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Asterism on the surface of a blue star sapphire. A purple-pink star sapphire displaying asterism in a platinum ring.. An asterism (from Ancient Greek ἀστήρ (astḗr) 'star' and -ism) is a star-shaped concentration of light reflected or refracted from a gemstone.
The sacrificial calendar of Athens is an Ancient Greek religious document inscribed on stone as part of the Athenian law revisions from 410/9–405/4 and 403/2–400/399 BC. It provides a detailed record of sacrificial practices , listing festivals , types of offerings (both animal and non-animal), and payments to priests and officials.
The three most important standards of the ancient Greek monetary system were the Attic standard, based on the Athenian drachma of 4.3 grams (2.8 pennyweights) of silver, the Corinthian standard based on the stater of 8.6 g (5.5 dwt) of silver, that was subdivided into three silver drachmas of 2.9 g (1.9 dwt), and the Aeginetan stater or didrachm of 12.2 g (7.8 dwt), based on a drachma of 6.1 g ...
The Numismatic Museum of Athens (Greek: Νομισματικό Μουσείο Αθηνών) is one of the most important museums in Greece and it houses a collection of over 500,000 coins, medals, gems, weights, stamps and related artefacts from 1400BC to modern times. [1]
In late classical times and as late as the Middle Ages, lapis lazuli was often called sapphire (sapphirus in Latin, sappir in Hebrew), [28] though it had little to do with the stone today known as the blue corundum variety sapphire. In his book on stones, the Greek scientist Theophrastus described "the sapphirus, which is speckled with gold," a ...
Similarly, an amethyst beaded necklace from ancient Rome estimated to be from 1st century B.C. to 1st century A.D. is expected to fetch $6,000 to $8,000, far below the cost of a trendy 10-motif ...
Batrachite, gemstones that were supposedly found in frogs, to which ancient physicians and naturalists attributed the virtue of resisting poison. (Medieval legend) (Medieval legend) Draconite , a mythical gemstone taken from the head of a dragon and believed to have magical properties.
The “incredibly rare” lump was unearthed at a 1,700-year-old bathhouse in the United Kingdom. ‘Mysterious’ purple lump found at ancient Roman ruins was once ‘worth more than gold’ Skip ...