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Alchemy (from Arabic: al-kīmiyā; from Ancient Greek: khumeía)[1] is an ancient branch of natural philosophy,

a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe.[2] In its Western form,
alchemy is first attested in a number of pseudepigraphical texts written in Greco-Roman Egypt during the first few centuries CE.[3]

Alchemists attempted to purify, mature, and perfect certain materials. [2][4][5][n 1] Common aims were chrysopoeia, the transmutation of "base metals"
(e.g., lead) into "noble metals" (particularly gold);[2] the creation of an elixir of immortality;[2] and the creation of panaceas able to cure any disease.
[6]
 The perfection of the human body and soul was thought to result from the alchemical magnum opus ("Great Work").[2] The concept of creating
the philosophers' stone was variously connected with all of these projects.

Islamic and European alchemists developed a basic set of laboratory techniques, theories, and terms, some of which are still in use today. They
did not abandon the Ancient Greek philosophical idea that everything is composed of four elements, and they tended to guard their work in
secrecy, often making use of cyphers and cryptic symbolism. In Europe, the 12th-century translations of medieval Islamic works on science and
the rediscovery of Aristotelian philosophy gave birth to a flourishing tradition of Latin alchemy. [2] This late medieval tradition of alchemy would go
on to play a significant role in the development of early modern science (particularly chemistry and medicine).[7]

Modern discussions of alchemy are generally split into an examination of its exoteric practical applications and its esoteric spiritual aspects,
despite criticisms by scholars such as Eric J. Holmyard and Marie-Louise von Franz that they should be understood as complementary. [8][9] The
former is pursued by historians of the physical sciences, who examine the subject in terms of early chemistry, medicine, and charlatanism, and
the philosophical and religious contexts in which these events occurred. The latter interests historians of esotericism, psychologists, and some
philosophers and spiritualists. The subject has also made an ongoing impact on literature and the arts.

Contents

 1Etymology

 2History
o 2.1Hellenistic Egypt
o 2.2Byzantium
o 2.3India
o 2.4Islamic world
o 2.5East Asia
o 2.6Medieval Europe
o 2.7Renaissance and early modern Europe
o 2.8Later modern period
o 2.9Women
o 2.10Modern historical research

 3Core concepts
o 3.1Magnum opus

 4Modernity
o 4.1Esoteric interpretations of historical texts
o 4.2Psychology
o 4.3Literature
o 4.4Science

 5See also

 6Notes

 7References
o 7.1Citations
o 7.2Bibliography

 8Further reading
o 8.1General
o 8.2Greco-Egyptian alchemy

 8.2.1Texts
 8.2.2Studies
o 8.3Early modern

 9External links

Etymology[edit]
See also: Etymology of chemistry
The word alchemy comes from Old French alquemie, alkimie, used in Medieval Latin as alchymia. This name was itself brought from
the Arabic word al-kīmiyā (‫الكيمياء‬ or ‫ )الخيمياء‬composed of two parts: the Late Greek term khēmeía (χημεία), also spelled khumeia (χυμεία)
and khēmía (χημία) - see below, and the Arabic definite article al- (‫)الـ‬, meaning 'The'.[10] Together this association can be interpreted as 'the
process of transmutation by w

hich to fuse or reunite with the divine or original form'. Several etymologies have been proposed for the Greek term. The first was proposed by
Zosimos of Panopolis (3rd–4th centuries), who derived it from the name of a book, the Khemeu.[11][12] Hermanm Diels argued in 1914 that it rather
derived from χύμα,[13] used to describe metallic objects formed by casting.[14]

Others trace its roots to the Egyptian name kēme (hieroglyphic 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 khmi ), meaning 'black earth', which refers to the fertile and auriferous soil
of the Nile valley, as opposed to red desert sand.[10] According to the Egyptologist Wallis Budge, the Arabic word al-kīmiyaʾ actually means "the
Egyptian [science]", borrowing from the Coptic word for "Egypt", kēme (or its equivalent in the Mediaeval Bohairic dialect of Coptic, khēme). This
Coptic word derives from Demotic kmỉ, itself from ancient Egyptian kmt. The ancient Egyptian word referred to both the country and the colour
"black" (Egypt was the "Black Land", by contrast with the "Red Land", the surrounding desert); so this etymology could also explain the nickname
"Egyptian black arts".

History[edit]
Alchemy encompasses several philosophical traditions spanning some four millennia and three continents. These traditions' general penchant for
cryptic and symbolic language makes it hard to trace their mutual influences and "genetic" relationships. One can distinguish at least three major
strands, which appear to be mostly independent, at least in their earlier stages: Chinese alchemy, centered in China and Indian alchemy,
centered on the Indian subcontinent; and Western alchemy, which occurred around the Mediterranean and whose center has shifted over the
millennia from Greco-Roman Egypt to the Islamic world, and finally medieval Europe. Chinese alchemy was closely connected to Taoism and
Indian alchemy with the Dharmic faiths. In contrast, Western alchemy developed its philosophical system mostly independent of but influenced by
various Western religions. It is still an open question whether these three strands share a common origin, or to what extent they influenced each
other.

Hellenistic Egypt[edit]

Part of a series on

Hermeticism

Hermes Trismegistus

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Hermetic writings

show

Historical figures
 show

Modern offshoots

 v

 t

 e

Ambix, cucurbit and retort of Zosimos, from Marcelin Berthelot, Collection des anciens alchimistes grecs (3 vol., Paris, 1887–1888).

The start of Western alchemy may generally be traced to ancient and Hellenistic Egypt, where the city of Alexandria was a center of alchemical
knowledge, and retained its pre-eminence through most of the Greek and Roman periods. [15] Following the work of André-Jean Festugière,
modern scholars see alchemical practice in the Roman Empire as originating from the Egyptian goldsmith's art, Greek philosophy and different
religious traditions.[16] Tracing the origins of the alchemical art in Egypt is complicated by the pseudepigraphic nature of texts from the Greek
alchemical corpus. The treatises of Zosimos of Panopolis, the earliest historically attested author (fl. c. 300 CE),[17] can help in situating the other
authors. Zosimus based his work on that of older alchemical authors, such as Mary the Jewess,[18] Pseudo-Democritus,[19] and Agathodaimon, but
very little is known about any of these authors. The most complete of their works, The Four Books of Pseudo-Democritus, were probably written in
the first century AD.[19]