Zeitschrift für klinische Toxikologie
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Therapeutic Pharmaca and Alchemy from Ancient Egypt, the Country of 'Two Lands' (Tauy)

Ana Maria Rosso*

Objective: Egyptians officially divided their territory in "Two Lands" or (tAwy) (name in hieroglyphs) TAUY, the Upper and Lower Egypt, distinguishing also between the dark fertile land called (kmt) (name in hieroglyphs) Kemet, the official name of their country, considered the Beloved land or (tA-mri)(name in hieroglyphs) Ta-mery, and the arid desert landscape” or (dSrt) )(name in hieroglyphs) Deshret. We’ll try to determine what king of pharmacopoeia they obtained from both types of soils, related to their gods and symbolisms. The red color of the desert represented Seth, god of evil, chaos, diseases and death while the Osiris’ black and green colors indicated regeneration and continuous rebirth.

Methods: From the Egyptian sources we could establish that the rich Black Land provided vegetal drugs, including alkaloids and chemical substances used in a complicated polypharmacy. The invention of these drugs was identified with Toth, a moon-god and Pharmacos later associated with the Corpus Hermeticum, who also taught them the rites to collect roots and plants. They completed medical preparations with minerals and metals from the Red Land as the gold, precious material that transformed an inert being into an eternal god Ra.

Results: Egypt, the country of pharmaca, was also the cradle of knowledge about stones and from Kemet, the “Black Land art” derived the words “chemical” and “alchemy”. In Ptolemaic Alexandria, from other sciences as astronomy derived astrology and horoscopes and even medicine was subordinated to astrology, astral beliefs and alchemy. Based on the comprehension of the fire regime and the purification of individual substances, this popular pseudo-science, mostly often called the ‘Sacred Art’ by early Greco-Egyptian alchemists due to its religious and practical aspects, provided fundamental pillars for modern chemical industries, metallurgy and physics and influenced the Western art and sciences: psychology, psychiatry, astrology, esoteric tradition, mysticism and medicine.

Conclusion: While the initiation schools in the country elaborated miraculous remedies, poisons and magical filters, the philosophical system was connected to Hermes Trismegistus and developed three main activities: the transmutation of vile metals into noble metals, the creation of the Philosopher’s stone to obtain youth and longevity in a perfect and eternal state, and later the development of an Elixir of Life or panacea, capable of curing all illnesses and prolong life.

In this context a notable, strange and legendary figure was Bolus of Mendes, who adopted the name of Pseudo Democritus, active in Alexandria around 200 BC. He was the prototype of alchemist, renowned as “magician” (magoi) in late antiquity, and developed an approach to physics, partly scientific, partly occultist, based specially in the sympathy notion.