Cimolian Earth (Greek: κιμωλια, Latin: ''terra simolia''), also known as "cimolite", refers to a variety of clays used widely in the

ancient world Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

. These clays were used in medicine, in bleaching, and in the washing of clothes. They appear to be similar to

Fuller's earth Fuller's earth is a term for various clays used as an absorbent, filter, or bleaching agent. Products labeled fuller's earth typically consist of palygorskite (also known as attapulgite) or bentonite. Primary modern uses include as absorbents ...

, and to

Kaolin Kaolinite ( ; also called kaolin) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina (). ...

. A variety of colours of Cimolian Earth was known.

Etymology

The name ''Cimolian earth'' was derived from

Kimolos Kimolos (; ) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It lies on the southwest of the island group of Cyclades, near the bigger island of Milos. Kimolos is the administrative center of the municipality of Kimolos, which also includes the uninhabited ...

, an Aegean island north-east of

Melos Milos or Melos (; , ; ) is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete. It is the southwestern-most island of the Cyclades group. The ''Venus de Milo'' (now in the Louvre), the '' Poseidon of Melos'' (now in the ...

, also known as Argentiera.

History

Of the earlier mentionings of cimolian earth, the

mishna The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

mentions kimonia -קימוניא- as part of a seven detergent formula used by the Jewish nation for the treatment of clothing tzoraath and

niddah A niddah (alternative forms: nidda, nida, or nidah; ''nidá''), in traditional Judaism, is a woman who has experienced a uterine discharge of blood (most commonly during menstruation), or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the ...

stains (tractate niddah, ch. 9). The Stockholm papyrus manuscript, found in 1828 in a tomb in Thebes and dated to 300 BC, describes a washing powder especially for

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

. This powder was composed of aqueous soda solution, Cimolian Earth, dispersed in

vinegar Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...

slaked lime Calcium hydroxide (traditionally called slaked lime) is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Ca( OH)2. It is a colorless crystal or white powder and is produced when quicklime ( calcium oxide) is mixed with water. Annually, approxim ...

, fine clay, and

caustic potash Potassium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula K OH, and is commonly called caustic potash. Along with sodium hydroxide (NaOH), KOH is a prototypical strong base. It has many industrial and niche applications, most of which utiliz ...

solution. In Greek theatre,

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

(c. 445-385 BC) was the first to mention Cimolian earth. In ''

The Frogs ''The Frogs'' (; , often abbreviated ''Ran.'' or ''Ra.'') is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus in Athens, in 405 BC and received first place. The pla ...

'' (c. 405 BC) it is written:

"...the earth, which is brought
from the isle of Kimolos, and wrought
with nitre and lye into soap..."

Famous Roman author

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

, in his

Natural History Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

, described two kinds of Cimolian earth, the one white, and the other "inclining to the tint of purpurissum". Both of these were employed for curing various medical conditions,

Both kinds, moistened with vinegar, have the effect of dispersing tumours and arresting defluxions. They are curative also of inflammatory swellings and imposthumes of the parotid glands; and, applied topically, they are good for affections of the spleen and pustules on the body. With the addition of aphronitrum, oil of cypros, and vinegar, they reduce swellings of the feet, care being taken to apply the lotion in the sun, and at the end of six hours to wash it off with salt and water.

Pliny also described the use of Cimolian earth for washing clothes. A variety of colours were ascribed to Cimolian earth in ancient and medieval literature, most commonly white or greyish-white. It was noted that the greyish-white colour was "inclining to red, by exposure to air." This indicates the presence of unoxidized iron. Also black Cimolian Earth was known, as well as that of a greenish colour. According to some exegetes of the

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...

and the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

, ''kimonia'' is to be identified with Cimolian Earth. However,

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

identifies ''kimonia'' with a natural "alkine" substance derived from plants.Zohar Amar, ''Flora and Fauna in Maimonides' Teachings'', Kfar Darom 2015, p. 53 (note 111)

References

External links

* * Talmudic seven detergent formula used to clean tzaraath garment. Laundry substances Medicinal clay Ancient Roman medicine History of ancient medicine {{Ancient Roman medicine