For the Chryse region of Mars, see Chryse Planitia.
For the Argyre region of Mars, see Argyre Planitia.
Chryse and Argyre (/ˈkraɪsiː/ and /ˈɑːrdʒəriː/) were a pair of legendary islands, located in the Indian Ocean and said to be made of gold (chrysos in Greek) and silver (argyros).
In Book 6, chapter 23 of his Natural History, concerning the regions near the Indus River, Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE) wrote that "Beyond the mouth of the Indus are the islands of Chryse and Argyre, abounding in metals, I believe; but as to what some persons have stated, that their soil consists of gold and silver, I am not so willing to believe that."[1]
Some five or six centuries later, in section XIV.vi.11 of his encyclopedic Etymologies, Isidore of Seville (c. 560–636) repeated much the same information: "Chryse and Argyre are islands situated in the Indian Ocean, so rich in metal that many people maintain these islands have a surface of gold and silver; whence their names are derived."[2] This was almost certainly taken—like much else in the Etymologies, as Isidore freely admitted—directly from the Natural History. Both of these Latin works, the Naturalis Historia and especially the Etymologiae, were widely read in Europe throughout the Middle Ages and this ensured the survival of the legend of the Gold and Silver Islands until the beginning of the Age of Discovery.
As European geographers gathered more reliable information about the Indian Ocean, the purported location of Chryse and Argyre shifted farther and farther east to the fringes of the known world. By the time Martin Behaim created his Erdapfel globe in 1492, the islands were thought to be near Japan, possibly because Marco Polo had claimed Japan itself (which he called Cipangu) to be rich in gold and silver; Behaim is known to have used both Pliny and Marco Polo as sources.[3] Another proposed location was the Kingdom of Salakanagara on Java, based on the fact that Salakanagara means "island of silver" in Sanskrit.[4]
The discovery of the Americas changed everything. European explorers in search of fabled lands of gold now sailed west for El Dorado instead of east to Cipangu. The works of Isidore of Seville fell out of fashion and the islands of Chryse and Argyre slowly faded from the popular imagination.
^Pliny the Elder. Bostock, John; Riley, H.T. (eds.). "The Natural History, Book 6". Perseus Digital Library. Tufts University.
^Isidore of Seville. Barney, Stephen A.; Lewis, W.J.; Beach, J.A.; Berghof, Oliver (eds.). "The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville" (PDF). sfponline.org. Cambridge University Press. p. 294.
^"The Behaim Globe". cartographic-images.net. Archived from the original (html) on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 29 Nov 2016.
^Edi S. Ekadjati (2005). Kebudayaan Sunda Zaman Pajajaran, Jilid 2. Pustaka Jaya.
Argyre Planitia /ˈɑːrdʒəriː/ is a plain located within the impact basin Argyre in the southern highlands of Mars. Its name comes from a map produced by...
list of mythological places which appear in mythological tales, folklore, and varying religious texts. Bethulia (Christianity, Bible / old testament) Gardiner...
the Elder wrote in his Natural History about ChryseandArgyre, two legendary islands rich in gold and silver, located in the Indian Ocean. Their vessels...
these waters during his voyage around the world. Pedro de Unamuno ChryseandArgyre Stommel, Henry (1984). Lost Islands: The Story of Islands That Have...
Bohemia, on his 1492 geographical globe, located the islands of ChryseandArgyre ("Gold" and "Silver") in the vicinity of Zipangu (Japan), which was said...
who called them ChryseandArgyre. Spanish mariners had placed their Isla Rica de Oro and Rica de Plata ("Island Rich with Gold" and "with Silver") at...
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suggested as overflow from the Argyre crater, formerly filled to the brim as a lake by channels (Surius, Dzigai, and Palacopus Valles) draining down...
outflow channel flowing north into Chryse Planitia. The source of this outflow has been suggested as overflow from the Argyre crater, formerly filled to the...
outflow channel, flowing north into Chryse Planitia. The source of this outflow has been suggested as overflow from the Argyre Crater, formerly filled to the...
channel system flowing north into Chryse Planitia. The source of this outflow has been suggested as overflow from the Argyre crater, formerly filled to the...
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the outflow channels surrounding Chryse Planitia. The Thaumasia Plateau lies at the heart of the Tharsis Rise, and is framed to the northwest by the...
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Valles, and Maja Valles went from Lunae Planum on the left, to Chryse Planitia on the right. Image is located in Lunae Palus quadrangle and was taken...
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Craters and Pit Crater Chains in Chryse Planitia (PSP_008641_2105)". Wyrick, D., D. Ferrill, D. Sims, and S. Colton. 2003. Distribution, Morphology and Structural...
research are Chryse Planitia and northwestern Arabia Terra. These tsunamis affected some surfaces in the Ismenius Lacus quadrangle and in the Mare Acidalium...
Craters and Pit Crater Chains in Chryse Planitia (PSP_008641_2105)". Wyrick, D., D. Ferrill, D. Sims, and S. Colton. 2003. Distribution, Morphology and Structural...