On the Preparation of OchreΠερὶ σκευασίας ὤχρας
Zosimus of Panopolis On the Preparation of Ochre PDF
"On the Preparation of Ochre" is a concise technical treatise by the Greco-Egyptian alchemist Zosimus of Panopolis, composed around 300 CE. Written in Greek, the work offers practical, recipe-style instructions for processing the natural iron-oxide pigment known as ochre, detailing methods for its purification and preparation for use in alchemical operations. The text identifies specific geographical sources for the raw material, such as a mountain near Hadrian's territory and a location in Babylonia, and describes observing ochre deposits within mountain fissures. It distinguishes between different grades of pigment, including a true ochre and a red variety referred to as miltos or sinope, while explicitly stating the practitioner's preference for other foundational substances like magnesia or black lead. The treatise emphasizes the importance of following established procedures, notably those attributed to the revered figures Maria the Jewess and an unnamed philosopher, and connects the preparation of ochre to broader alchemical processes involving materials like cinnabar, cadmia, and orpiment.
This work exemplifies the hands-on, laboratory-focused craft that underpinned early alchemy in Greco-Roman Egypt. Zosimus wrote for fellow practitioners, for whom the meticulous preparation of materials was a fundamental prerequisite for operations aimed at transmuting or altering metals. Modern scholarship regards this treatise as part of Zosimus's core body of authentic technical writings, which synthesize Egyptian artisan traditions with Greek philosophical concepts. The described procedures were not viewed as merely mechanical or chemical; within the alchemical worldview, the refinement of physical matter was often imbued with spiritual significance, seen as paralleling the purification and perfection of the human soul. The treatise survives as a component of Zosimus's larger corpus, preserved in medieval Greek manuscripts and later alchemical collections, where it contributed to the transmission of practical chemical knowledge into the Byzantine and Arabic traditions.
| 2.187 | ΠΕΡΙ ΣΚΕΥΑΣΙΑΣ ΩΧΡΑΣ Σκευασία ὤχρας γίνεται ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῆς Ἁδριανοῦ πλαγίας λεγομένης. Ἐκεῖ λακήματα τοῦ ὄρους· καὶ διὰ τῶν ῥαγάδων θεωρήσεις ζώνας ὤχρας πλακώδεις. Γίνεται δὲ καὶ εἰς Βαβυλωνίαν εἰς τὸ ὄρος. Θεωρεῖς διὰ τῶν ῥαγάδων· ἀρῶνται καὶ ὀπτῶσιν, καὶ γίνε ται μίλτος, ὅντινα καὶ σινώπην καλοῦσιν. Ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐδὲ αὐτῇ τῇ ὤχρᾳ χρώμεθα, οὐδὲ ταύτῃ τῇ σινώπῃ, ἀλλὰ ὤχρα μὲν ἡ ἀληθὴς . |
| 2.187 | βαφὴ ἔσται· πλὴν τὸ προκείμενον ἤτοι σῶμα μαγνησίας, ἤτοι μέλας μόλυβδος. Καὶ οἵαν τάξιν λέγουσιν χωρὶς τῶν βαφικῶν, περὶ αὐτῆς λέγουσιν πᾶσαι αἱ γραφαί. Εἴ ποτε οὖν ἀναγιγνώσκεις οἱανδήποτε τάξιν, ἐν τούτῳ τοίνυν ἔχε, καὶ θηράσεις πρᾶγμα τὸ ζητούμενον, μάλιστα ἐὰν Μαρίᾳ καὶ τῷ φιλοσόφῳ ἀκολουθήσῃς. Καὶ γὰρ πυρίτας, κιννάβαριν ὁ φιλόσοφος, ἢ κλαυδιανὸν, ἢ καδμίαν, ἢ ἀνδροδάμαντα, ἢ χρυσόκολλαν· ἢ ὅτι δεῖ ὑπὸ τὸν μολυβδόχαλκον, κιννάβαριν, σῶμα μαγνησίας ὃ λέγεται μέλας μόλυβδος. Κἄν τε πάλιν ἐν τῇ χρυσο ποιΐᾳ ἀπέλθῃς καὶ εὑρήσῃς αὐτὰ κασσίτερον σκορπίζοντα ἢ σίδηρον ἢ χαλκὸν κιννάβαριν ὄντα, ἢ λιθάργυρον λευκὴν, σὺ πάλιν τὸ σὸν νόει, τῇ μαγνησίᾳ τὸν μολυβδόχαλκον ἢ μόλυβδον τὸν μολυβδόχαλκον. Κἂν γὰρ ἀργυροποιΐαν λέγουσιν, ἢ χρυσοποιΐαν περὶ τοῦ μολυβδοχάλκου λέγουσιν· ὅπερ ἀπαρτίσαντες ἔχουσιν ἀπο κείμενον· καὶ ὅτε θέλουσιν, σκορπίσαντες πήσσουσιν· καὶ τότε λευκαίνουσιν ἢ ξάνθουσιν ἄρρευστον αὐτοῖς. Λευκαίνουσι δὲ θεῖον, καὶ λειώσαντες ἔχουσιν εἰς τὰ ἑπόμενα τοῦ ἀποτελέσματος· ταύτην τὴν μετὰ θείου καὶ ὑδραργύρου καλοῦσιν καῦσιν· καὶ χαλκὸν κεκαυμένον τὸν αὐτὸν, ὡς καὶ λεύκωσιν αἱμω πὸν, κατὰ τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν, καὶ κατὰ τὸ βάθος ἔχων εὑρίσκεται. Τοῦτο οὖν λέγουσι καῦσιν· διὰ δὲ τούτου τὸ ὅλον σύνθεμα αἰνιττόμενος, τὰς εἰς ἀμφοῖν αὐτοῦ λειώσεις ἐμήνυσεν, ὀρθῇ ὁδῷ χρησάμενος, πρῶ τον τὸ λευκαίνειν εἴρηκεν, ἔπειτα τὸ ξανθῶσαι. |