Life
"Alchemist I" (Χρυσοποιὸς Αʹ) is a modern scholarly designation for an anonymous compiler within the Greek alchemical corpus, active during the 3rd to 7th centuries CE. This period of Greco-Egyptian and Byzantine alchemy was centered in Alexandria and the Eastern Roman Empire, where Hellenistic science merged with Egyptian craft traditions. Texts from this era were often pseudepigraphically attributed to legendary figures like Hermes Trismegistus [1].
Works
The corpus attributed to this designation comprises numerous technical treatises. These works, preserved in manuscripts like Marcianus graecus 299, include laboratory procedures, recipes for alloys and dyes, and theoretical discussions of matter. They form part of larger anonymous collections, such as the Physika kai Mystika and the works of "Christianos the Philosopher" [1][2].
Significance
This anonymous tradition was essential for transmitting chemical knowledge and experimental techniques from antiquity to the Islamic and medieval Latin worlds. The texts provide crucial evidence for early laboratory practices, the development of apparatus, and philosophical theories on material transformation, representing a key intersection of technology, philosophy, and mystical thought [1][2].
Sources
1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Plato.stanford.edu): https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/alchemy/
2. Encyclopædia Britannica (Britannica.com): https://www.britannica.com/topic/alchemy
Available Works
Χημικὸν Ἀπόσπασμα
Alchemical Fragment
1 passages
Χημικὸν Ἀπόσπασμα
Alchemical Fragment
2 passages
Χημικὸν Ἀπόσπασμα
Alchemical Fragment
1 passages
Χημικὸν Ἀπόσπασμα
Alchemical Fragment
1 passages
Ἀλχημικὸν Ἀπόσπασμα
Alchemical Fragment
1 passages
Ἀλχημικὸν Ἀπόσπασμα
Alchemical Fragment
1 passages
Ἀλχημικὸν Ἀπόσπασμα
Alchemical Fragment
1 passages
Ἀλχημικὸν Ἀπόσπασμα
Alchemical Fragment
1 passages
Λεξικὸν κατὰ στοιχεῖον τῆς
Alchemical Lexicon
14 passages
Χημικὸν Σύγγραμμα
Alchemical Treatise
100 passages
Χημικὸν Σύγγραμμα
Alchemical Treatise
156 passages
Συμπέρασμα τῆς ποιήσεως
Conclusion of the Poem
2 passages
Χρυσοῦ ποίησις
Creation of Gold
2 passages
Ποίησις ἀσβέστου
Creation of Lime
2 passages
Ποίησις μᾶλλον τοῦ παντός
Creation Rather of the Whole
3 passages
Πρὸς Θεόδωρον Ἀφιέρωσις
Dedication to Theodorus
2 passages
Διάγραμμα τῆς μεγάλης ἡλιουργίας παραβαλλόμενον
Diagram of the Great Solar Work Compared to the Economy of the Universe
3 passages
Διαφοραὶ μολίβδου καὶ χρυσοπετάλου
Differences of Lead and Gold Leaf
4 passages
Βαφὴ τοῦ παρὰ Πέρσαις ἐξευρημένου χαλκοῦ
Dyeing of Persian Bronze Found by Philip
2 passages
Καταβαφὴ λίθων καὶ σμαράγδων καὶ λιχνιτῶν καὶ
Dyeing of Stones, Emeralds, Lichnites, and Hyacinths
15 passages
Ἐκλογὴ περὶ Μηνῶν
Excerpt-Months
6 passages
Ἐκ τῶν μεταλλικῶν
From the Metallics
2 passages
Ἑρμοῦ τρισμεγίστου ὄργανον
Hermes Trismegistus Instrument
4 passages
Εἰ θέλεις ποιῆσαι φούρμας καὶ τύλους ἀπὸ
If You Want to Make Molds and Casts from Thunderbolt, Do Thus
