Cleopatra the Alchemist (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: Κλεοπάτρα; fl. c. 3rd century AD) was a Greek
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 ...
, author, and
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
. She experimented with practical alchemy but is also credited as one of the four female alchemists who could produce the
Philosopher's stone
The philosopher's stone or more properly philosophers' stone (Arabic: حجر الفلاسفة, , la, lapis philosophorum), is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold (, from the Greek , "gold", a ...
. Some writers consider her to be the inventor of the
alembic
An alembic (from ar, الإنبيق, al-inbīq, originating from grc, ἄμβιξ, ambix, 'cup, beaker') is an alchemical still consisting of two vessels connected by a tube, used for distillation of liquids.
Description
The complete disti ...
, a distillation apparatus.
Cleopatra the Alchemist appears to have been active in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
in the 3rd century or 4th century A.D. She is associated with the school of alchemy typified by
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 ...
and
Comarius. These alchemists used complex apparatus for distillation and sublimation.
[Taylor, F. Sherwood. “A Survey of Greek Alchemy”. ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'' 50 (1930): 109–139.]
Identity and misnomers
Cleopatra is a
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
for an unknown author or group of authors. She is not the same person as
Cleopatra VII
Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
. Nonetheless, she is referred to as Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, in some later works.
One example of this can be found in ''Basillica Philosophica'' by
Johann Daniel Mylius
Johann Daniel Mylius (c. 15831642) was a composer for the lute, and writer on alchemy. Born at Wetter in present-day Hesse, Germany, he went on to study theology and medicine at the University of Marburg. He was the brother-in-law and pupil of ...
(1618), where her seal is pictured alongside the motto: "The divine is hidden from the people according to the wisdom of the Lord".
She is also conflated with
Cleopatra the Physician
Cleopatra the Physician (Greek: Κλεοπάτρα; ) was a Greek medical writer and author of a manual entitled ''Cosmetics''.
Identity and date
Cleopatra's work is known from six fragments of her writing, probably all from ''Cosmetics.'' Four ...
. The two supposedly lived during the same time and are said to have similar styles in their writing, both having grand imagery.
Cleopatra is used as a character within the dialogue of the alchemical texts themselves.
Contributions to alchemy
Cleopatra was a foundational figure in alchemy, contemporary with or even pre-dating
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 ...
.
Michael Maier
Michael Maier ( la, Michael Maierus; 1568–1622) was a German physician and counsellor to Rudolf II Habsburg. He was a learned alchemist, epigramist, and amateur composer.
Early life
Maier was born in Rendsburg, Holstein, the son of a spe ...
, author of ''
Atalanta Fugiens
''Atalanta Fugiens'' or ''Atalanta Fleeing'' is an emblem book with an alchemical theme by Michael Maier (1568–1622), published by Johann Theodor de Bry in Oppenheim in 1617 (2nd edition 1618). It consists of 50 discourses with illustration ...
'' (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
Taphnutia. Cleopatra was mentioned with great respect in the Arabic encyclopedia
Kitab al-Fihrist
The ''Kitāb al-Fihrist'' ( ar, كتاب الفهرست) (''The Book Catalogue'') is a compendium of the knowledge and literature of tenth-century Islam compiled by Ibn Al-Nadim (c.998). It references approx. 10,000 books and 2,000 authors.''The ...
from 988. She is sometimes credited with the invention of the
alembic
An alembic (from ar, الإنبيق, al-inbīq, originating from grc, ἄμβιξ, ambix, 'cup, beaker') is an alchemical still consisting of two vessels connected by a tube, used for distillation of liquids.
Description
The complete disti ...
. Also trying to quantify alchemy and its experiments, Cleopatra worked with weights and measures.
Three alchemical texts related to Cleopatra survive. The text titled ''A Dialogue of Cleopatra and the Philosophers'' exists, but cannot be attributed to her.
Jack Lindsay
Jack Lindsay (20 October 1900 – 8 March 1990) was an Australian-born writer, who from 1926 lived in the United Kingdom, initially in Essex. He was born in Melbourne, but spent his formative years in Brisbane. He was the eldest son of Norman L ...
calls this discourse "the most imaginative and deeply felt document left by the alchemist".
* 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.
''Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra''
Cleopatra is most noted for the ''
Chrysopoeia
In alchemy, the term chrysopoeia (from Greek , ', "gold-making") refers to the artificial production of gold, most commonly by the alleged transmutation of base metals such as lead. A related term is argyropoeia (, ', "silver-making"), referring ...
of Cleopatra'' ( 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
The Marciana Library or Library of Saint Mark ( it, italic=no, Biblioteca Marciana, but in historical documents commonly referred to as ) is a public library in Venice, Italy. It is one of the earliest surviving public libraries and repositori ...
,
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
, MS Marciana gr. Z. 299.
A later copy can be found at
Leiden University
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...
, located in the Netherlands.
''
Chrysopoeia
In alchemy, the term chrysopoeia (from Greek , ', "gold-making") refers to the artificial production of gold, most commonly by the alleged transmutation of base metals such as lead. A related term is argyropoeia (, ', "silver-making"), referring ...
'' translated is "gold-making".
An example of the imagery is the serpent eating its own tail as a symbol of the
eternal return
Eternal return (german: Ewige Wiederkunft; also known as eternal recurrence) is a concept that the universe and all existence and energy has been recurring, and will continue to recur in a self similar form an infinite number of times across in ...
, called the ''
Ouroboros
The ouroboros or uroboros () is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via ancient Egyptian iconography and the Greek magical tradition. It was adopted as a symbol in Gnost ...
'': “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".
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" ( el, διβικός) and an instrument similar to a kerotakis ( 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.
Citations
References
*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)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleopatra the Alchemist
Women chemists
Egyptian alchemists
Ancient alchemists
Ancient Greek women writers
Ancient Greek women philosophers
Greek alchemists
3rd-century Egyptian people
4th-century Egyptian people
4th-century Egyptian women
Ancient women scientists
3rd-century Egyptian women