Showing results for "The History of Alchemy" in Ancient

While the collapse of the Western Roman Empire led to a great loss of sacred knowledge in Europe, the fires of alchemy kept burning in the East. Many Greek texts were translated into Arabic, and these inspired Islamic thinkers to further investigate the subject of alchemy. In time, their writings filtered back to the West, where they inspired an amazing poetic genre, often illustrated with the most extraordinary pictures. In this program, we examine this legacy.

In ancient Egypt, thousands of years before the first Europeans began their quest to change base metals into gold, there already existed a craft-guild of alchemists. Without the benefit of our modern science and using the most basic of technology, they were able to produce extraordinary artifacts, such as the golden mask of Tutankhamun and other astounding achievements. What were their secrets? How did they accomplish such amazing feats, which cannot be duplicated today? Join renowned author and researcher Adrian Gilbert in a fascinating investigation of Al-Chem: the craft pioneered by the Egyptians.