arabic]] and [[Latin translations of the 12th century|then into Latin]], often being extensively revised and expanded throughout the centuries. Some of them were also originally written in Arabic. In other cases their status as an original work or translation remains unclear.<ref>{{harvnb|Van Bladel|2009|p=17}}.</ref> These Arabic and Latin Hermetic texts were widely copied throughout the [[Middle Ages]]. The most famous of these texts is the ''Emerald Tablet'', also known as the ''Smaragdine Table'' or the ''Tabula Smaragdina'', a compact and cryptic text.<ref>{{harvnb|Principe|2013|pp=31–32}}.</ref> The earliest known versions of it are four [[Arabic]] recensions preserved in mystical and alchemical treatises between the 8th and 10th centuries AD—chiefly the ''[[Sirr al-khaliqa|Secret of Creation]]'' ({{langx|ar|سر الخليقة|Sirr al-Khalīqa|link=no}}) and the ''[[Secretum Secretorum|Secret of Secrets]]'' ({{langx|ar|سرّ الأسرار|Sirr al-Asrār|label=none}}).<ref>{{harvnb|Kraus|1943|pp=274–275}}; {{harvnb|Weisser|1980|p=46}}.</ref> From the 12th century onward, Latin translations—most notably the widespread so-called ''Vulgate''<ref>{{harvnb|Kahn|1994|p=|pp=XIX, 41}}; {{harvnb|Mandosio|2004|p=683}}; {{harvnb|Caiazzo|2004|pp=700–703}}; {{harvnb|Colinet|1995}}.</ref>—introduced the ''Emerald Tablet'' to Europe, where it attracted great scholarly interest. Medieval commentators such as [[Ortolanus|Hortulanus]] interpreted it as a "foundational text" of alchemical instructions for producing the [[philosopher's stone]] and [[Chrysopoeia|making gold]].<ref>{{harvnb|Principe|2013|p=32}}; {{harvnb|Debus|2004|p=415}}; {{harvnb|Ruska|1926|pp=193, 209}}.</ref> ==== Technology ==== The dawn of Western alchemy is sometimes associated with that of [[metallurgy]], extending back to 3500 BC.<ref>{{Harvnb|Linden|1996|p=12}}</ref> Many writings were lost when the [[Roman emperor]] [[Diocletian]] ordered the burning of alchemical books<ref>{{cite book |last=Partington |first=James Riddick |title=A Short History of Chemistry |url=https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofch0000part_q6h4|url-access=registration |year=1989 |page=[https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofch0000part_q6h4/page/20 20] |isbn=978-0-486-65977-0 |publisher=Dover Publications |location=New York}}</ref> after suppressing a revolt in Alexandria (AD 292). Few original Egyptian documents on alchemy have survived, most notable among them the [[Stockholm papyrus]] and the [[Leyden papyrus X]]. Dating from AD 250 to 300, they contained recipes for dyeing and making artificial gemstones, cleaning and fabricating pearls, and manufacturing of imitation gold and silver.<ref>Caley, E. R. (1927) "The Stockholm Papyrus : An English Translation with brief notes" Journal of Chemical Education IV:8 : 979–1002.</ref> These writings lack the mystical, philosophical elements of alchemy, but do contain the works of [[Bolus of Mendes]] (or [[Pseudo-Democritus]]), which aligned these recipes with theoretical knowledge of astrology and the [[classical elements]].<ref name="Chemistry, Bensaude-Vincent 1996, p13">''A History of Chemistry'', Bensaude-Vincent, Isabelle Stengers, ''Harvard University Press'', 1996, '''p13'''</ref> Between the time of Bolus and Zosimos, the change took place that transformed this metallurgy into a Hermetic art.<ref>{{Harvnb|Linden|1996|p=14}}</ref> ==== Philosophy ==== Alexandria acted as a melting pot for philosophies of [[Pythagoreanism]], [[Platonism]], [[Stoicism]] and [[Gnosticism]] which formed the origin of alchemy's character.<ref name="Chemistry, Bensaude-Vincent 1996, p13" /> An important example of alchemy's roots in Greek philosophy, originated by [[Empedocles]] and developed by Aristotle, was that all things in the universe were formed from only four elements: [[Earth (classical element)|earth]], [[Air (classical element)|air]], [[Water (classical element)|water]], and [[Fire (classical element)|fire]]. According to Aristotle, each element had a sphere to which it belonged and to which it would return if left undisturbed.<ref>{{cite book |author=Lindsay, Jack |title=The Origins of Alchemy in Graeco-Roman Egypt |location=London |publisher=Muller |year=1970 |isbn=978-0-389-01006-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/trent_0116301348557/page/16 16] |url=https://archive.org/details/trent_0116301348557/page/16}}</ref> The four elements of the Greek were mostly qualitative aspects of matter, not quantitative, as our modern elements are; "True alchemy never regarded earth, air, water, and fire as corporeal or chemical substances in the present-day sense of the word. The four elements are simply the primary, and most general, qualities by means of which the amorphous and purely quantitative substance of all bodies first reveals itself in differentiated form."<ref>{{cite book |first=Titus |last=Burckhardt | author-link=Titus Burckhardt |title=Alchemy: Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul |location=Baltimore |publisher=Penguin |year=1967 |page=66 |others=Trans. William Stoddart |isbn=978-0-906540-96-1}}</ref> Later alchemists extensively developed the mystical aspects of this concept. Alchemy coexisted alongside emerging [[Christianity]]. [[Lactantius]] believed Hermes Trismegistus had prophesied its birth. [[Augustine of Hippo|St Augustine]] later affirmed this in the 4th and 5th centuries, but also condemned Trismegistus for idolatry.<ref>Fanning, Philip Ashley. ''Isaac Newton and the Transmutation of Alchemy: An Alternative View of the Scientific Revolution.'' 2009. p.6</ref> Examples of Pagan, Christian, and Jewish alchemists can be found during this period. Most of the Greco-Roman alchemists preceding Zosimos are known only by pseudonyms, such as [[Moses of Alexandria|Moses]], Isis, [[Cleopatra the Alchemist|Cleopatra]], [[Pseudo-Democritus|Democritus]], and [[Ostanes]]. Others authors such as Komarios, and [[Chymes]], we only know through fragments of text. After AD 400, Greek alchemical writers occupied themselves solely in commenting on the works of these predecessors.<ref>F. Sherwood Taylor. ''Alchemists, Founders of Modern Chemistry.'' p.26.</ref> By the middle of the 7th century alchemy was almost an entirely mystical discipline.<ref>[[Allen G. Debus]]. ''Alchemy and early modern chemistry: papers from Ambix.'' p. 36</ref> It was at that time that [[Khalid Ibn Yazid]] sparked its migration from Alexandria to the Islamic world, facilitating the translation and preservation of Greek alchemical texts in the 8th and 9th centuries.<ref>Glen Warren Bowersock, Peter Robert Lamont Brown, Oleg Grabar. ''Late antiquity: a guide to the postclassical world.'' pp. 284–285</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)