5 passages
Λαβύρινθος ἥνπερ Σολομὼν ἐτεκτήνατο
Labyrinth Built by Solomon
1 passages
Στάκτης ποίησις
Making of Ash
2 passages
Ποίησις κρυσταλλίων
Making of Crystals
4 passages
Ποίησις ἀργύρου
Making of Silver
3 passages
Οἰκονομία τῆς ἀσβέστου
Management of Lime
2 passages
Ὀνόματα τῶν χρυσοποιητῶν
Names of Goldsmiths
3 passages
Ὅρκος τοῦ φιλοσόφου
Oath of the Philosopher
3 passages
Περὶ βαφῆς σιδήρου
On Dyeing Iron
5 passages
Περὶ τοῦ χρυσῶσαι σίδηρον
On Gilding Iron
2 passages
Περὶ τοῦ ποιῆσαι τυρόκολλαν
On Making Cheese Glue
1 passages
Περὶ τοῦ ποιῆσαι ὀξυγγοσάπουνον
On Making Oxysapon
2 passages
Περὶ τοῦ ὀρειχάλκου
On Orichalcum
1 passages
Περὶ μαργαριτῶν
On Pearls, Collection of Excerpts
4 passages
Περὶ ποιήσεως ἀσήμου
On the Creation of the Unmarked
3 passages
Περὶ τῆς θείας καὶ ἱερᾶς τέχνης τῶν φιλοσόφων
On the Divine and Sacred Art of Philosophers
4 passages
Βαφὴ τοῦ ἰνδικοῦ σιδήρου γραφεῖσα ἀπὸ ἀρχῆς
On the Dyeing of Indian Iron
5 passages
Περὶ τοῦ ὠοῦ οἱ παλαιοί φασιν οὕτως
On the Egg, the Ancients Say Thus
3 passages
Περὶ τῶν τεσσάρων στοιχείων
On the Four Elements
10 passages
Περὶ συνάξεως τῶν φιλοσόφων
On the Gathering of Philosophers
3 passages
Περὶ τοῦ θείου ἀκαύστου
On the Incombustible Sulfur
1 passages
Περὶ ζύθων ποιήσεως
On the Making of Beer
1 passages
Περὶ ποιήσεως κινναβάρεως
On the Making of Cinnabar
3 passages
Περὶ τοῦ μεταλλικοῦ λιθοῦ ἐν οἷς τοῖς τόποις
On the Metallic Stone and Where It Is Made
5 passages
Περὶ τῆς τιμιωτάτης καὶ πολυφήμου χρυσοχοϊκῆς
On the Most Precious and Renowned Goldsmithing
17 passages
Περὶ τοῦ λίθου τῶν φιλοσόφων
On the Philosopher's Stone
4 passages
Πόσος ὁ τῶν βαπτομένων ἐρίων σταθμὸς ὤφειλεν καὶ
On the Weight of Dyed Wool, Komaros, and Dye-waters
2 passages
Περὶ λευκώσεως (χαλκοῦ)
On the Whitening of Copper
2 passages
Περὶ λευκώσεως τοῦ ἀρσενικοῦ τοῦ σχιστοῦ
On the Whitening of Split Male
1 passages
Ὀνοματοποιία τοῦ ὠοῦ· αὐτὸ γάρ ἐστιν τὸ
Onomatopoeia of the Egg, It Is the Mystery of the Art
4 passages
Εὐχὴ εἰς τὸ μελίσσιον
Prayer to the Beehive
2 passages
Κινναβάρεως σκευασία
Preparation of Cinnabar
4 passages
Σκευασία ἀφρονίτρου τοῦ ζητουμένου εἰς τὰς
Preparation of Foam for Joining Gold, Silver, and Bronze
1 passages
Ὅτι σύνθετον καὶ οὐχ ἁπλοῦν τὸ εἶδος καὶ τίς ἡ
That the Form Is Composite and Not Simple
4 passages
Ὁ οὐροβόρος δράκων
The Ouroboros Dragon, Version 1
2 passages
Ὁ οὐροβόρος δράκων
The Ouroboros Dragon, Version 2
4 passages
Ὁ λίθος τῆς φιλοσοφίας
The Philosopher's Stone
2 passages
Χρῆσις Ἰουστινιανοῦ βασιλέως
Use of Emperor Justinian
6 passages
Ποῖον εἶναι χρὴ τοῖς ἤθεσι τὸν μετιόντα τὴν
What Character Should the Pursuer of Knowledge Have
1 passages
Τίς ἡ τῶν ἀρχαίων ἄσβεστος
What is the Ancient Lime
1 passages
Τίς ἡ μετὰ τὴν ἴωσιν οἰκονομία
What is the Management After Healing
1 passages
Τίς ἡ τοῦ μέλανος ξηρίου κατασκευή
What Is the Preparation of the Black Dry
1 passages
Λεύκωσις ὕδατος, δι’ οὗ λευκαίνεται οἰκονομούμενον
Whitening of Water, Through Which Arsenic and Sandarac are Whitened
1 passages