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CLOSEAlchemy in Byzantium
Gerasimos Merianos
The Project was established in 2016 to investigate aspects of alchemy in the Byzantine world, within the framework of the Program “Everyday and Social Life in Byzantium”. In 2018, “Alchemy in Byzantium” evolved into an independent research project.
It aims to examine, for the first time in a systematic way, the phenomenon of alchemy throughout the Byzantine period. It seeks to highlight its essential features, as well as Byzantium’s often-overlooked contribution to the history of alchemy. Emphasis is placed on both the theoretical and practical dimensions of alchemy. In relation to the latter, the Project explores alchemy’s relationship with material culture, various artisanal sectors, as well as techniques of imitation and counterfeiting, and the economy more broadly. To support its activities, the Project maintains collaborations in Greece and internationally.
- 2017-2020: “Alchemy in Byzantium: Current Research Trends and Approaches”, within the IHR, NHRF research project Anavathmis. Development of Historical Research: Studies and Digital Applications.
- 2016 – present: Cooperation partner in the project Der griechische Traktat “Über die hochgeschätzte und berühmte Goldschmiedekunst” – Edition und interdisziplinärer Kommentar, Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie (LEIZA), Mainz.
- 2012-2015: Participation in the project Digital Archive for Alchemy in Byzantium and the Greek-speaking Communities of the Ottoman Empire (DACALBO), under the “Thales” program.
- G. Merianos (ed.), Alchemy in Byzantium. Medical Traditions (Berlin and New York: Walter De Gruyter, forthcoming 2026).
- A. Rinotas, G. Merianos (eds.), Byzantine and Medieval Latin Alchemical Crossroads. Global Perspectives on the History of Natural Philosophy (London: Routledge, in preparation).
- G. Merianos, “Byproducts of Winemaking in Greek Alchemy: Pheklē and Trygia”, in: Manuscripts, Plants, Remedies in the Mediterranean Traditions: Studies across Disciplines for Alain Touwaide, vol. 3, ed. S. M. Oberhelman (Berlin and New York: Walter De Gruyter, forthcoming 2025).
- G. Merianos, “Aspects of the Relationship between Alchemy and Christianity in Byzantium”, in: Orthodox Christianity and the Study of Nature: Histories of Interaction, eds. K. Tampakis, R. Numbers (Turnhout: Brepols, 2024), 21-54.
- G. Merianos, “Innovation and Byzantine Alchemy in Context: The Constantinian Solidus and the Chrysopoetic Goal”, De Medio Aevo 13.2 (2024), Special Issue: Scientific Interests and Technological Innovation in Byzantium: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 307-319.
- G. Merianos, “Insights on Alchemy, Deception, and Artisanal Knowledge in Byzantium”, in: Byzanz am Rhein. Festschrift für Günter Prinzing anlässlich seines 80. Geburtstags, eds. A. Bosselmann-Ruickbie, Z. Chitwood, J. Pahlitzsch, M. Μ. Vučetić (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2024), 145-164.
- G. Merianos, “The Christianity of the Philosopher Christianos. Ethics and Mathematics in Alchemical Methodology”, ARYS 20 (2022), Special Issue: Chemical Arts and Religion in Antiquity, 271-322.
- Academic coordination of the second workshop Alchemy in Byzantium: Exploring a Fascinating “Art”, organized by the Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece–Harvard University, the IHR, NHRF, and the Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Museum (Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece, Nafplio, 24-25 May 2025).
- Academic coordination of the first workshop Alchemy in Byzantium: Exploring a Fascinating “Art”, organized by the Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece–Harvard University, the IHR, NHRF, and the Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Museum (Canellopoulos Museum, Athens, 19-20 October 2024).
- Co-organization with J. M. Rampling of the international symposium Making Alchemical Knowledge: From Antiquity to the Middle Ages (IHR, NHRF and Princeton Athens Center for Research and Hellenic Studies. NHRF, Athens, 10 June 2024).
- o-organization, with S. Virvidakis and P. Bouras-Vallianatos, of the event Byzantine and Chinese Medicine in Dialogue: The Cases of John Zacharias and Xu Shuwei (IHR, NHRF and Department of History and Philosophy of Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. NHRF, Athens, 8 May 2023).
- Organization of the international workshop Alchemy in Byzantium: A Research Field on the Rise (NHRF, Athens, 9-10 November 2020).
- Spring semester, academic year 2021-2022: Co-teaching with S. Sakorrafou of the MA course “Topics in the History of the Natural Sciences: History of Alchemy”, in the graduate program “History and Philosophy of Science and Technology”, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
Main page image: Ouroboros dragon from the alchemical manuscript Par. gr. 2327, f. 279r. In alchemy, the ouroboros symbolizes the unity of matter. / Source