The glowing emerald pillar of ancient Tyre

The Greek researcher Herodotus of Halicarnassus visited the Temple of Melqart in Tyre in the mid-fifth century BCE, while there he witnessed an emerald pillar in front of the temple that glowed in the night by its own device. According to the temple priests, the temple was built about 2,800 BCE - or 4,800 years ago. Ancient technology or "freak of nature" fluorite stone (some fluorite can glow for several hours in the dark) misidentified as an emerald?

Because I wanted to know more about it, I made a voyage to Tyre in Phoenicia, because I had been told that in that place there was a holy temple of Heracles. The sanctuary was richly furnished, there were many votive offerings, and I noticed two pillars: one of pure gold and one of an emerald stone of such size as to shine by night.

I interviewed the priests of the god, and asked them how long ago their temple had been built, and I discovered that they were at variance with the Greeks, because they said that the temple had been built when Tyre had been founded, and that this happened 2,300 years ago.

Source


Temple of Melqart today

-MM

a reply to: MerkabaMeditation


S+F for a interesting Thread!!! I would probably say that it was indeed the Fluorite Stone used, and not Emerald.
Just My thoughts is all.
Thanx for The share! Later, Syx.

a reply to: MerkabaMeditation

Fascinating and thanks for that. I always like a thread that makes me learn new stuff and I have no doubt that it did glow;

Of particular interest, to me anyway;

Another unique luminescent property of fluorite is its thermoluminescence. Thermoluminescence is the ability to glow when heated. Not all fluorites do this, in fact it is quite a rare phenomenon. A variety of fluorite known as "chlorophane" can demonstrate this property very well and will even thermoluminesce while the specimen is held in a person's hand activated by the person's own body heat (of course in a dark room, as it is not bright enough to be seen in daylight). The thermoluminescence is green to blue-green and can be produced on the coils of a heater or electric stove top. Once seen, the glow will fade away and can no longer by seen in the same specimen again. It is a one shot deal. Chlorophane (which means to show green) is found in very limited quantities at Amelia Court House, Virginia; Franklin, New Jersey and the Bluebird Mine, Arizona, USA; Gilgit, Pakistan; Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada and at Nerchinsk in the Ural Mountains, Russia.

The Source

Thanks again.

Kind Regards
Myselfaswell

Consider that "emerald" is a color as well as a gemstone.

Perhaps Herodotus was referring to it in this way, and not as a humongous gemstone.

Harte

a reply to: Harte

That's a good point. I wonder how probable it would have been back then for someone to stumble on a luminescent paint of some kind? Wasn't "Egyptian Blue" luminescent to an extent? I recall having read that traces of luminescence have been found long after paint had worn off objects.

originally posted by: Nyiah
a reply to: Harte

That's a good point. I wonder how probable it would have been back then for someone to stumble on a luminescent paint of some kind? Wasn't "Egyptian Blue" luminescent to an extent? I recall having read that traces of luminescence have been found long after paint had worn off objects.

Depending on how you interpret the meaning of Herodotus' statements, luminescence wouldn't be necessary.

Note he says that the size was such "... as to shine by night," not that the thing glowed.

There are many green stones - solid green to greenish gray. Just to name one - there are a great many varieties of olivine, ranging from pure crystalline (peridot) to just a greenish-gray stone that looks like limestone with moss in it.
Here's a couple of pics of various forms of olivine.

The crystal form is fairly rare and likely is never found in such large sizes as Herodotus describes, but the more ordinary-looking greenish stone is fairly commion and can come in megalithic sizes.

And that's just one example.

Harte

originally posted by: Harte
Consider that "emerald" is a color as well as a gemstone.

Perhaps Herodotus was referring to it in this way, and not as a humongous gemstone.

...

Note he says that the size was such "... as to shine by night," not that the thing glowed.

Harte

The clue to the meaning is in the original greek text:

-Herodotus uses the two greek words "σμαράγδου λίθου" which is translated to english as "emerald stone" so we are not talking about the emerald color here as the greek word "λίθου" means "stone".

-Herodotus uses the greek word "λάμποντος" ("Lampontos") which is translated to english as "give light, shine", so the emerald stone pillar did literally glow by its own device.

καὶ εἶδον πλουσίως κατεσκευασμένον ἄλλοισί τε πολλοῖσι ἀναθήμασι, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ ἦσαν στῆλαι δύο, ἣ μὲν χρυσοῦ ἀπέφθου, ἣ δὲ σμαράγδου λίθου λάμποντος τὰς νύκτας μέγαθος. ἐς λόγους δὲ ἐλθὼν τοῖσι ἱρεῦσι τοῦ θεοῦ εἰρόμην ὁκόσος χρόνος εἴη ἐξ οὗ σφι τὸ ἱρὸν ἵδρυται.

Source: Original greek text. Book II.44

-MM

I don't see how you get an emerald from "green stone," but whatever...

Harte

originally posted by: Harte
I don't see how you get an emerald from "green stone," but whatever...

Harte

Here is the aforementioned greek word "σμαράγδου" ("Smaragdos") translated to "Emerald" from greek dictionary online here and more exhaustive here.

