Lavinia Fontana’s Cleopatra the Alchemist, 1159-1180.
Cleopatra the Alchemist
Cleopatra was a Greco-Egyptian alchemist that experimented with practical alchemy. The place and time of her birth have been said to fall somewhere between the 1st and 4th centuries CE. She lived and was associated with the school of alchemy in Alexandria - which was made famous by Mary the Jewess and studied under her - and became a master alchemist. Cleopatra is credited as 1 of 4 female alchemists who could produce the philosopher’s stone and possibly invented the distillation apparatus called the alembic. And while others cite that Mary the Jewess had invented it, drawings of the apparatus appear in Cleopatra’s works (3rd century CE). Cleopatra adopted and expanded upon both the theoretical and practical aspects of Mary the Jewess’s thought, but seemed to have focused more on the use of the alembic apparatus for distillation.
Cleopatra the Alchemist is not the same Cleopatra VII/Queen of Egypt (69 -30 BCE), although she was referred to as the Queen of Egypt in later works. Cleopatra could have been either a pseudonym for an unknown author or group of authors. Three alchemical texts linked to Cleopatra still exist: On Weights and Measures, Gold Making of Cleopatra (single-page Chrysopoeia) and A Dialogue of Cleopatra and the Philosophers.
Cleopatra’s On Weights and Measures deals with practical aspects of alchemy. A system of uniform weights and measures was described by which alchemists could use, share and publish their findings to minimize the variation that would exist between regions or even laboratories; hence, the need for a universal system of weights and measures (may have not been established until mid-1600’s).
Dialogue of Cleopatra and the Philosophers discusses a meeting between a great woman sage and a group of her male peers, while she attempts to “cast light” on various natural mysteries. “Her understanding of the material world amazed and terrified her audience, among them the mythic Ostanes, who taught Egyptian magic to the rest of the Hellenistic world.” Cleopatra goes on to make the analogy between the alchemist’s goal of transmutation to the natural growth in plant and animal kingdoms. It is often said that her talks, literature and teachings were void of any trace of male chauvinism, most were always recognized for having men listen attentively. The philosophers in attendance and her peers declared that they had fallen into mystical ecstasy with just her words and cry out blessed be the womb that bore you - which was a phrase that has only been said of Jesus. Some of the topics that she discussed included (1) substances changing colors and how it reflects transmutation as well as (2) pointing out the parallels between magical language and processes in Egyptian funeral rites to her methodology. As a further example, both the bodies of pharaohs and the philosopher’s stone are exposed to violent processes to purify, transform and resurrect into a new perfect substance.
Alchemy was first developed as a technical craft and theoretical proto-science in Hellenistic Egypt (between the deaths of Alexander the Great 323 BCE & Cleopatra 30 BCE). Hermetic and alchemical thought shared a central tenet: the smallest unit of reality reflected and imitated the largest structures of reality, the macrocosm was in the microcosm and vice versa and all aspects of being, mirrored one another.
A substance, when understood correctly, could be made to transform itself into another substance because both physical and metaphysical were all composed of one common divine substance - this was the core of Cleopatra’s alchemical theory and practice.
The greatest transmutations for the ancient alchemist wasn't just about turning base metal in gold and silver, but rather turning plants and minerals into useful cures and medicines. Cleopatra provided the foundation for both (1) the imagery (ouroboros, snake eating tail) and the (2) allegorical processes of alchemy (conception/gestation in the womb, birth and nurturing the child to the Philosopher’s Stone).
“Distillation lies at the heart of the alchemist and its science. Producing spirits for the tincturing of herbs required special equipment and the alembic provided a means to obtain the solvent/extract needed for producing the beneficial elixirs and medicinal stones.” Cleopatra set out to create gold through chemical and scientific means. Her magnum opus, Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra, contained both her life’s work and a purported coded guide to making the philosopher’s stone using an apparatus similar to these. Because she was considered a foundational figure on alchemy, Cleopatra is mentioned throughout key alchemical literature as either a contemporary of Zosimos of Panopolis who also utilized a similar apparatus for his experiments.
Her most famous work, Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra (Chrysopoeia = gold-making) which consisted of a single sheet of paper (single scroll of vellum) with only symbols, drawings and captions, was being one of the earliest scientific works authored and possibly ever written by a woman. The text is preserved on a single sheet of papyrus and currently held at Leiden University in the Netherlands.
Attempts to decipher or crack the complicated and mysterious code of drawings and symbols have proven unsuccessful. Keep in mind that during this time, ancient Alexandria must have been bustling with scholars, potentially competing with one another and was everything of an intellectual hub that it should be (intellectual dueling); and protecting your innovations was probably of the highest importance out of fear that someone would steal and take credit for.
To further understand the depth of her magnum opus, we take The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus which somewhat serves as the instructor’s manual for experimenting with alchemy as a comparison, but it only alludes to “the process of evaporation and condensation through a thick veil of symbolism.” Interestingly, in Cleopatra’s diagram of the alembic, she seems to offer up an easier way for the practitioner to understand the art of alchemy without fully revealing the entire meaning of the Tablet. This would be analogous to the largest pharmaceutical company publishing (and not behind a paywall) their most valuable medicinal patent for the sheer sake of humanity. Alternatively, if Cleopatra would have held onto that invention, it would have catapulted her into a greater position, allowing her to travel, teach, and heal a multitude of ailments. Instead, in revealing her design she allowed her peers to make their own discoveries.
It is said that Cleopatra’s written work as well as her lectures contained some of the most beautiful passages in all alchemical history, especially in her use of affectionate language when comparing attending to the lab and doing great work to that of a mother caring for her child.
Chrysopoeia, Cleopatra the Alchemist, Codex Marcianus