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{{short description|Egyptian alchemist and writer}}
{{course assignment | course = Education Program:University of Oklahoma/HSCI 3013: History of Science to the Age of Newton (Summer 2014) | term = 2014 Q1}}
{{course assignment | course = Education Program:University of Oklahoma/HSCI 3013: History of Science to the Age of Newton (Summer 2014) | term = 2014 Q1}}
{{Infobox philosopher
{{Infobox philosopher
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|era = [[Ancient philosophy]]
|era = [[Ancient philosophy]]
|image = File:Cleopatra the alchemist.jpg
|image = File:Cleopatra the alchemist.jpg
|caption = Imaginative depiction of Cleopatra the Alchemist from Mylius' 1618 Basilica philosophica "Seals of the Philosophers".
|caption = Imaginative depiction of Cleopatra the Alchemist from Mylius' 1618 Basilica philosophica "Seals of the Philosophers"
|name = Cleopatra the alchemist
|name = Cleopatra the alchemist
|birth_date = c. 3rd century
|birth_date = {{circa|3rd century}}
|birth_place =
|birth_place =
|death_date =
|death_date =
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|school_tradition =
|school_tradition =
|main_interests = [[Alchemy]]
|main_interests = [[Alchemy]]
|ethnicity = [[Greeks|Greek]]-[[Egypt]]ian
|notable_ideas = [[Alembic]]
|notable_ideas = [[Alembic]]
|influences = Possibly [[Mary the Jewess]]
|influences = Possibly [[Mary the Jewess]]
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}}
}}


'''Cleopatra the Alchemist''' who likely lived during the 3rd century, was a [[Greek Egyptian]] [[alchemist]], author, and [[philosopher]]. She experimented with practical alchemy but is also credited as one of the four female alchemists that could produce the [[Philosopher's stone]]. She is considered to be the inventor of the [[Alembic]], an early tool for analytic chemistry.<ref>{{cite book|last1=El Daly|first1=Okasha|title=Egyptology: The Missing Millennium, Ancient Egypt in Medieval Arabic Writings|date=January 2013|publisher=University College London Press|location=London}}</ref>
'''Cleopatra the Alchemist''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Κλεοπάτρα; fl. {{circa|3rd century AD}}) was a Greek [[alchemist]], writer, and [[philosopher]]. She experimented with practical alchemy but is also credited as one of the four female alchemists who could produce the [[philosopher's stone]]. Some writers consider her to be the inventor of the [[alembic]], a distillation apparatus.<ref>{{cite book|last1=El Daly|first1=Okasha|title=Egyptology: The Missing Millennium, Ancient Egypt in Medieval Arabic Writings|date=January 2013|publisher=University College London Press|location=London}}</ref>


The dates of Cleopatra the Alchemist's life and death are unknown, but she was active in [[Alexandria]] in the 3rd century or the 4th century. She is associated with the school of alchemy typified by [[Mary the Jewess]] and [[Comarius]]. These alchemists used complex apparatus for distillation and sublimation.<ref name="Taylor">Taylor, F. Sherwood. “A Survey of Greek Alchemy”. ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'' 50 (1930): 109–139.</ref>
Cleopatra the Alchemist appears to have been active in [[Alexandria]] in the 3rd century or 4th century A.D. She is associated with the school of alchemy typified by [[Mary the Jewess]] and [[Comarius]]. These alchemists used complex apparatus for distillation and sublimation.<ref name="Taylor">Taylor, F. Sherwood. “A Survey of Greek Alchemy”. ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'' 50 (1930): 109–139.</ref>