English translation source online:

44. I moreover, desiring to know something certain of these matters so far as might be, made a voyage also to Tyre of Phenicia, hearing that in that place there was a holy temple of Heracles; and I saw that it was richly furnished with many votive offerings besides, and especially there were in it two pillars, the one of pure gold and the other of an emerald stone of such size as to shine by night: and having come to speech with the priests of the god, I asked them how long time it was since their temple had been set up: and these also I found to be at variance with the Hellenes, for they said that at the same time when Tyre was founded, the temple of the god also had been set up, and that it was a period of two thousand three hundred years since their people began to dwell at Tyre. I saw also at Tyre another temple of Heracles, with the surname Thasian; and I came to Thasos also and there I found a temple of Heracles set up by the Phenicians, who had sailed out to seek for Europa and had colonised Thasos; and these things happened full five generations of men before Heracles the son of Amphitryon was born in Hellas. So then my inquiries show clearly that Heracles is an ancient god, and those of the Hellenes seem to me to act most rightly who have two temples of Heracles set up, and who sacrifice to the one as an immortal god and with the title Olympian, and make offerings of the dead to the other as a hero.

44. [1] καὶ θέλων δὲ τούτων πέρι σαφές τι εἰδέναι ἐξ ὧν οἷόν τε ἦν, ἔπλευσα καὶ ἐς Τύρον τῆς Φοινίκης, πυνθανόμενος αὐτόθι εἶναι ἱρὸν Ἡρακλέος ἅγιον. [2] καὶ εἶδον πλουσίως κατεσκευασμένον ἄλλοισί τε πολλοῖσι ἀναθήμασι, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ ἦσαν στῆλαι δύο, ἣ μὲν χρυσοῦ ἀπέφθου, ἣ δὲ σμαράγδου λίθου λάμποντος τὰς νύκτας μέγαθος. ἐς λόγους δὲ ἐλθὼν τοῖσι ἱρεῦσι τοῦ θεοῦ εἰρόμην ὁκόσος χρόνος εἴη ἐξ οὗ σφι τὸ ἱρὸν ἵδρυται. [3] εὗρον δὲ οὐδὲ τούτους τοῖσι Ἕλλησι συμφερομένους· ἔφασαν γὰρ ἅμα Τύρῳ οἰκιζομένῃ καὶ τὸ ἱρὸν τοῦ θεοῦ ἱδρυθῆναι, εἶναι δὲ ἔτεα ἀπ᾽ οὗ Τύρον οἰκέουσι τριηκόσια καὶ δισχίλια. εἶδον δὲ ἐν τῇ Τύρῳ καὶ ἄλλο ἱρὸν Ἡρακλέος ἐπωνυμίην ἔχοντος Θασίου εἶναι· [4] ἀπικόμην δὲ καὶ ἐς Θάσον, ἐν τῇ εὗρον ἱρὸν Ἡρακλέος ὑπὸ Φοινίκων ἱδρυμένον, οἳ κατ᾽ Εὐρώπης ζήτησιν ἐκπλώσαντες Θάσον ἔκτισαν· καὶ ταῦτα καὶ πέντε γενεῇσι ἀνδρῶν πρότερα ἐστὶ ἢ τὸν Ἀμφιτρύωνος Ἡρακλέα ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι γενέσθαι. [5] τὰ μέν νυν ἱστορημένα δηλοῖ σαφέως παλαιὸν θεὸν Ἡρακλέα ἐόντα, καὶ δοκέουσι δέ μοι οὗτοι ὀρθότατα Ἑλλήνων ποιέειν, οἳ διξὰ Ἡράκλεια ἱδρυσάμενοι ἔκτηνται, καὶ τῷ μὲν ὡς ἀθανάτῳ Ὀλυμπίῳ δὲ ἐπωνυμίην θύουσι, τῷ δὲ ἑτέρῳ ὡς ἥρωι ἐναγίζουσι.

Also, as a side note, I would like to mention that in modern greek dictionaries the greek word "μέγαθος" ("Megatos") is translated to "greatness, magnitude" and not "size" as the original english translation by G. C. Macaulay from 1890 says.

-MM

The other possibility is that there is some esoteric meanings implied by the gold and green pillars.

The hardest thing in the world for me to imagine is an emerald stone large enough to make a pillar from. I would sooner believe that they had an electric light to be honest.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
The other possibility is that there is some esoteric meanings implied by the gold and green pillars.

The hardest thing in the world for me to imagine is an emerald stone large enough to make a pillar from. I would sooner believe that they had an electric light to be honest.

Agreed, but there are what I called "freaks of nature" - like these huge crystals from an old ATS post:

originally posted by: Megiddodiddo
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-MM

Is that superman's cave?

originally posted by: nukedog
Is that superman's cave?

Looks like it, but it is actually called Naica: Crystal Cave of Giants and is located in Mexico.

-MM

a reply to: MerkabaMeditation

Those crystals and emeralds....grow in completely different environments, from completely different means. Knowing how an emerald is formed, one molecule at a time, the probability of there being an actual emerald pillar is improbable enough to be impossible. Unless some sort of alchemy created the stone (or some other artificial means). Far more probable is that the emerald and the gold pillars are symbolic in meaning, referencing esoteric knowledge. Each of those items has meaning apart from being physical objects.

