The Ancient's Beliefs of Metals


Contrary to common belief, alchemy is not just trying to turn lead into gold. In fact turning lead into gold is only one part of the tangled web of alchemy. The ancients did not have the knowledge that we do now, so consequentially, they were wrong once in a while (Not that we are always right!). The ancients believed that there were different "varieties" of metals, just like there are different varieties of fruit (Stillman 7). They believed that there was more than one kind of gold, since the color varied from a deep yellow to a light, almost silver color. The ancients did not discriminate between mixtures of metals. If a different combination evolved from a particular melting, it was given a different name. Their aurichalcum, a gold colored bronze, was an alloy of copper and zinc, which we call brass.


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