Artephius facts for kids
Artephius (also spelled Artefius) was a mysterious writer who lived around the year 1150. He is famous for several books about alchemy. Alchemy was an ancient practice that tried to turn ordinary metals into gold. It also aimed to find a special potion to live forever. We don't know much about Artephius himself, but his writings seem to have come from Arabic sources. Some of his well-known books include Ars sintrillia, Clavis sapientiae (which means "Key of Wisdom"), and Liber secretus ("Secret Book").
Contents
Who was Artephius? The Mystery of a Secret Writer
It's very hard to know who the real Artephius was. This is because many old alchemy books were written under fake names. This practice is called pseudepigraphy. Even today, we are not sure about his true identity.
When Did Artephius Write?
A famous thinker named Roger Bacon often mentioned The Secret Book of Artephius. Because of this, experts believe Artephius's writings are from around 1150.
Mistakes in Identifying Artephius
Over time, people made mistakes about who Artephius was.
- In 1282, a writer named Restoro d'Arezzo confused Artephius with Orpheus, a famous musician from ancient Greek myths. This happened because the Arabic names for Orpheus and Artephius sounded very similar. This mistake made people think Artephius was an alchemist who didn't really exist as a historical person.
- Artephius was also wrongly thought to be other people, like a Jewish convert, Apollonius of Tyana, Stephanos of Alexandria, Al-Tughrai, and Ibn Umail.
- Later, a copy of Clavis Sapientia from the 1200s or 1300s was found. This discovery showed that the book was first written in Arabic by a Muslim author.
Artephius's Lasting Impact and Beliefs
Artephius's ideas and books became very important over time.
The Secret of a Long Life
During the Renaissance (a period of great change in Europe), people believed that Artephius had lived for a very long time. They thought he was born in the first or second century and died in the twelfth century. This belief came from the idea that he had found the special alchemical elixir that could make life much longer. In his own Secret Book, Artephius even claimed to be more than a thousand years old!
How Artephius's Books Became Famous
Artephius's works became widely known in the 1600s, especially after they were printed.
- One of his works, Artefii clavis majoris sapientiae, was printed in Paris in 1609.
- Later, it appeared in a large collection of alchemy books called Theatrum Chemicum, first printed in 1613.
- In 1624, a person named Eirenaeus Orandus translated Artephius's "secret booke" into English.
- It's important to know that the Latin versions of Clavis Sapentia were much shorter than the original Arabic text. They also didn't have the original drawings that were in the Arabic version.
See also
In Spanish: Artefius para niños