== Identity and misnomers ==
== Identity and misnomers ==


Cleopatra is a [[pseudonym]] for an author whose real name has been lost. She is not the same person as [[Cleopatra VII]], nonetheless she may be referred to as Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, in some later works.<ref name="Jack lindsay">{{cite book|last=Lindsay|first=Jack|title=The Origins of Alchemy in Graeco-Roman Egypt|date=1970|publisher=Barnes and Noble|location=New York}}</ref>
Cleopatra is a [[pseudonym]] for an unknown author or group of authors. She is not the same person as [[Cleopatra VII]]. Nonetheless, she is referred to as Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, in some later works.<ref name="Jack lindsay">{{cite book|last=Lindsay|first=Jack|title=The Origins of Alchemy in Graeco-Roman Egypt|date=1970|publisher=Barnes and Noble|location=New York}}</ref>
One example of this can be found in ''Basillica Philosophica'' by [[Johann Daniel Mylius]] (1618), where her seal is pictured alongside the motto: "The divine is hidden from the people according to the wisdom of the Lord".<ref>Stanislas Klossowski de Rola. ''The Golden Game: Alchemical Engravings of the Seventeenth Century.'' 1988. p. 150.</ref>
One example of this can be found in ''Basilica Philosophica'' by [[Johann Daniel Mylius]] (1618), where her seal is pictured alongside the motto: "The divine is hidden from the people according to the wisdom of the Lord".<ref>Stanislas Klossowski de Rola. ''The Golden Game: Alchemical Engravings of the Seventeenth Century.'' 1988. p. 150.</ref>
She is also conflated with [[Cleopatra the Physician]]. The two lived supposedly during the same time and are said to have similar styles in their writing, both having grand imagery.<ref name="marianne">{{cite book|author1=Marianne Offereins|author2=Renate Strohmeier|editor1-last=Apotheker|editor1-first=Jan|editor2-last=Sarkadi|editor2-first=Livia Simon|title=European Women in Chemistry|publisher=Wiley-VCH GmbH & Co. KGaA|isbn=978-3-527-32956-4|pages=5, 6}}</ref>
She is also conflated with [[Cleopatra the Physician]]. The two supposedly lived during the same time and are said to have similar styles in their writing, both having grand imagery.<ref name="marianne">{{cite book|author1=Marianne Offereins|author2=Renate Strohmeier|editor1-last=Apotheker|editor1-first=Jan|editor2-last=Sarkadi|editor2-first=Livia Simon|title=European Women in Chemistry|date=7 March 2011 |publisher=Wiley-VCH GmbH & Co. KGaA|isbn=978-3-527-32956-4|pages=5, 6}}</ref>
Cleopatra is used as a character within the dialogue of the alchemical texts themselves.
Cleopatra is used as a character within the dialogue of the alchemical texts themselves.


== Contributions to alchemy ==
== Contributions to alchemy ==


Cleopatra was a foundational figure in alchemy, pre-dating [[Zosimos of Panopolis]]. [[Michael Maier]] names her as one of the four women who knew how to make the philosopher's stone, along with [[Maria the Jewess]], [[Medera]], and [[Taphnutia]].<ref>[[Raphael Patai]]. ''The Jewish Alchemists: A History and Source Book.'' p.78</ref> Cleopatra was mentioned with great respect in the Arabic encyclopedia [[Kitab al-Fihrist]] from 988. She is credited with the invention of the [[alembic]].<ref>Stanton J. Linden. ''The alchemy reader: from Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton'' Cambridge University Press. 2003. p.44</ref> Also trying to quantify alchemy and its experiments, Cleopatra worked with weights and measures.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rowbotham|first1=Sheila|editor1-last=Mitter|editor1-first=Swasti|editor2-last=Rowbotham|editor2-first=Sheila| editor2link =Sheila Rowbotham|editor1-link=Swasti Mitter
Cleopatra was a foundational figure in alchemy, contemporary with or even pre-dating [[Zosimos of Panopolis]]. [[Michael Maier]], author of ''[[Atalanta Fugiens]]'' (1618), names her as one of the four women who knew how to make the philosopher's stone, along with [[Maria the Jewess]], [[Medera]], and [[Paphnutia]].<ref>[[Raphael Patai]]. ''The Jewish Alchemists: A History and Source Book.'' p.78</ref> Cleopatra was mentioned with great respect in the Arabic encyclopedia [[Kitab al-Fihrist]] from 988. She is sometimes credited with the invention of the [[alembic]].<ref>Stanton J. Linden. ''The alchemy reader: from Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton'' Cambridge University Press. 2003. p.44</ref> Also trying to quantify alchemy and its experiments, Cleopatra worked with weights and measures.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rowbotham|first1=Sheila|editor1-last=Mitter|editor1-first=Swasti|editor2-last=Rowbotham|editor2-first=Sheila| editor2-link =Sheila Rowbotham|editor1-link=Swasti Mitter
|title=Women Encounter Technology: Changing Patterns of Employment in the Third World|date=Sep 2, 2003|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781134799510|page=56}}</ref>
|title=Women Encounter Technology: Changing Patterns of Employment in the Third World|date=Sep 2, 2003|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781134799510|page=56}}</ref>


