The egg in the ancient Greek alchemists: An approach to the origin of the concept of «philosophical egg»
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25145/j.fortunat.2020.32.09Keywords:
Egg, yolk, egg white, shell, alchemy, philosophical eggAbstract
There are numerous materials and substances that the ancient alchemists used as their raw
material. One of these is the egg, which has an emblematic or symbolic significance since
the first Greek alchemical texts. In this sense, it is worth mention three: ??????? ???? ????????? ??? ??????????? (Alphabetical Lexicon of the Crisopea), ???? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ????? ????? (What the ancients say about the egg) and??????????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ????? ?? ????????? ??? ?????? (The nomenclature of the egg: this is the mystery of art). In these texts, of which a translation is offered in this work, in addition to the Greek text, a whole allegorical nomenclature is enclosed, unknown to the uninitiated in alchemy. In the last part of this work, a possible origin of the concept of «philosophical egg» will be discussed, based on one of the passages in the text The nomenclature of the egg: this is the mystery of art.
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