In alchemy

Alchemy

Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...

, the term chrysopoeia means transmutation into gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 (from the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 khrusōn, gold, and poiēin, to make), although it is also symbolically used to indicate the philosopher's stone

Philosopher's stone

The philosopher's stone is a legendary alchemical substance said to be capable of turning base metals into gold or silver. It was also sometimes believed to be an elixir of life, useful for rejuvenation and possibly for achieving immortality. For many centuries, it was the most sought-after goal...

 as the completion of the Great Work

Magnum opus (alchemy)

The Great Work is an alchemical term for the process of creating the philosopher's stone. It has been used to describe personal and spiritual transmutation in the Hermetic tradition, attached to laboratory processes and chemical color changes, used as a model for the individuation process, and as...

.

The word was used in the title of an alchemical textbook

Textbook

A textbook or coursebook is a manual of instruction in any branch of study. Textbooks are produced according to the demands of educational institutions...

, the Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra

Cleopatra the Alchemist

Cleopatra the Alchemist , was an Egyptian alchemist and author. The dates of her life and death are unknown, but she was active in Alexandria in the 3rd century or the 4th century....

, which was probably written in the late hellenistic period, although it gained wider fame only in the middle ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

. The book is mainly centred around the idea of "one the all" (en to pan), a concept that is related to ouroboros

Ouroboros

The Ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The name originates from within Greek language; οὐρά meaning "tail" and βόρος meaning "eating", thus "he who eats the tail"....

 and to hermetic

Hermeticism

Hermeticism or the Western Hermetic Tradition is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the pseudepigraphical writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus...

 wisdom. Stephen of Alexandria

Stephen of Alexandria

Stephen of Alexandria was a 7th century Byzantine philosopher, astronomer and teacher. He was a public lecturer in the court of Heraclius . In the manuscripts he is called the Universal Philosopher.He taught on Plato and Aristotle, and on Geometry, Arithmetic, Astronomy and Music.- Works :1...

 wrote a De Chrysopoeia. Chrysopoeia is also a 1515 poem by Giovanni Augurello.