Three alchemical texts related to Cleopatra survive. The text titled ''A Dialogue of Cleopatra and the Philosophers'' exists, but cannot be attributed to her.<ref name="Taylor" /> [[Jack Lindsay]] calls this discourse "the most imaginative and deeply felt document left by the alchemist".<ref name="Jack lindsay" />
Three alchemical texts related to Cleopatra survive. The text titled ''A Dialogue of Cleopatra and the Philosophers'' exists, but cannot be attributed to her.<ref name="Taylor" /> [[Jack Lindsay (writer)|Jack Lindsay]] calls this discourse "the most imaginative and deeply felt document left by the alchemist".<ref name="Jack lindsay" />


* Ἐκ τῶν Κλεοπάτρας περὶ μέτρων καὶ σταθμῶν. ("On Weights and Measures")
* Ἐκ τῶν Κλεοπάτρας περὶ μέτρων καὶ σταθμῶν. ("On Weights and Measures")
Line 40: Line 40:
* Διάλογος φιλοσόφων καὶ Κλεοπάτρας ("A Dialogue of the Philosophers and Cleopatra")
* Διάλογος φιλοσόφων καὶ Κλεοπάτρας ("A Dialogue of the Philosophers and Cleopatra")


Cleopatra's use of imagery reflects conception and birth, the renewal and transformation of life. The philosopher alchemist who contemplates his work is compared to a loving mother who thinks about her child and feeds it.<ref name=marianne />
Cleopatra's use of imagery reflects conception and birth, the renewal and transformation of life. The philosopher alchemist who contemplates their work is compared to a loving mother who thinks about her child and feeds it.<ref name=marianne />


===''Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra''===
===''Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra''===


Cleopatra is most noted for the ''[[Chrysopoeia]] of Cleopatra'' ({{lang-el|Χρυσοποιία Κλεοπάτρας }}), a single sheet of papyrus which contains only symbols, drawings and captions (all of which are pictured below). A copy can be found at [[Leiden University]], located in the [[Netherlands]].<ref name=marianne /> ''[[Chrysopoeia]]'' translated is "gold-making".<ref name=marianne />
Cleopatra is most noted for the ''[[Chrysopoeia]] of Cleopatra'' ({{langx|el|Χρυσοποιία Κλεοπάτρας }}), a single sheet document which contains only symbols, drawings and captions (all of which are pictured below). It is first found on a single leaf in a tenth-to-eleventh century manuscript in the [[Biblioteca Marciana]], [[Venice]], MS Marciana gr. Z. 299.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Berthelot |first1=Marcillien |title=Collection des ancien alchimistes grec. Tome 1 |date=1887 |publisher=Steinheil |location=Paris |page=128}}</ref> A later copy can be found at [[Leiden University]], located in the Netherlands.<ref name=marianne /> ''[[Chrysopoeia]]'' translated is "gold-making".<ref name=marianne />


An example of the imagery is the serpent eating its own tail as a symbol of the [[eternal return]], called the ''[[Ouroboros]]'': a snake curving around with its tail in its mouth (eating itself) is an obvious emblem of unity of the cosmos, of eternity, where the beginning is the end and the end is the beginning".<ref name="Jack lindsay" /> Also on the Chrysopeoia is an inscription in a double ring this describing the ''Ouroboros'':
An example of the imagery is the serpent eating its own tail as a symbol of the [[eternal return]], called the ''[[Ouroboros]]'': “a snake curving around with its tail in its mouth (eating itself) is an obvious emblem of unity of the cosmos, of eternity, where the beginning is the end and the end is the beginning".<ref name="Jack lindsay" /> Also on the Chrysopeoia is an inscription in a double ring this describing the ''Ouroboros'':
<blockquote>One is the Serpent which has its poison according to two compositions, and One is All and through it is All, and by it is All, and if you have not All, All is Nothing.</blockquote>
<blockquote>One is the Serpent which has its poison according to two compositions, and One is All and through it is All, and by it is All, and if you have not All, All is Nothing.</blockquote>


