Thursday Things: Orichalcum Edition
2 January 2025. Vol 7 No 1. By Dan McGirt. #282
Thursday Things is here! Happy 2025! This week we dive for mystery metal and manage our memory.
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We’re fresh out of orichalcum. Best I can do is a copper kettle. Photo by Ryan ODee on Unsplash
Metal from Atlantis
It’s always the last place you look. In this case, it’s off the coast of Sicily.
Ancient Greek Shipwreck Loaded With ‘Atlantis Metal’ to Be Recovered
A fifth-century Greek shipwreck that contains orichalcum, thought to be the second most precious metal on Earth after gold, is to be recovered from the seabed off Sicily.
The wreck, named Gela II, is where in 2015 and 2017, rare orichalcum metal, said to be from the legendary Atlantis, was recovered. Due to this, details of the shipwreck have been keen sought by both Atlantis enthusiasts and the archaeological world.
Orichalcum was a metal used in coins during ancient times. It is a golden-yellow colored mixture consisting of both copper and zinc and referred to as brass, and has even been mentioned in ancient times by the likes of Plato.
In Plato’s story on the Atlantis, Critias (460–403 BC) says that orichalcum had been considered second only to gold in value and had been found and mined in many parts of Atlantis in ancient times, but that by Critias’ own time, orichalcum was known only by name.
Orichalcum is one of those mysteries of history to which we still don’t have the full answer, like how to make Greek fire (basically ancient napalm) or Damascus steel. I first encountered the term back in the early 80’s reading a novel called Merlin’s Godson which had a tangentially Atlantis-connected plot. I thought then that orichalcum was a made up metal, like adamantium and vibranium from Marvel Comics.
And maybe it was, in its more mystical origins and properties.
But orichalcum also actually existed, because there is a shipload of it at the bottom of the sea! As it turns out, the term applied to different metals and alloys at different times. Most, sadly, were utterly lacking in Atlantean energies or other magical properties.
Classical writers left us good descriptions of orichalcum as they knew it:
Orichalcum was a metal that closely resembled gold, although its value was inferior. It was described as being the colour of fire, usually a dark yellow or a reddish-tinted yellow. Although ancient writers disagreed over the chemical makeup of orichalcum, modern studies have shown that most orichalcum was made up of 80% copper and 20% zinc, with small amounts of lead, tin, and other metals being detected. Orichalcum was malleable, stronger than copper, and resistant to tarnishing. According to the Roman orator and writer Cicero (106-43 BCE) in his De Officiis, gold and orichalcum were so close in appearance that many people easily mistook one for the other.1
If your curiosity is more inclined to etymology than metallurgy, the word itself is interesting:
The word orichalcum derives from the Greek oros ("mountain") and chalkos ("copper" or "bronze"), thus the name "mountain copper". The Romans referred to orichalcum as aurichalcum, which derives from the Latin aurum ("gold").2
The Romans minted orichalcum coins from at least the time of Julius Caesar until the reign of Commodus (r. 180-192 AD). Some sneaky Romans took advantage of the close resemblance of orichalcum for nefarious purposes:
Some questionable behaviours included people who could not help looting gold from temples and other public places and replacing the stolen gold with orichalcum. This included Julius Caesar (l. 100-44 BCE), who robbed 3,000 pounds (1,360 kg) of gold from the Roman Capitol (Capitoline Hill), and Emperor Vitellius (r. 69 CE), who followed suit by regularly despoiling temples and leaving orichalcum in their place.
Stealing gold from Roman temples is just tempting fate, Julius! That could end badly for you. The gods have many ways of making that point. At least 23.
But enough verifiable history — what about Atlantis?
Ancient Origins, one of my favorite sites for mythological and “mystery of history” material, sets us straight:
Orichalcum: Legendary Metal of Atlantis, Or Just A Common Ore?
