The ''Cyranides'' (; also ''Kyranides'' or ''Kiranides'') is a compilation of

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

works on magic and

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

first put together in the 4th century.

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

translations also exist. It has been described as a " farrago" and a ''texte vivant'', owing to the complexities of its transmission: it has been abridged, rearranged, and supplemented. The resulting compilation covers the magical properties and practical uses of gemstones, plants, and animals, and is a virtual encyclopedia of

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...

s; it also contains material pertinent to the history of western

alchemy Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

, and to

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

studies, particularly in illuminating meanings of words and magico-religious practices. As a medical text, the ''Cyranides'' was held in relatively low esteem even in antiquity and the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

because of its use of

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

language and reliance on lore rather than Hippocratic or

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus (; September 129 – AD), often Anglicization, anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Ancient Rome, Roman and Greeks, Greek physician, surgeon, and Philosophy, philosopher. Considered to be one o ...

ic medical theory. In the '' Pseudodoxia Epidemica'', Thomas Browne described the ''Cyranides'' as "a collection out of Harpocration the Greek and sundry Arabick writers delivering not only the Naturall but Magicall propriety of things." Although the ''Cyranides'' was considered "dangerous and disreputable" in the Middle Ages, it was translated into Latin by Pascalis Romanus, a clergyman with medical expertise who was the Latin interpreter for Emperor

Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos (; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized as Comnenus, also called Porphyrogenitus (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history o ...

. The 14th-century

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

Demetrios Chloros was put on trial because he transcribed magical texts, including what was referred to as the ''Coeranis''.

Form and structure

The original 4th-century ''Cyranides'' comprised three books, to which a redactor added a fourth. The original first book of the ''Cyranides'', the ''Kyranis'' (), was the second component of a two-part work, the first part of which was the ''Archaikê'' (). Books 2–4 are a bestiary. The edition of Kaimakis (see below) contains a fifth and sixth book which were not transmitted under the name ''Cyranides'' but which were included with the work in a limited number of manuscripts. A medieval

translation of the first book exists, and portions of it are "reflected" in the

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Sample remedies and spells

The ''Cyranides'' devotes a chapter to the healing powers of the water snake; its bezoar is used to cure edema, dropsy. Fish gall is recommended for healing white spots in the eye; fish liver is supposed to cure blindness. For a "large and pleasurable" Erection#Penile erection, erection, a mixture of

arugula Rocket, eruca, or arugula (''Eruca sativa'') is an edible annual plant in the family Brassicaceae used as a leaf vegetable for its fresh, tart, bitter, and peppery flavor. Its other common names include salad rocket and garden rocketFlora of NW ...

, spices, and honey is recommended, as is carrying the tail of a lizard or the right molar of a

skink Skinks are a type of lizard belonging to the family (biology), family Scincidae, a family in the Taxonomic rank, infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one o ...

. The fumigation or wearing of

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

hair turns away evil spirits and fever. Daniel Ogden, a specialist in magic and the supernatural in antiquity, has gathered several references from the ''Cyranides'' on the use of gemstones and amulets. The collection offers spells to avert the child-harming demon Gello, who was blamed for

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion, is an end to pregnancy resulting in the loss and expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the womb before it can fetal viability, survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks ...

s and

infant mortality Infant mortality is the death of an infant before the infant's first birthday. The occurrence of infant mortality in a population can be described by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the number of deaths of infants under one year of age ...

, and says that aetite can be worn as an amulet against miscarriage.

Magico-religious tradition

Olympidorus provides a summary of a passage from the work, not part of the abridged version now extant, that has

cosmological Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...

as well as alchemical implications: Talpa europaea MHNT Tete

In the extant version, the ''Cyranides'' contains a description of the ''heliodromus'', a phoenix-like bird from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

which, upon hatching, flies to the rising sun and then goes west when the sun passes the

zenith The zenith (, ) is the imaginary point on the celestial sphere directly "above" a particular location. "Above" means in the vertical direction (Vertical and horizontal, plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The z ...

. It lives only a year, and, according to some interpretations of an unreliable text, leaves behind an

androgynous Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in humans, it often r ...

progeny. R. van den Broek, ''The Myth of the Phoenix According to Classical and Early Christian Traditions'' (Brill, N.D.), pp. 286–28
online.
On the sex of the phoenix, see F. Lecocq, «‘Le sexe incertain du phénix’: de la zoologie à la théologie», ''Le phénix et son autre: poétique d'un mythe des origines au XVIe s.'', ed. L. Gosserez, Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2013, p. 177-199, ()

Editions and translations

* The Latin translation. * (NB: Kaimakis did not consult the Latin text while making this edition). * Partial Greek text. * Arabic translation and partial Greek text; Greek text contains many typographical errors. * (Arabic translation of fragments from books 2–4 of the ''Cyranides'') * English translation and commentary on select passages from Book 1.

Selected bibliography

* Bain, David. "Μελανῖτις γῆ in the ''Cyranides'' and Related Texts: New Evidence for the Origins and Etymology of Alchemy." In ''Magic in the Biblical World: From the Rod of Aaron to the Ring of Solomon''. T&T Clark International, 2003, pp. 191–218. Limited previe
online.
* Bain, David. "περιγίνεσθαι as a Medical Term and a Conjecture in the ''Cyranides''." In ''Ethics and Rhetoric: Classical Essays for Donald Russell on His Seventy-Fifth Birthday''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995, pp. 281–286. Limited previe
online.
* Faraone, Christopher A. ''Ancient Greek Love Magic''. Harvard University Press, 2001. Limited previe
online.
*Mavroudi, Maria. "Occult Science and Society in Byzantium: Considerations for Future Research." University of California, Berkeley. Full tex
downloadable.
Also published in ''The Occult Sciences in Byzantium'' (La Pomme d'or, 2006), limited previe
online.

References

{{Alchemy Hermetica Traditional medicine History of ancient medicine Alchemical documents Greek alchemy