Within the inscription ring is also symbols for gold, silver, and mercury. Along with those are drawings of a "dibikos" ({{lang-el|διβικός}}) and an instrument similar to a kerotakis ({{lang-el|κηροτακίς}} or κυροτακίς), both alchemical apparatuses. Another of her symbols is the eight-banded star. It is believed that the drawing of these star symbols and the crescent shapes above them are a pictorial depiction of turning lead into silver.<ref name=marianne />
Within the inscription ring is also symbols for gold, silver, and mercury. Along with those are drawings of a "dibikos" ({{langx|el|διβικός}}) and an instrument similar to a kerotakis ({{langx|el|κηροτακίς}} or κυροτακίς), both alchemical apparatuses. Another of her symbols is the eight-banded star. It is believed that the drawing of these star symbols and the crescent shapes above them are a pictorial depiction of turning lead into silver.<ref name=marianne />


{{Gallery
{{Gallery
|title=Images from Chrysopeoia of Cleopatra
|title=Images from ''Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra''
|width=160
|width=160
|height=170
|height=170
|lines=1
|align=center
|align=center
|File:Chrysopoea_of_Cleopatra_1.png|alt1=Ouroboros |
|File:Chrysopoea_of_Cleopatra_1.png|alt1=Ouroboros |
Line 75: Line 74:
*Uglow, Jennifer S. ''The Macmillan dictionary of women's biography'' Macmillan. (1982)
*Uglow, Jennifer S. ''The Macmillan dictionary of women's biography'' Macmillan. (1982)


⚫
{{Alchemy|state=expanded}}


{{authority control}}
⚫
{{Alchemy}}



{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleopatra the Alchemist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleopatra the Alchemist}}
[[Category:Women chemists]]
[[Category:Women chemists]]
[[Category:Egyptian alchemists]]
[[Category:Egyptian alchemists]]
[[Category:Ancient alchemists]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek women writers]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek women writers]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek women philosophers]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek women philosophers]]
[[Category:Greek alchemists]]
[[Category:Greek alchemists]]
[[Category:3rd-century people of Roman Egypt]]
[[Category:3rd-century Egyptian people]]
[[Category:4th-century Egyptian people]]
[[Category:4th-century Egyptian people]]
[[Category:4th-century Egyptian women]]
[[Category:4th-century Egyptian women]]
[[Category:Ancient women scientists]]
[[Category:Ancient women scientists]]
[[Category:3rd-century Egyptian women]]

Latest revision as of 08:17, 23 October 2024

Cleopatra the alchemist
Imaginative depiction of Cleopatra the Alchemist from Mylius' 1618 Basilica philosophica "Seals of the Philosophers"
Bornc. 3rd century
EraAncient philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
Main interests
Alchemy
Notable ideas
Alembic

Cleopatra the Alchemist (Greek: Κλεοπάτρα; fl. c. 3rd century AD) was a Greek alchemist, writer, and philosopher. She experimented with practical alchemy but is also credited as one of the four female alchemists who could produce the philosopher's stone. Some writers consider her to be the inventor of the alembic, a distillation apparatus.[1]

Cleopatra the Alchemist appears to have been active in Alexandria in the 3rd century or 4th century A.D. She is associated with the school of alchemy typified by Mary the Jewess and Comarius. These alchemists used complex apparatus for distillation and sublimation.[2]

Identity and misnomers

[edit]

Cleopatra is a pseudonym for an unknown author or group of authors. She is not the same person as Cleopatra VII. Nonetheless, she is referred to as Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, in some later works.[3] One example of this can be found in Basilica Philosophica by Johann Daniel Mylius (1618), where her seal is pictured alongside the motto: "The divine is hidden from the people according to the wisdom of the Lord".[4] She is also conflated with Cleopatra the Physician. The two supposedly lived during the same time and are said to have similar styles in their writing, both having grand imagery.[5] Cleopatra is used as a character within the dialogue of the alchemical texts themselves.

Contributions to alchemy

[edit]

Cleopatra was a foundational figure in alchemy, contemporary with or even pre-dating Zosimos of Panopolis. Michael Maier, author of Atalanta Fugiens (1618), names her as one of the four women who knew how to make the philosopher's stone, along with Maria the Jewess, Medera, and Paphnutia.[6] Cleopatra was mentioned with great respect in the Arabic encyclopedia Kitab al-Fihrist from 988. She is sometimes credited with the invention of the alembic.[7] Also trying to quantify alchemy and its experiments, Cleopatra worked with weights and measures.[8]

Three alchemical texts related to Cleopatra survive. The text titled A Dialogue of Cleopatra and the Philosophers exists, but cannot be attributed to her.[2] Jack Lindsay calls this discourse "the most imaginative and deeply felt document left by the alchemist".[3]