As for the particular freight, most reporters connected it to Atlantis, as if Atlantis was around during the Bronze Age (thus, misleading everyone not so familiar with the story) and ignoring the fact that according to Plato, the story of Atlantis took place around 9,600 BC.
While titles like "Atlantis' gold", and statements such as, "...the ancient shipment proves that Atlantis did exist", without a doubt capture peoples imagination, the truth is, there is nothing mystical, or unusual about orichalcum, as various newspapers, magazines, and the media seem to imply at every opportunity.
Well, that’s no fun.
Even less fun is Numismatics.org, with their data and their science facts:
Orichalcum and related Ancient Alloys
The Greek word ὀρείχαλκος and the corresponding Latin word orichalcum, otherwise spelled aurichalcum, designated different metals or alloys at different times, 1 but this Latin word and its equivalent in modern languages is now used by numismatists to designate a copper alloy containing zinc which the Romans employed in very late republican times and in imperial times as a material for coins. … At no one time were the proportions of copper and zinc held exactly constant, and with passage of time the proportion of zinc gradually decreased while the proportions of tin and lead, which in the beginning were present in very small amounts as mere impurities, increased to such an extent that one or the other, or both, became important components of the alloy.
Boring.
Let’s go back to the World History Encyclopedia:
Orichalcum is frequently mentioned in Plato's Critias, in which he tells the story of the legendary lost continent of Atlantis. Plato claimed that orichalcum was mined in many parts of Atlantis and that its buildings, including the royal palace and the Temple of Poseidon, were covered with it, making them shine with a red light.
“In the interior of the temple, the roof was of ivory, curiously wrought everywhere with gold and silver and orichalcum; and all the other parts, the walls and pillars and floor, they coated with orichalcum.” (Plato, Critias, 116e)
Plato also claimed that the laws of Atlantis were given by Poseidon, which were then inscribed by the first kings of Atlantis on a pillar of orichalcum. Many believers and researchers of Atlantis search for orichalcum in the hopes that it would lead them to the fabled continent.3
Now we’re talking! Atlantean pillars! Curiously wrought rooftops!
Is the orichalcum described by Plato the same stuff found in the Greek shipwreck off Sicily, or that the Romans carried in their purses? That takes us down a whole Atlantis rabbit hole that exceeds the scope of Thursday Things, but if orichalcum intrigues you, I hope you’ve got enough leads and links here to learn more!
57 seems oddly specific
Just as the memory of making orichalcum has faded from history, so too fade our own memories of where we left the car keys or the name of that person we sometimes see in the elevator or what exactly happened on New Year’s Eve.
Our brains age along with the rest of us, but apparently brain decline spikes at certain ages:
Rapid brain aging occurs at three distinct ages, scientists discover: Here’s how to slow it down
If age is a state of mind, this is when the mind begins to decline.
A new study has revealed that brain aging peaks at three distinct ages: 57, 70 and 78.
The research, published in Nature this month, analyzed the brain scans of more than 10,000 adults and looked for changes in their blood protein.
They identified 13 blood proteins that were associated with the “brain age gap,” an indicator for cognitive decline, and found “brain age-related change peaks at 57, 70 and 78” years of age, according to the report.
If you are at are approaching one of these brain aging milestones, you may wonder what you can do to mitigate brain aging. Science has a few suggestions for you:
“…eating ample protein, such as certain fatty fish, or legumes, nuts and whole grains can stave off cognitive aging and improve memory. Leafy greens are also chock-full of essential nutrients that also help the brain.
One previous study claimed that consuming daily multivitamins could be an easy way for older adults to ward off cognitive decline.
The Mediterranean diet gets an endorsement as being brain friendly — and is also delicious. (Mmmm, hummus…) Daily movement and exercise is also good — if nothing else, you should take a walk every day if possible. Getting enough sleep also helps.
None of these tips are new. You just have to remember them and follow them, before your brain goes the way of Atlantis.
It’s good for your brain and give you the energy to dive for orichalcum! Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
Thank you for reading!
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Ibid.
Ibid.