Chymes ( el, Χύμης) was a Greco-Roman
alchemist
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscience, protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in Chinese alchemy, C ...
who lived before the third century. He is known only through fragments of text in the works of
Zosimos of Panopolis
Zosimos of Panopolis ( el, Ζώσιμος ὁ Πανοπολίτης; also known by the Latin name Zosimus Alchemista, i.e. "Zosimus the Alchemist") was a Greco-Egyptian alchemist and Gnostic mystic who lived at the end of the 3rd and beginning ...
and
Olympiodorus of Thebes
Olympiodorus of Thebes ( grc-gre, Ὀλυμπιόδωρος ὁ Θηβαῖος; born c. 380, fl. c. 412–425 AD) was a Roman historian, poet, philosopher and diplomat of the early fifth century. He produced a ''History'' in twenty-two volumes, wr ...
.
[Taylor, F. Sherwood. “A Survey of Greek Alchemy”. ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'' 50 (1930): 109–139.]
Some theorists state that Chymes is the
eponymous
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
founder of alchemy.
[Jamal J. Elias. ''Aisha's Cushion: Religious Art, Perception, and Practice in Islam''. Harvard University Press. 2012. p. 177] Zosimus Zosimus, Zosimos, Zosima or Zosimas may refer to:
People
*
* Rufus and Zosimus (died 107), Christian saints
* Zosimus (martyr) (died 110), Christian martyr who was executed in Umbria, Italy
* Zosimos of Panopolis, also known as ''Zosimus Alchem ...
associates him with
Mary the Jewess
Mary or Maria the Jewess ( la, Maria Hebraea), also known as Mary the Prophetess ( la, Maria Prophetissa) or Maria the Copt ( ar, مارية القبطية, Māriyya al-Qibṭiyya), was an early alchemist known from the works of Zosimos of Panopo ...
. He may likely date from this earliest period of alchemy.
Etymology
Chymes' name has also been recorded as Chemas, Cheimas, Chimes, Chemes, and Chimas. He was referred to by
Ibn al-Nadim
Abū al-Faraj Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq al-Nadīm ( ar, ابو الفرج محمد بن إسحاق النديم), also ibn Abī Ya'qūb Isḥāq ibn Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq al-Warrāq, and commonly known by the ''nasab'' (patronymic) Ibn al-Nadīm ...
as both "Kimas" and "Shimas".
Jewish-Hellenistic traditions have equated Chymes with Cham, the biblical figure known as
Ham (son of Noah)
Ham (in ), according to the Table of Nations in the Book of Genesis, was the second son of Noah and the father of Cush, Mizraim, Phut and Canaan.
Ham's descendants are interpreted by Flavius Josephus and others as having populated Africa and adj ...
. Despite this, Chymes can not been identified with any known personage.
Fragments
''One is the All, and it is through it that the All is born. One is the All, and if the All does not contain all, the All will not be born.''
[Raphael Patai. ''The Jewish Alchemists: A History and Source Book.'' Princeton University Press. 2014. p.65]
References
{{Alchemy, state=expanded
Ancient alchemists
Greek alchemists