PAUL T. KEYSER
"Alchemy" is the anglicised Byzantine name given to what its practitioners referred to as "the Art" or "Knowledge" , often characterised as divine (Geia), sacred (lepd) or mystic. While this techne underwent many changes in the course of its life of over two thousand years (and there are traces of it even in modem times, as I will discuss), a recognisable common denominator in all the writings is the search for a method of transforming base metals (copper, iron, lead, tin) into noble (electrum, gold or silver).^ There is unfortunately no modem critical edition of any of these writings (the extant editions being old or uncritical or both), though the Bude has begun the process.^ In this essay I sketch the background and origins of the ancient alchemy, as well as its later transmutation into a mystical art of personal transformation. Finally I tum to the modem period and briefly examine the influence of this mystical tradition in our own world-picture.
https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/12197/illinoisclassica151990keyser.pdf?sequence=2
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Beretta emphasizes the complex and multicultural origins of alchemy [xi] and builds ... The Origin of Alchemy in Greco-Roman Egypt. London. Letrouit, J. 1995.
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