Think about it: an emerald that illuminates the dark. That is as esoteric as it gets.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
a reply to: MerkabaMeditation

Those crystals and emeralds....grow in completely different environments, from completely different means. Knowing how an emerald is formed, one molecule at a time, the probability of there being an actual emerald pillar is improbable enough to be impossible. Unless some sort of alchemy created the stone (or some other artificial means). Far more probable is that the emerald and the gold pillars are symbolic in meaning, referencing esoteric knowledge. Each of those items has meaning apart from being physical objects.

Think about it: an emerald that illuminates the dark. That is as esoteric as it gets.

True, and you don't get more esoteric than the two pillars in front of King Solomon First Temple in Jerusalem called Boaz and Jachin, the Freemasons espesially love using these two pillars as symbols for esoteric knowledge. The Bible's 1 Kings 5:1-10 documents how Hiram I, the King of Tyre, helped King Solomon build the First Temple in Jerusalem - it's a small (ancient) world is it not? Is there a connection between the two pillars at the temple in Tyre and the two pillars in front of the first temple of Solomon? One can only speculate how Hiram's architect (Hiram Abiff?) helped Solomon build the temple, but it is not unlikely that some ancient knowledge was shared between the two cultures. According to Freemasons, King Solomon, Hiram I, and Hiram Abiff together held some kind of secret esoteric knowledge.


Detroit Masonic Temple - Detail of Master Chair. Hiram Abiff, King Solomon, Hiram King of Tyre. Photo by Bro. Mitchell Ozog

Read more about the connection between Solomon and Hiram I here. The blog also gives some intriguing postulations that all pair of pillars signifies the gateway to enlightenment:

The twin pillars appear to represent a portal or gateway to or from enlightenment. In Solomon's Temple the pillars gave way to the Holy of Holies. The Straight of Gibraltar was thought of as a gateway to the New World and Atlantis which could shed light on the significance the pillars might have had to the Phoenicians who were a sea faring people. I think it's safe to say that the twin pillars represent a physical and spiritual transition to a new age or receiving of divine knowledge.

-MM

I think if Herodotus meant it literally he would have spent more time dwelling and inquiring about the glowing emerald and less about the temple itself from "the priests of the Gods". I mean back in BC times how often do you see a self-illuminating pillar? And all we get is a passing mention? I don't think that adds up, good info though, thanks for sharing.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Unless...


They somehow stumbled on a process of creating some form of paint made with Radium, obviously not knowing the potential dangers....

Radium

Radium is a chemical element with symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. The color of pure radium is almost pure white, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, becoming black in color. All isotopes of radium are highly radioactive, with the most stable isotope being radium-226, which has a half-life of 1600 years and decays into radon gas. When radium decays, ionizing radiation is a product, which can excite fluorescent chemicals and cause radioluminescence.

a reply to: SLAYER69

That would explain the emerald green color since radium gives a faint green glow. The pillar may in fact have been a white crystal - like in the pictures above from the Mexican cave - that was painted with radium giving it a green glow - and thusly being misidentified by Herodotus as a glowing emerald. Anything is possible, and all of this would have been within the technology of the time.

Secondly, it could be Uranium Glass, which also glows green in the dark. The earliest glass are dated to the mid third millennium BCE - two hundred years after Herodotus visited the temple in Tyre, but it just could be that glass was used even earlier for all we know.

I'm still favouring my fluorite theory though; fluorite can glow by themself and grow very large. How large? Well, just in modern time the largest documented single crystal of fluorite was a cube 2.12 m (7 feet) in size and weighing 16 tonnes (32,000 pounds). Fluorite come in a variety of colors, also green like an emerald. All in all, it's not unlikely that such a fluorite monster was unearthed by miners in ancient times and used as a pillar in front of a temple.

Here are some examples of natural fluorescens:



-MM

a reply to: MerkabaMeditation


I love it.



Alchemy

Mythology

Zosimos of Panopolis asserted that alchemy dated back to Pharaonic Egypt where it was the domain of the priestly class, though there is little to no evidence for his assertion.[31] Alchemical writers used Classical figures from Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythology to illuminate their works and allegorize alchemical transmutation.[32] These included the pantheon of gods related to the Classical planets, Isis, Osiris, Jason, and many others.

The central figure in the mythology of alchemy is Hermes Trismegistus (or Thrice-Great Hermes). His name is derived from the god Thoth and his Greek counterpart Hermes. Hermes and his caduceus or serpent-staff, were among alchemy's principal symbols. According to Clement of Alexandria, he wrote what were called the "forty-two books of Hermes", covering all fields of knowledge.[33] The Hermetica of Thrice-Great Hermes is generally understood to form the basis for Western alchemical philosophy and practice, called the hermetic philosophy by its early practitioners. These writings were collected in the first centuries of the common era..

It could have been something coated with barium sulfate. or a large mass of cast glass lit from inside. The process of making glass was well known by then.

It could also have been a carved piece of green obsidian also lit from inside.