Schmieders Gesamtausgabe der Geschichte der Alchemie

Gold, silver, and other precious metals have always stirred human desire in the pursuit of fame and wealth. From the moment humans began to work with metals and create shiny, gold-like alloys, a theoretical discipline known as alchemy emerged. The origins of this chemical work and industry were rooted in religious contexts. Among the Egyptians, Babylonians, and even in the early days of the Greeks, those who engaged with chemical questions were both priests and scholars. Gradually, a scientific framework began to take shape. Particularly, the Greek natural philosophers, followed by Plato and Aristotle, played a fundamental role in this development. As the early scientific spirit of antiquity faded with the Roman Empire, it was again the needs of...