  • Ἐκ τῶν Κλεοπάτρας περὶ μέτρων καὶ σταθμῶν. ("On Weights and Measures")
  • Χρυσοποιία Κλεοπάτρας ("Gold Making of Cleopatra")
  • Διάλογος φιλοσόφων καὶ Κλεοπάτρας ("A Dialogue of the Philosophers and Cleopatra")

Cleopatra's use of imagery reflects conception and birth, the renewal and transformation of life. The philosopher alchemist who contemplates their work is compared to a loving mother who thinks about her child and feeds it.[5]

Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra

[edit]

Cleopatra is most noted for the Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra (Greek: Χρυσοποιία Κλεοπάτρας), a single sheet document which contains only symbols, drawings and captions (all of which are pictured below). It is first found on a single leaf in a tenth-to-eleventh century manuscript in the Biblioteca Marciana, Venice, MS Marciana gr. Z. 299.[9] A later copy can be found at Leiden University, located in the Netherlands.[5] Chrysopoeia translated is "gold-making".[5]

An example of the imagery is the serpent eating its own tail as a symbol of the eternal return, called the Ouroboros: “a snake curving around with its tail in its mouth (eating itself) is an obvious emblem of unity of the cosmos, of eternity, where the beginning is the end and the end is the beginning".[3] Also on the Chrysopeoia is an inscription in a double ring this describing the Ouroboros:

One is the Serpent which has its poison according to two compositions, and One is All and through it is All, and by it is All, and if you have not All, All is Nothing.

Within the inscription ring is also symbols for gold, silver, and mercury. Along with those are drawings of a "dibikos" (Greek: διβικός) and an instrument similar to a kerotakis (Greek: κηροτακίς or κυροτακίς), both alchemical apparatuses. Another of her symbols is the eight-banded star. It is believed that the drawing of these star symbols and the crescent shapes above them are a pictorial depiction of turning lead into silver.[5]

Images from Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra
  • Ouroboros
  • Second image
  • Inscription ring with dibikos and kerotakis.
  • Fourth image

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^ El Daly, Okasha (January 2013). Egyptology: The Missing Millennium, Ancient Egypt in Medieval Arabic Writings. London: University College London Press.
  2. ^ a b Taylor, F. Sherwood. “A Survey of Greek Alchemy”. The Journal of Hellenic Studies 50 (1930): 109–139.
  3. ^ a b c Lindsay, Jack (1970). The Origins of Alchemy in Graeco-Roman Egypt. New York: Barnes and Noble.
  4. ^ Stanislas Klossowski de Rola. The Golden Game: Alchemical Engravings of the Seventeenth Century. 1988. p. 150.
  5. ^ a b c d e Marianne Offereins; Renate Strohmeier (7 March 2011). Apotheker, Jan; Sarkadi, Livia Simon (eds.). European Women in Chemistry. Wiley-VCH GmbH & Co. KGaA. pp. 5, 6. ISBN 978-3-527-32956-4.
  6. ^ Raphael Patai. The Jewish Alchemists: A History and Source Book. p.78
  7. ^ Stanton J. Linden. The alchemy reader: from Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton Cambridge University Press. 2003. p.44
  8. ^ Rowbotham, Sheila (Sep 2, 2003). Mitter, Swasti; Rowbotham, Sheila (eds.). Women Encounter Technology: Changing Patterns of Employment in the Third World. Routledge. p. 56. ISBN 9781134799510.
  9. ^ Berthelot, Marcillien (1887). Collection des ancien alchimistes grec. Tome 1. Paris: Steinheil. p. 128.

References

[edit]
  • Apotheker, Jan & Sarkadi, Livia Simon. European Women in Chemistry Wiley-VCH GmbH & Co. KGaA (2011)
  • Klossowski de la Rola, Stanislas. The Golden Game: Alchemical Engravings of the Seventeenth Century Thames & Hudson. (1997)
  • Lindsay. Jack. The Origins of Alchemy in Graeco-Roman Egypt Barnes and Noble NY. (1970)
  • Mitter, Swasti & Rowbotham, Sheila. Women Encounter Technology: Changing Patterns of Employment in the Third World. Routledge (2003)
  • Patai, Raphael. The Jewish Alchemists: A History and Source Book Princeton University Press. (1995)
  • Stanton J. Linden. The alchemy reader: from Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton Cambridge University Press. (2003)
  • Uglow, Jennifer S. The Macmillan dictionary of women's biography Macmillan. (1982)
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