Amber, a Stone of Sun for Ancient Medicines

Amber, a Stone of Sun for Ancient Medicines 1Amber, a gem that has been very appreciated since antiquity, was used also as an amulet and a medicine.All the most outstanding medical treati ses of the past tell about the therapeutic properties attributed to amber, and report singular recipes to obtain pharmaceutical preparations.Amber was much-sought for this use until the middle of XIX century, but with the beginning of the modern medicine, its use disappeared, carrying with it the memory of ancient times.Since ancient times, amber has been considered a peculiar gem that has been linked to the sun.According to a legend, sun rays hit the ground during the sunset hours and give birth to a fluid that, after dropping in the ocean, is transformed into amber, which can be collected onshore.Amber was called elektron by ancient Greeks, meaning "shining thing", like Elektor, one of the several names used to call the Sun, and Elektris, the Moon mentioned in the Orphic Hymn to the Moon.Amber is strictly linked to the solar myth also by the legend of Phaeton (his name means "shining" too), son of the Sun.The precious material, amber, was supposed to origin from the tears of the Heliades, Phaeton's sisters transformed into poplars, and found in the river Eridanus (identified as the Italian river Po, but also referred to several other rivers throughout Europe).Amber has been often included into the so-called "solar things" of the materia medica.