Elixir of life
The elixir of life (Medieval Latin: elixir vitae), also known as elixir of immortality, is a potion that supposedly grants the drinker eternal life and/or eternal youth. This elixir was also said to cure all diseases. Alchemists in various ages and cultures sought the means of formulating the elixir.
History
Ancient Mesopotamia
An early mention of an elixir of life is found in the Epic of Gilgamesh (from the 2nd millennium BC) in which Gilgamesh comes to fear his own declining years following the death of his beloved companion Enkidu.[1] He seeks out Utnapishtim, a Noah-like figure in Mesopotamian mythology in which he was a servant of the great Alchemist of the rain who later became immortal, to seek out the advice of the King of Herod of the Land of Fire. Gilgamesh is directed by him to find a plant at the bottom of the sea which he does but seeks first to test it on an old man before trying it himself. Unfortunately, it is eaten by a serpent before he can do so.
China
Many rulers of ancient China sought the fabled elixir to achieve eternal life. During the
The ancient Chinese believed that ingesting long-lasting mineral substances such as
Many of these substances, far from contributing to longevity, were actively toxic and resulted in Chinese alchemical elixir poisoning. The Jiajing Emperor in the Ming dynasty died from ingesting a lethal dosage of mercury in the supposed "Elixir of Life" conjured by alchemists.[citation needed]
India
Mercury, which was so vital to alchemy everywhere, is first mentioned in the 4th- to 3rd-century BC Arthashastra, about the same time it is encountered in China and in the West. Evidence of the idea of transmuting base metals to gold appears in 2nd- to 5th-century AD Buddhist texts, about the same time as in the West.
It is also possible that the alchemy of medicine and immortality came to China from India, or vice versa; in any case, for both cultures, gold-making appears to have been a minor concern, and medicine the major concern. But the elixir of immortality was of little importance in India (which had other avenues to immortality). The Indian elixirs were mineral remedies for specific diseases or, at the most, to promote long life.
Islamic world
See
Europe
In European
Japan
In the 8th century AD
Names
The Elixir has had hundreds of names (one scholar of Chinese history reportedly found over 1,000 names for it), among them
“
In popular culture
The elixir of life has been an inspiration, plot feature, or subject of artistic works including
See also
- Aether (mythology)
- Aether (classical element)
- Ageing
- Al Khidr
- Ambrosia and Nectar
- Amrita
- Cup of Jamshid
- Death Becomes Her
- Elixir
- Fountain of Youth
- Golden apple
- Holy Grail
- Ichor
- Immortality
- Jintan (Japanese medicine)
- Magu (deity)
- Manna
- Panacea
- Peaches of Immortality
- Philosopher's stone
- Pill of Immortality
- Potion
- Rejuvenation
References
- ^ "The Epic of Gilgamesh: Enkidu". SparkNotes. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
- ISBN 0-415-33859-X, 9780415338592.
- ^ Johnson, Obed Simon. A Study of Chinese Alchemy. Shanghai, Commercial Press, 1928. rpt. New York: Arno Press, 1974. page 63
- ^ Glick, T.F., Livesey, S.J., Wallis, F. Medieval Science, Technology And Medicine: An Encyclopedia. Routledge, 2005. p. 20
- ^ "Tan chin yao chueh – occultism". britannica.com.
- ISBN 978-81-7182-673-5.
- ^ Multhauf, R.P. (1953). The Relationship Between Technology and Natural Philosophy, Ca. 1250-1650 as Illustrated by the Technology of the Mineral Acids. University of California. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
- ISBN 978-3-447-04329-8.
- ISBN 9784582801859. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
- Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
Bibliography
- Heart of the Earth: The Elixir of Earth, second novel in the trilogy by Richard Anderson no
- Al-Khidr, The Green Man
- Alchemy and Daoism Archived 2020-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
- Naam or Word, Book Three: Amrit, Nectar or Water of Life
- Needham, Joseph, Ping-Yu Ho, Gwei-Djen Lu. Science and Civilisation in China, Volume V, Part III Archived 2014-11-27 at the Wayback Machine. Cambridge at the University Press, 1976.
- Turner, John D. (transl.). The Interpretation of Knowledge