Orichalcum

Orichalcum is a metal mentioned in several ancient writings, most notably the story of Atlantis as recounted in the Critias dialogue, recorded by Plato. According to Critias, orichalcum was considered second only to gold in value, and was found and mined in many parts of Atlantis in ancient times. By the time of Critias, however, it was known only by name. In numismatics, orichalcum is the golden-colored bronze alloy used for the sestertius and dupondius coins. In Massively_multiplayer_online_role-playing_game titles such as World_of_warcraft and Guild_wars_2, Orichalcum is a valuable ore that can be mined and crafted into high-level armor and weapons by players.

Overview

The name derives from the Greek ορείχαλκος, oreikhalkos (from όρος, oros, mountain and χαλκός, chalkos, copper or bronze), meaning "mountain copper" or "mountain metal."

The Romans transliterated "orichalcum" as "aurichalcum," which was thought to literally mean "gold copper." It is known from the writings of Cicero that the metal they called orichalcum, while it resembled gold in colour, had a much lower value.

Orichalcum has variously been held to be a gold/copper alloy, a copper-tin or copper-zinc brass, or a metal no longer known. The Andean alloy tumbaga fits the same description, being a gold/copper alloy. However, in Vergil's Aeneid it was mentioned that the breastplate of Turnus was "stiff with gold and white orachalc" and it has been theorised that it is an alloy of gold and silver, though it is not known for certain what orichalcum was.

In later years, "orichalcum" was used to describe the sulfide mineral chalcopyrite or brass. However, these are difficult to reconcile with the text of Critias, because he states that the metal was "only a name" by his time, while brass and chalcopyrite continued to be very important through the time of Plato until today. For that reason, other authors on the subject conclude that orichalcum is either the gold-copper alloy tumbaga, or possibly amber.

Ancient literature

Orichalcum is first mentioned in the 7th century BC by Hesiod and in the homeric hymn dedicated to Aphrodite, dated to the 630s.

According to the Critias by Plato, the three outer walls of the Temple to Poseidon and Cleito on Atlantis were clad respectively with brass, tin, and the third, which encompassed the whole citadel, "flashed with the red light of orichalcum." The interior walls, pillars and floors of the temple were completely covered in orichalcum, and the roof was variegated with gold, silver, and orichalcum. In the center of the temple stood a pillar of orichalcum, on which the laws of Poseidon and records of the first princes after Poseidon were inscribed. (Crit. 116–119)

Orichalcum is also mentioned in the Antiquities of the Jews - Book VIII, sect. 88 by Josephus, who stated that the vessels in the Temple of Solomon were made of orichalcum (or a bronze that was like gold in beauty). Pliny the Elder points out that the metal has lost currency due to the mines being exhausted. Pseudo-Aristotle in De mirabilibus auscultationibus describes orichalcum as a shining metal obtained during the smelting of copper with the addition of "calmia," a kind of earth formerly found on the shores of the Black Sea.

Numismatics

In numismatics, orichalcum is the golden-colored bronze alloy used for the sestertius and dupondius coins. It was considered more valuable than copper, of which the as coin was made. Some scientists believe that the orichalcum could have been used for jewelry for poor people as it had the appearance of gold.

Esoterism

In the modern esoteric theory of theosophy, orichalcum is described as a metallic pink-colored metal mined in Atlantis; another name for it is said to be mountain copper. The Lord of the World, Sanat Kumara, has a magic wand made of it called the Rod of Power that is the symbol of the authority of his office.

Edgar Cayce, an American psychic who claimed to read from the Akashic Records, spoke about two elements that could fit the description of orichalcum; the first is the Firestone and the second is "Tempered Brass." Firestone was an ore that was extensively mined by the Atlanteans to the point of extinction. The only place, he says, that it could be found, is somewhere under the grounds of India. At the beginning of the Atlantean civilisation, the Firestone was used as a prayer shrine in temples. Edgar Cayce described that the Atlanteans believed that the firestone acted like an accumulator of prayer thought wave energy. The more prayers it gets, the more powerful it gets in acting like a transducer of mental thought wave energy. Later, when they evolved into a more technological society, they used this Firestone as an accumulator of universal energy, that they could wirelessly redirect this energy from one firestone to another, to be able to use it in houses, airships, land ships, marine ships and even on all-in-one vehicles. From the book A Dweller on Two Planets, the energy that was used was called “Navaz”: The Night-Side of Nature. At one time, Nikola Tesla was working on a similar Wireless Energy Transfer; he called it Free Energy.

Tempered brass, on the other hand, is the lost art of making the alloy of copper, aluminum and uranium. On what Cayce describes, it seems that this alloy acted like a superconductor of magnetic energy fields, that when fashioned in a special shape configuration and under the influence of an electrical and-or magnetic energy pulsating at a certain frequency depending on the Earth location and the volume of the shape, this ship-shape was forced to accelerate in a certain direction given its shape.

Probably, both firestones and tempered brass had the same compositions on some level.

There is a theory that the Firestone crystal is still partially active till this day, it randomly activates and it creates the phenomenon of the Bermuda Triangle.

See also

• Bronze
• Brass
• Panchaloha
• Corinthian bronze
• Hepatizon
• Electrum
• Tumbaga
• Shakudō
• Shibuichi
• Thokcha