Papyrus Graecus Holmiensis
Encyclopedia
The Papyrus Graecus Holmiensis, which is also known as the Stockholm Papyrus, dates from c. 300 AD and contains craft recipes written in Demotic Greek. The Stockholm papyrus has 154 recipes for dying, coloring gemstones, cleaning (purifying) pearls, and imitation gold and silver. Certain may derive from the Pseudo-Demikristo
), and Zosimos of Panopolis
, a Greek Alchemist
of c. 100 AD, gives similar recipes. Translations of certain of these recipes are found in mediaeval Latin collections of technological recipes, notably the Mappae clavicula
.
The Leyden papyrus X
derives from the same (or very similar) sources, and is written in a similar (possibly the same) hand.
Pseudo-Demikristo
Pseudo-Democritus was a 2nd century AD Greek philosopher, and the second most respected writer on alchemy . Two of his works survive, Physical and Mystical Matters, and Book addressed to Leukippos. He wrote many other books that are quoted extensively by Zosimos of Panopolis...
), and Zosimos of Panopolis
Zosimos of Panopolis
Zosimos of Panopolis was an Egyptian or Greek alchemist and Gnostic mystic from the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th century AD. He was born in Panopolis, present day Akhmim in the south of Egypt, ca. 300. He wrote the oldest known books on alchemy, of which quotations in the Greek language...
, a Greek Alchemist
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...
of c. 100 AD, gives similar recipes. Translations of certain of these recipes are found in mediaeval Latin collections of technological recipes, notably the Mappae clavicula
Mappae clavicula
The Mappae clavicula is a medieval Latin text, a compilation containing recipes for a number of crafts including metalwork, dyeing and mosaic, as well as several recipes relevant to painting...
.
The Leyden papyrus X
Leyden papyrus X
The Leyden papyrus X is a papyrus codex written in Greek at about the end of the 3rd century A.D. or perhaps around 250 A.D. and buried with its owner, and today preserved at Leiden in the Netherlands. It contains alchemical texts, mostly concerned with making dyes and alloys which can be made to...
derives from the same (or very similar) sources, and is written in a similar (possibly the same) hand.
Sources
- Caley, E. R. (1926) “The Stockholm Papyrus : An English Translation with brief notes” Journal of Chemical Education IV:8 : 979-1002
- Lagercrantz, Otto (1913) Papyrus Graecus Holmiensis, Uppsala: Almquist and Wiksells (Edition and German Translation).