Editing Alchemy (section)

==== Philosophy ====
Alexandria acted as a melting pot for philosophies of [[Pythagoreanism]], [[Platonism]], [[Stoicism]] and [[Gnosticism]] which formed the origin of alchemy's character.<ref name="Chemistry, Bensaude-Vincent 1996, p13" /> An important example of alchemy's roots in Greek philosophy, originated by [[Empedocles]] and developed by Aristotle, was that all things in the universe were formed from only four elements: [[Earth (classical element)|earth]], [[Air (classical element)|air]], [[Water (classical element)|water]], and [[Fire (classical element)|fire]]. According to Aristotle, each element had a sphere to which it belonged and to which it would return if left undisturbed.<ref>{{cite book |author=Lindsay, Jack |title=The Origins of Alchemy in Graeco-Roman Egypt |location=London |publisher=Muller |year=1970 |isbn=978-0-389-01006-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/trent_0116301348557/page/16 16] |url=https://archive.org/details/trent_0116301348557/page/16}}</ref> The four elements of the Greek were mostly qualitative aspects of matter, not quantitative, as our modern elements are; "True alchemy never regarded earth, air, water, and fire as corporeal or chemical substances in the present-day sense of the word. The four elements are simply the primary, and most general, qualities by means of which the amorphous and purely quantitative substance of all bodies first reveals itself in differentiated form."<ref>{{cite book |first=Titus |last=Burckhardt | author-link=Titus Burckhardt |title=Alchemy: Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul |location=Baltimore |publisher=Penguin |year=1967 |page=66 |others=Trans. William Stoddart |isbn=978-0-906540-96-1}}</ref> Later alchemists extensively developed the mystical aspects of this concept.

Alchemy coexisted alongside emerging [[Christianity]]. [[Lactantius]] believed Hermes Trismegistus had prophesied its birth. [[Augustine of Hippo|St&nbsp;Augustine]] later affirmed this in the 4th and 5th centuries, but also condemned Trismegistus for idolatry.<ref>Fanning, Philip Ashley. ''Isaac Newton and the Transmutation of Alchemy: An Alternative View of the Scientific Revolution.'' 2009. p.6</ref> Examples of Pagan, Christian, and Jewish alchemists can be found during this period.

Most of the Greco-Roman alchemists preceding Zosimos are known only by pseudonyms, such as [[Moses of Alexandria|Moses]], Isis, [[Cleopatra the Alchemist|Cleopatra]], [[Pseudo-Democritus|Democritus]], and [[Ostanes]]. Others authors such as Komarios, and [[Chymes]], we only know through fragments of text. After AD&nbsp;400, Greek alchemical writers occupied themselves solely in commenting on the works of these predecessors.<ref>F. Sherwood Taylor. ''Alchemists, Founders of Modern Chemistry.'' p.26.</ref> By the middle of the 7th century alchemy was almost an entirely mystical discipline.<ref>[[Allen G. Debus]]. ''Alchemy and early modern chemistry: papers from Ambix.'' p. 36</ref> It was at that time that [[Khalid Ibn Yazid]] sparked its migration from Alexandria to the Islamic world, facilitating the translation and preservation of Greek alchemical texts in the 8th and 9th centuries.<ref>Glen Warren Bowersock, Peter Robert Lamont Brown, Oleg Grabar. ''Late antiquity: a guide to the postclassical world.'' pp. 284–285</ref>