A trickle of resin, shining in the sunlight, drips from a slash of a tree trunk. It will get harder and harder, as timepasses. If a lot of time passes (millions of years) and the tree’s habitat maintains conditions w...A trickle of resin, shining in the sunlight, drips from a slash of a tree trunk. It will get harder and harder, as timepasses. If a lot of time passes (millions of years) and the tree’s habitat maintains conditions which are particularly favorableto the original resin (the forest remaining intact and major telluric events being absent), the resin will harden and themiraculous change into the fascinating gem - amber - will take place. The ancient Greeks and Romans, who did not imag-ine such a long journey in time for a stone which, at their time, was already embellishing the noblewomen and inspiringpoets and men of science (Homer, Ovid, Martial, Pliny the Elder), invented a fantastic legend, rich in pathos, to explain itsorigin. Phaethon, the dearest son of Apollo, was given permission by his father to drive his fire cart in the sky. Due to hisunskilfulness, young Phaethon caused serious damage to the Earth. A furious Zeus struck him with lightning, throwing hislifeless body down to the banks of the river Eridanus (Po). There, the mourning Hellas Sisters grieved over him for a longtime, until the King of Gods, still angry, turned them into poplars, whose tears condensed into bright amber gems. It isquite peculiar that this myth succeeds in defining the vegetal origin of amber and its magic link with the sun. As a matter offact, amber was called electron by the Greeks, which means "product of the sun". The ancient people were already awareof the capacity of amber to attract small particles when rubbed. When, much later, through research on these properties, anew source of energy was found, the same was named electricity, after amber, which allowed its discovery. Thus, amber isa mythical stone, which has always been considered not only an attractive ornament, but also a source of protection - eventherapeutic -, having a special positive energy.展开更多
文摘A trickle of resin, shining in the sunlight, drips from a slash of a tree trunk. It will get harder and harder, as timepasses. If a lot of time passes (millions of years) and the tree’s habitat maintains conditions which are particularly favorableto the original resin (the forest remaining intact and major telluric events being absent), the resin will harden and themiraculous change into the fascinating gem - amber - will take place. The ancient Greeks and Romans, who did not imag-ine such a long journey in time for a stone which, at their time, was already embellishing the noblewomen and inspiringpoets and men of science (Homer, Ovid, Martial, Pliny the Elder), invented a fantastic legend, rich in pathos, to explain itsorigin. Phaethon, the dearest son of Apollo, was given permission by his father to drive his fire cart in the sky. Due to hisunskilfulness, young Phaethon caused serious damage to the Earth. A furious Zeus struck him with lightning, throwing hislifeless body down to the banks of the river Eridanus (Po). There, the mourning Hellas Sisters grieved over him for a longtime, until the King of Gods, still angry, turned them into poplars, whose tears condensed into bright amber gems. It isquite peculiar that this myth succeeds in defining the vegetal origin of amber and its magic link with the sun. As a matter offact, amber was called electron by the Greeks, which means "product of the sun". The ancient people were already awareof the capacity of amber to attract small particles when rubbed. When, much later, through research on these properties, anew source of energy was found, the same was named electricity, after amber, which allowed its discovery. Thus, amber isa mythical stone, which has always been considered not only an attractive ornament, but also a source of protection - eventherapeutic -, having a special positive energy.
