THE ORIGINS OF ALCHEMY IN GRAECO-ROMAN EGYPT
Book Details + Condition: Frederick Muller (London). First Edition, 1970. Hardcover with dust jacket. 432 pages with Bibliography and Index. Illustrated. From the jacket: In this, the first thorough enquiry into the origins of alchemy in Roman Egypt, Jack Lindsay covers the craft techniques and mystery lore of metallurgical industries of the ancient world, allied industries such as dyeing and mining etc., myth and speculation surrounding creation and the nature of the universe, the growth
 of interest in magnetism, the development in systems of physics among the Stoics, which have reappeared in modern times, and the growth of gnostic and hermetic cults of contact with the spirit-world. Lindsay describes how all these elements came together as a part of the general culture development of Graeco-Roman society and how the impasse it reached was linked with technological failure and the inability of Greek thought to develop beyond its geometrical basis with allied maths and atomic mechanism. Chapters include:
- Greek Scientific Thought Before Alchemy
- The Name Alchemy
- Demokritos and Bolos of Mendes
- Ostanes
- Hermes Trismegistos
- Isis
- Ancient and Contemporary Cults
- Maria of Jewess
- Kleopatra
- Womb Furnaces and Vae
- Agathodiamon
- Zosimos
- The Later Greek Alchemists
- And much more.
Firm binding; light shelf wear to boards; inked name to ffep; interior is clean and free of markings. Original jacket remains in good condition, as it was protected with a clear cover. All books are carefully packed, and shipped in boxes.
