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Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek αμέθυστος amethystos from α- a-, "not" and μεθύσκω ( Ancient Greek) methysko / μεθώ metho ( Modern Greek ), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness. [1] Ancient Greeks wore amethyst and carved ...
The term porphyry is from the Ancient Greek πορφύρα (porphyra), meaning "purple". Purple was the colour of royalty, and the Roman "imperial porphyry" was a deep purple igneous rock with large crystals of plagioclase. Some authors claimed the rock was the hardest known in antiquity.
An amethyst stone from South Africa. Amethyste or Amethystos (Ancient Greek: Ἀμέθυστη, romanized: Améthustē, lit. 'non-drunk') is supposedly a nymph in Greek mythology who is turned into a precious stone by the goddess Diana/Artemis in order to avoid a worse fate at the hands of the god Dionysus, thus explaining the origin of the semi-precious stone amethyst.
Tyrian purple (Ancient Greek: πορφύρα porphúra; Latin: purpura), also known as royal purple, imperial purple, or imperial dye, is a reddish-purple natural dye. The name Tyrian refers to Tyre, Lebanon , once Phoenicia .
The philosopher's stone is created by the alchemical method known as The Magnum Opus or The Great Work. Often expressed as a series of color changes or chemical processes, the instructions for creating the philosopher's stone are varied. When expressed in colours, the work may pass through phases of nigredo, albedo, citrinitas, and rubedo.
Lapis is the Latin word for "stone" and lazulī is the genitive form of the Medieval Latin lazulum, which is taken from the Arabic لازورد lāzaward, itself from the Persian لاژورد lāžavard/lāževard and/or لاجورد lājevard. It means "sky" or "heaven"; so this is a "stone (of/from) the sky" or "stone (of/from) heaven". [11]
Heliotrope (mineral) The mineral aggregate heliotrope (from Ancient Greek ἥλιος (hḗlios) 'sun', and τρέπειν (trépein) 'to turn'), also called Indian bloodstone or ematille, is a cryptocrystalline mixture of quartz that occurs mostly as jasper ( opaque) or sometimes as chalcedony ( translucent ). The "classic" bloodstone is ...
The Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in a 945 carved ivory. Traditionally, born in the purple [1] (sometimes "born to the purple") was a category of members of royal families born during the reign of their parent. This notion was later loosely expanded to include all children born of prominent or high-ranking parents. [2]