Not to be confused with Maria al-Qibtiyya (died 637), mother of the prophet Muhammad's son.
Mary the Jewess
Engraving depicting Maria Prophetissima from Michael Maier's book Symbola Aurea Mensae Duodecim Nationum (1617)
Other names
Maria the Jewess
Mary the Prophetess
Maria the Copt
Occupation
Alchemist
Notable ideas
Axiom of Maria
Mary or Maria the Jewess (Latin: Maria Hebraea), also known as Mary the Prophetess (Latin: Maria Prophetissa) or Maria the Copt (Arabic: مارية القبطية, romanized: Māriyya al-Qibṭiyya),[1] was an early alchemist known from the works of Zosimos of Panopolis (fl. c. 300) and other authors in the Greek alchemical tradition.[2] On the basis of Zosimos's comments, she lived between the first and third centuries A.D. in Alexandria.[3][4] French, Taylor and Lippmann list her as one of the first alchemical writers, dating her works at no later than the first century.[5][6]
She is credited with the invention of several kinds of chemical apparatus and is considered to be the first true alchemist of the Western world.[7]
Through Zosimos many of the beliefs of Mary the Jewess can be observed. Mary incorporated lifelike attributes into her descriptions of metal such as bodies, souls, and spirits. Mary believed that metals had two different genders, and by joining the two genders together a new entity could be made.[8]
^Raggetti 2022, p. 21; Martelli 2022, p. 40.
^Raggetti 2022, p. 21.
^Feldman, Louis H.; Reinhold, Meyer (1996-10-01). Jewish Life and Thought Among Greeks and Romans: Primary Readings. A&C Black. ISBN 978-0-567-08525-2.
^Chemical History Tour, Picturing Chemistry from Alchemy to Modern Molecular Science Adele Droblas Greenberg Wiley-Interscience 2000 ISBN 0-471-35408-2
^Taylor, F. Sherwood (1930). "A Survey of Greek Alchemy". The Journal of Hellenic Studies. 50 (1): 109–139. doi:10.2307/626167. ISSN 0075-4269. JSTOR 626167.
^French, Marilyn (2002). From Eve to Dawn, a history of women - volume 1: Origins. Toronto: McArthur. p. 221. ISBN 978-1-55278-268-2.
^Patai 1995.
^Eisen, Arri; Laderman, Gary (2015-03-04). Science, Religion and Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Controversy. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-46013-8.
Mary or Maria theJewess (Latin: Maria Hebraea), also known as Marythe Prophetess (Latin: Maria Prophetissa) or Maria the Copt (Arabic: مارية القبطية...
Aaron; mostly known by the Hebrew name: Miriam MarytheJewess one of the reputed founders of alchemy, referred to by Zosimus. Mary 2.0, Roman Catholic women's...
Agathodaemon Chymes Cleopatra the Alchemist MarytheJewess Moses of Alexandria Olympiodorus of Thebes (c. 400) Paphnutia the Virgin (c. 300) Pseudo-Aristotle...
(tribikos) receivers. According to Zosimos of Panopolis, the alembic was invented by MarytheJewess. The anbik is described by Ibn al-Awwam in his Kitab al-Filaha...
century A.D. She is associated with the school of alchemy typified by MarytheJewess and Comarius. These alchemists used complex apparatus for distillation...
and out of the third comes the one as the fourth." It is attributed to 3rd century alchemist Maria Prophetissa, also called MarytheJewess, sister of...
art of glassmaking. MarytheJewess, an alchemist in Alexandria during the 1st century AD, is credited for the creation of some of the first glassware for...
Islam MarytheJewess Marcelin Berthelot, Collection des anciens alchimistes grecs (3 vol., Paris, 1887–1888, p.161); F. Sherwood Taylor, "The Origins...
The Emerald Tablet, the Smaragdine Table, or the Tabula Smaragdina is a compact and cryptic Hermetic text. It was a highly regarded foundational text for...
the term chrysopoeia (from Ancient Greek χρυσοποιία (khrusopoiía) 'gold-making') refers to the artificial production of gold, most commonly by the alleged...
2982). The Jabirian writings contain a number of references to Greco-Egyptian alchemists such as pseudo-Democritus (fl. c. 60), MarytheJewess (fl. c...
Some theorists state that Chymes is the eponymous founder of alchemy. Zosimus associates him with MarytheJewess. He may likely date from this earliest...
in KV62, the tomb of Tutankhamun, in the 14th century BCE. The text concerns the actions of Ra and his union with Osiris in the underworld. The ouroboros...
in a kiln. Milk of sulfur (lac sulphuris) – formed by adding an acid to thion hudor (lime sulfur). Natron/Soda Ash/Soda – sodium carbonate. Na2CO3 Nitrum...
medical movement based on the theories and therapies of Paracelsus. It developed in the second half of the 16th century, during the decades following Paracelsus'...
The Secretum Secretorum or Secreta Secretorum (Latin for "secret of secrets"), also known as the Sirr al-Asrar (Arabic: كتاب سر الأسرار, lit. 'The Secret...
363 Laozi – Semi-legendary Chinese philosopher, founder of Taoism MarytheJewess – First Western alchemist (1st century) Menander – First century Samaritan...
1951. "The Jewries of Eastern Europe." In The Slavonic and East European Review, 29(73), 420-443. Connerty, Mary C. Judeo-Greek: The Language, The Culture...
settlements of the Middle East and North Africa, both founded in the end of the fourth century BCE in the wake of the conquests of Alexander the Great. Hellenistic...
alchemist critical of Paracelsus, credited as the father of modern chemistry. Mary Anne Atwood – key figure in the occult revival of alchemy. Carl Jung – merged...
Fulcanelli (fl. 1920s) was the name used by a French alchemist and esoteric author, whose identity is still debated. The name Fulcanelli seems to be a...
destructiveness. The scattering of Jews had begun long before-occasionally through forced expulsion, much more frequently through voluntary migration.' E. Mary Smallwood...
Macmillan. ISBN 0-330-39005-8. Weeks, Mary Elvira (1933). "The discovery of the elements. XXI. Supplementary note on the discovery of phosphorus". Journal...
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