The ''Cyranides'' (also ''Kyranides'' or ''Kiranides'') is a compilation of magico-medical works in
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 ...
first put together in the 4th century.
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
translations also exists. It has been described as a "
farrago" and a ''texte vivant'', owing to the complexities of its
transmission: it has been abridged, rearranged, and supplemented. The resulting compilation covers the magical properties and practical uses of gemstones, plants, and animals, and is a virtual encyclopedia of
amulets; it also contains material pertinent to the history of western
alchemy
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
, and to
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
studies, particularly in illuminating meanings of words and magico-religious practices. As a medical text, the ''Cyranides'' was held in relatively low esteem even in
antiquity and the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
because of its use of
vernacular
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
language and reliance on
lore
Lore may refer to:
* Folklore, acquired knowledge or traditional beliefs
* Oral lore or oral tradition, orally conveyed cultural knowledge and traditions
Places
* Loré, former French commune
* Loré (East Timor), a city and subdistrict in La ...
rather than
Hippocratic
Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of ...
or
Galen
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one ...
ic medical theory.
In the ''
Pseudodoxia Epidemica
''Pseudodoxia Epidemica or Enquiries into very many received tenents and commonly presumed truths'', also known simply as ''Pseudodoxia Epidemica'' or ''Vulgar Errors'', is a work by Thomas Browne challenging and refuting the "vulgar" or common ...
'',
Thomas Browne described the ''Cyranides'' as "a collection out of
Harpocration
__NOTOC__
Valerius Harpocration ( grc-gre, Οὐαλέριος or , ''gen''. Ἁρποκρατίωνος) was a Greek grammarian of Alexandria, probably working in the 2nd century AD. He is possibly the Harpocration mentioned by Julius Capitolinus ...
the Greek and sundry
Arabick writers delivering not only the Naturall but Magicall propriety of things." Although the ''Cyranides'' was considered "dangerous and disreputable" in the Middle Ages, it was translated into Latin by
Pascalis Romanus, a
clergyman
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
with medical expertise who was the Latin interpreter for Emperor
Manuel I Komnenos. The 14th-century
cleric
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
Demetrios Chloros was put on trial because he transcribed magical texts, including what was referred to as the ''Coeranis''.
Form and structure
![Bodl Arab](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Bodl_Arab.d.221_roll332_frame11.jpg)
The original 4th-century ''Cyranides'' comprised three books, to which a
redactor
Redaction is a form of editing in which multiple sources of texts are combined and altered slightly to make a single document. Often this is a method of collecting a series of writings on a similar theme and creating a definitive and coherent wo ...
added a fourth. The original first book of the ''Cyranides'', the Κυρανίς (''Kuranis''), was the second component of a two-part work, the first part of which was the Ἀρχαϊκἠ (''Archaikê''). Books 2–4 are a
bestiary
A bestiary (from ''bestiarum vocabulum'') is a compendium of beasts. Originating in the ancient world, bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals and even rocks. The natural history ...
. The
edition of Kaimakis (see below) contains a fifth and sixth book which were not transmitted under the name ''Cyranides'' but which were included with the work in a limited number of manuscripts. A medieval
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
translation of the first book exists, and portions of it are "reflected" in the
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intellig ...
work ''Le livre des secrez de nature'' (''The Book of Nature's Secrets'').
The ''Cyranides'' begins by instructing the reader to keep its contents secret, and with a fictional narrative of how the work was discovered. In one 15th-century manuscript, the author of the work is said to be Kyranos (Κοίρανος), king of
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
Sample remedies and spells
The ''Cyranides'' devotes a chapter to the healing powers of the water snake; its
bezoar
A bezoar is a mass often found trapped in the gastrointestinal system, though it can occur in other locations. A pseudobezoar is an indigestible object introduced intentionally into the digestive system.
There are several varieties of bezoar, s ...
is used to cure
dropsy
Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...
. Fish
gall is recommended for healing white spots in the eye; fish liver is supposed to cure blindness. For a "large and pleasurable"
erection, a mixture of
arugula, spices, and honey is recommended, as is carrying the tail of a lizard or the right
molar of a
skink. The fumigation or wearing of
bear hair turns away evil spirits and fever.
Daniel Ogden, a specialist in magic and the supernatural in antiquity, has gathered several references from the ''Cyranides'' on the use of gemstones and amulets. The collection offers spells to avert the child-harming demon
Gello
Gello ( grc, Γελλώ), in Greek mythology, is a female demon or revenant who threatens the reproductive cycle by causing infertility, miscarriage, and infant mortality. By the Byzantine era, the () were considered a class of beings. Wome ...
, who was blamed for
miscarriages and
infant mortality, and says that
aetite can be worn as an amulet against miscarriage.
Magico-religious tradition
Olympidorus provides a summary of a passage from the work, not part of the abridged version now extant, that has
cosmological
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...
as well as alchemical implications:
![Talpa europaea MHNT Tete](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Talpa_europaea_MHNT_Tete.jpg)
In the extant version, the ''Cyranides'' contains a description of the ''heliodromus'', a
phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
-like bird from
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
which, upon hatching, flies to the rising sun and then goes west when the sun passes the
zenith
The zenith (, ) is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction ( plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location ( nadir). The zenith is the "high ...
. It lives only a year, and, according to some interpretations of an unreliable text, leaves behind an
androgynous progeny.
[ R. van den Broek, ''The Myth of the Phoenix According to Classical and Early Christian Traditions'' (Brill, N.D.), pp. 286–28]
online.
On the sex of the phoenix, see F. Lecocq, «‘Le sexe incertain du phénix’: de la zoologie à la théologie», ''Le phénix et son autre: poétique d'un mythe des origines au XVIe s.'', ed. L. Gosserez, Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2013, p. 177-199, ()
Editions and translations
* The Latin translation.
* (NB: Kaimakis did not consult the Latin text while making this edition).
* Partial Greek text.
* Arabic translation and partial Greek text; Greek text contains many typographical errors.
* (Arabic translation of fragments from books 2–4 of the ''Cyranides'')
* English translation and commentary on select passages from Book 1.
Selected bibliography
* Bain, David. "Μελανῖτις γῆ in the ''Cyranides'' and Related Texts: New Evidence for the Origins and Etymology of Alchemy." In ''Magic in the Biblical World: From the
Rod of Aaron to the
Ring of Solomon
The Seal of Solomon or Ring of Solomon ( he, חותם שלמה, '; ar, خاتم سليمان, ') is the legendary signet ring attributed to the Israelite
The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near ...
''. T&T Clark International, 2003, pp. 191–218. Limited previe
online.* Bain, David. "περιγίνεσθαι as a Medical Term and a Conjecture in the ''Cyranides''." In ''Ethics and Rhetoric: Classical Essays for Donald Russell on His Seventy-Fifth Birthday''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995, pp. 281–286. Limited previe
online.* Faraone, Christopher A. ''Ancient Greek Love Magic''. Harvard University Press, 2001. Limited previe
online.*Mavroudi, Maria. "Occult Science and Society in Byzantium: Considerations for Future Research." University of California, Berkeley. Full tex
downloadable.Also published in ''The Occult Sciences in Byzantium'' (La Pomme d'or, 2006), limited previe
online.
References
{{Alchemy
Hermetica
Traditional medicine
History of ancient medicine
Alchemical documents
Greek alchemy