Hellenistic Egypt
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. Here, elements of technology,
religion, mythology, and Hellenistic philosophy, each with their own much
longer histories, combined to form the earliest known records of alchemy in the
West. Zosimos of Panopolis wrote the oldest known books on alchemy,[citation
needed] while Mary the Jewess is credited as being the first non-fictitious
Western alchemist. They wrote in Greek
and lived in Egypt under Roman rule.
Mythology – Zosimos of Panopolis asserted that alchemy dated
back to Pharaonic Egypt where it was the domain of the priestly class, though
there is little to no evidence for his assertion. Alchemical writers used Classical figures from
Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythology to illuminate their works and allegorize
alchemical transmutation. 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 god Thoth
and his Greek counterpart Hermes. 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. The Hermetica of
Thrice-Great Hermes is generally understood to form the basis for Western
alchemical philosophy and practice, called the hermetic philosophy by its early
practitioners. These writings were collected in the first centuries of the Common
Era.
Technology – The
dawn of Western alchemy is sometimes associated with that of metallurgy,
extending back to 3500 BC. Many writings
were lost when the emperor Diocletian ordered the burning of alchemical books
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 250-300, they contained
recipes for dyeing and making artificial gemstones, cleaning and fabricating
pearls, and manufacturing of imitation gold and silver. 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. Between the time of Bolus and Zosimos, the
change took place that transformed this metallurgy into a Hermetic art.
Philosophy –
Alexandria acted as a melting pot for philosophies of Pythagoreanism,
Platonism, Stoicism and Gnosticism which formed the origin of alchemy's
character. 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, air, water, and fire. According to Aristotle, each element had
a sphere to which it belonged and to which it would return if left undisturbed.
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." Later
alchemists extensively developed the mystical aspects of this concept.
Alchemy coexisted alongside emerging Christianity.
Lactantius believed Hermes Trismegistus had prophesied its birth. St Augustine
later affirmed this in the 4th & 5th centuries, but also condemned
Trismegistus for idolatry. 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, Isis, Cleopatra, 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. By the middle of the 7th century alchemy was
almost an entirely mystical discipline. 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.
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