Glaucus of

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of masti ...

( grc-gre, Γλαῦκος) was a

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 ...

sculptor in metal, who is often distinguished as the inventor of the art of soldering metals (Greek: σιδήρου κόλλησις, lit. "gluing together of iron"). His most noted work was a base of

welded Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing fusion. Welding is distinct from lower temperature techniques such as braz ...

iron Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...

supporting a silver

krater A krater or crater ( grc-gre, , ''kratēr'', literally "mixing vessel") was a large two-handled shape of vase in Ancient Greek pottery and metalwork, mostly used for the mixing of wine with water. Form and function At a Greek symposium, krat ...

. According to

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...

, it was given by

Alyattes Alyattes (Lydian language: ; grc, Ἀλυάττης ; reigned c. 635-585 BC), sometimes described as Alyattes I, was the fourth king of the Mermnad dynasty in Lydia, the son of Sadyattes, grandson of Ardys, and great-grandson of Gyges. ...

, the Lydian King and father of Croesus, to the

Oracle of Delphi Pythia (; grc, Πυθία ) was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as the Pythoness ...

. The base, perhaps already without the krater, was also seen by

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

, who describes its construction,Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'', 10. 16. 1 and by

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...

, who says that it was chased with small figures of animals, insects, and plants. Perhaps it is this passage that has led Meyer and others into the mistake of explaining ''κόλλησις'' as that kind of engraving on steel which is now called damascene work. Actually there is no doubt that ''κόλλησις'' meant a mode of uniting metals without the help of nails, hooks, or dovetails.

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

also speaks of this salver as very celebrated. The proverb ''Γλαύκου τέχνη'' ("the skill of Glaucus"), purported by some to refer to Glaucus of Chios, could also refer to a writing technique invented by Glaucus of Samos. Cf. Stephanus Byzantinus (s. v. Αἰθάλη) and Suda (s. v. γλαῦξ ἴπταται), who appear to confuse these two persons of the name Glaucus. A

scholia Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of t ...

st on

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

identifies the two.

Scholia Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of t ...

's ''Phaedrus'', p. 13, Ruhnken, pp. 381–2, Bekker. Glaucus is placed by

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...

at the 2nd year of the 22nd

Olympiad An olympiad ( el, Ὀλυμπιάς, ''Olympiás'') is a period of four years, particularly those associated with the ancient and modern Olympic Games. Although the ancient Olympics were established during Greece's Archaic Era, it was not unti ...

(691 BC). Alyattes reigned 617–560 BC. Though these dates appear inconsistent, there is nothing in Herodotus to exclude the supposition that the iron base had been made some time before Alyattes sent it to Delphi.

References

Sources

. '' The Histories''.

Penguin Classics Penguin Classics is an imprint of Penguin Books under which classic works of literature are published in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean among other languages. Literary critics see books in this series as important members of the West ...

, 1996, p. 11. * '' Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft'', Band VII, Halbband 13, Fornax-Glykon (1910), pp. 1421–1422 * Ancient Chians 6th-century BC Greek people Ancient Greek artists Ancient Greek inventors Delphi {{AncientGreece-bio-stub