Orichalcum

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Orichalcum is a legendary metal mentioned in several ancient writings, most notably the story of Atlantis as recounted in the Critias dialogue, recorded by Plato. According to Critias, orichalcum was considered second only to gold in value, and was found and mined in many parts of Atlantis in ancient times. By the time of Critias, however, it was known only by name.

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[edit] Instances of orichalcum

Orichalcum is first mentioned in the 7th century BC by Hesiod and in the homeric hymn dedicated to Aphrodite, dated to the 630s.

According to Critias, recorded by Plato, the three outer walls of the Temple to Poseidon and Cleito on Atlantis were clad respectively with brass, tin, and the third, which encompassed the whole citadel, "flashed with the red light of orichalcum." The interior walls, pillars and floors of the temple were completely covered in orichalcum, and the roof was variegated with gold, silver, and orichalcum. In the center of the temple stood a pillar of orichalcum, on which the laws of Poseidon and records of the first princes after Poseidon were inscribed. (Crit. 116–119)

Orichalcum is also mentioned in the Antiquities of the Jews - Book XI by Josephus, who stated that the vessels in the Temple of Solomon were made of orichalcum. Pliny the Elder points out that the metal has lost currency due to the mines being exhausted. Pseudo-Aristotle in De mirabilibus auscultationibus describes orichalcum as a shining metal obtained during the smelting of copper with the addition of "calmia", a kind of earth formerly found on the shores of the Black Sea.[1]

In more modern times, orichalcum was discussed by Sir Francis Bacon in The New Atlantis. The Golden Plates of Mormonism, although not called orichalcum, were reported by Joseph Smith's brother William to be a mixture of copper and gold, and have "the appearance of gold."

[edit] What is orichalcum?

The term derives from the Greek ορείχαλκος, oreichalkos (from όρος, oros, mountain and χαλκός, chalkos, copper or bronze), meaning "mountain copper" or "mountain metal". The Romans transliterated "orichalcum" as "aurichalcum", which was thought to literally mean "gold copper". It has been alternatively held to be a gold/copper alloy, a copper-tin or copper-zinc brass, or a metal no longer known to man. The Andean alloy tumbaga fits the same description, being a gold/copper alloy.

Actually, it is not known for certain what orichalcum was. In later years, "orichalcum" was used to describe the sulphide mineral chalcopyrite or brass. However, these are difficult to reconcile with the text of Critias, because he states that the metal was "only a name" by his time, while brass and chalcopyrite continued to be very important through the time of Plato until today. For that reason, other authors on the subject conclude that orichalcum is either the gold-copper alloy tumbaga, or amber, or even some aluminium alloy.

[edit] Numismatics

In numismatics, orichalcum is the golden-colored bronze alloy used for the sestertius and dupondius coins. It was considered more valuable than copper, of which the as coin was made.

[edit] Fictional references

Many references originate in Japan but have been translated to English incorrectly. If a translator does not recognize that the reference is to a word in another language and directly romanizes the Japanese instead, errors are likely because of the difficulty of representing the word in Japanese in the first place and the multiple ways it could be romanized.

[edit] In video games

In several video games, particularly in the role-playing genre, Orichalcum is a rare and valuable metal that can be worked into jewelry, weapons, and other necessary gear; examples of games employing Orichalcum in this way include:

  • Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, it is used in forging of weapons,armor, and charms
  • Star Ocean (released only in Japan) for Super Famicom
  • Star Ocean: The Second Story for PlayStation
  • Star Ocean: Till the End of Time for PlayStation 2
  • In Shadowrun for the Sega Genesis, it is mentioned that the walls of a great hero's tomb called Ellisia are made of orichalcum, a magical ore with a binding properties, that seals the fate of the final boss.
  • Shining Force III part 3 (released only in Japan) for Sega Saturn
  • In both Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II (for PlayStation 2), Orichalcum and Orichalcum+ are synthesis items found throughout the worlds. The Orichalcum+ is used to create Sora's ultimate weapon.
  • Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town for Game Boy Advance
  • In the MMORPG MapleStory, there are "Orihalcon" ores and plates, although in MapleStory, orihalcon is purple.Orichalcon is also used to upgrade weapons and armor.
  • Legend of Mana for PlayStation
  • Kirby Super Star for the Super Nintendo features "Orihalcon" as a collectible treasure, though it appears as a light blue crystal rather than the usual red, gold, or silver metal.
  • In the Final Fantasy series of games, Orichalcum (spelled numerous ways) is the name of a fairly strong knife. In some games in the series, this knife is one of the strongest weapons.
    • In Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, Orichalcum is an obtainable item used for making equipment.
  • In Final Fantasy XI (an MMORPG), Orichalcum Ore can be dug up or mined, and crafted into ingots, which are used for high level rings and other expensive gear.
  • In the Game Boy Advance game Golden Sun: The Lost Age, Orihalcon (among other materials) can be found and forged into equipment. Orihalcon is the most valuable and rarest, as it can be used to produce some of the most powerful equipment in the game, such as the Excalibur.
  • In the City Building Series PC game Master of Atlantis - Poseidon, which is an add-on to the game Master of Olympus - Zeus, a red metal called "Orichalc" is mined by the Atlanteans and used both in the construction of pyramids and to upgrade warships with a flame weapon (an apparent predecessor of Greek fire).
  • In the Age of Mythology expansion pack, The Titans, the Atlantean civilization uses a variety of "orichalkos"-based weapons. In a nod to Critias, Atlantean walls can be upgraded three times: First to bronze walls, then to iron walls, and finally to orichalkos walls.
  • In Tactics Ogre it is a special sword (called 'Oricon' in the US release due to space restrictions) which gives the player access to a powerful Holy elemental magic attack. This weapon (as Oracion) also appears in the side-story Knight of Lodis as part of the 'Divine Armaments' set.
  • In Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, the Nazis hope to use Orichalcum to create a weapon as powerful as the atom bomb, but without the radiation. This is suggested in an early cut scene where a single bead of Orichalcum gives a small machine enough power to tunnel through a thick concrete wall in seconds. Throughout the game Indy can obtain Orichalcum beads to power Atlantean artifacts.
  • In Soul Calibur II, "Orichalcum" is Sophitia's Legendary weapon. It gives a slight boost to offense as well as the ability to make extremely fast Soul Charges. In Soul Calibur III, the Orichalcum is a weapon that may be bought for her.
  • In Dragon Warrior III for the NES, the Sword of Kings, which is used to bring down the game's main boss, Zoma, is forged from a shiny metal called "Oricon."
  • In Shining Soul II for the GBA "Orihalcon" is portrayed as a quartz crystal-cluster, and is used to make Ice and Holy elemental gear at the blacksmith.
  • In Dragon Quest VIII for the PlayStation 2 Orichalcum is an item that can be mixed with various items to make powerful equipment. For instance mixing a rusty sword, slime crown and orichalcum creates a "Liquid Metal Sword"
  • In Devil May Cry 3 for the PlayStation 2 Orichalcum is an item that is often used to provide power to large pieces of machinery
  • In the PC MMORPG Ragnarok Online a material called "Oridecon" can be found from certain enemies in pure or rough form. 5 rough oridecons can be given to a refining NPC to make a whole Oridecon, which is used to upgrade lv 3 and 4 weapons, forge lv 3 weapons, craft Oridecon arrows with the archer skill, and certain NPC quests. Oridecon appears to be a blue, crystal-like substance, as seen in other games listed above.
  • In Riviera: The Promised Land, the weapons wielded by the Grim Angels, called 'Diviners', are forged out of orichalcum.
  • In City of Heroes and City of Villains, Orichalcum is salvage that you can get from defeating members of the Circle of Thorns.
  • In the Capcom fighterTech Romancer for the Dreamcast, the combat mecha G-Kaiser is constructed of a super alloy named Orihalconium.
  • In The Elder Scrolls, one of the mythical Towers that hold Nirn together is called Orichalc. Orichalc was on the continent of Yokuda, which is rumored to have been sunk into the ocean ages ago by the ancestors of the Redguards.
  • In the Super Robot Wars series, the Banpresto original mecha Cybuster's armor is made from "Orichalconium alloy".
  • In Valkyrie Profile for both the PlayStation and the PlayStation Portable , Orihalcon is used to transmute a Creation Jewel, a powerful artifact that allows the Valkyrie Lenneth to transmute powerful items. Also if the player is able to "buy" another one, they'll be able to transmute it with the gem equipped to make a Gram.
  • In Eve of Extinction, the main character's and the bosses' weapons are made of Orichalcum. Orihalcum is described as being a mystic metal that responds to emotion. The weapons are made by infusing a soul into an orihalcum base, which allows the soul to communicate with the weapon user.
  • In the PlayStation 2 game Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, Orichalcum is an ore that can be obtained by stealing from enemies. It is used in forging some of the higher-end items.
  • In the MMORPG Lineage 2, the metal Oriharukon is used in Dwarven Crafting.
  • In the PC action RPG Titan Quest, various pieces of weaponry and armor are made of orichalcum. In the structure of the game, orichalcum is implied to be a higher level substitute for bronze.
  • In MMORPG Tibia there's an item called Orichalcum Pearl wich is used to magically travel to some places.

[edit] In television and movies

  • In the Yu-Gi-Oh! animated series, the Doma/Waking the Dragons saga features Atlantis and Orichalcum. Here, the material, referred to as "the Orichalcos", is said to have rained down upon the city in fragments (like meteorites). The power of the Orichalcos was used to advance the city's technology, but they began to transform Atlantis's inhabitants into monsters. The villain of this story arc, Dartz, is corrupted by the power of the Orichalcos, bestows upon his minions fragments of the stones, and also imbues several of the series' signature playing cards with the mystical properties of the Orichalcos.
  • In the Transformers Armada animated series, when the characters visit an ancient sunken city (apparently Atlantis), the Mini-Cons - a small race of robots that had previously come into contact with the city's civilisation and were used as a power source and weapon that eventually destroyed the city - are referred to as "the Orichalcum" by a hologram of Amphitrite. (Orichalcum is unfortunately mistranslated as "Olihalicons" in the English dub.)
  • In the anime TV series Nadia of the Mysterious Seas (also known in translation as The Secret of Blue Water), the eponymous heroine wears a pendant of blue crystal (the "Blue Water" of the English title) which glows whenever danger threatens, and which is eventually revealed to be made of orichalcum. This portrayal is similar to that of Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, as the Blue Water/orichalcum is the power source for an inconceivably destructive energy weapon of Atlantean origin.
  • In Saint Seiya,the Saints, warriors of Athena, and the marinas, Poseidon's knights, wear armour made of this metal.
  • The Slayers animated series, manga, and novels have frequent references to "Orihalcon". It is described as a mineral rather than a metal. In the series, it is used to hide the kehai (magical aura) of the Philosopher's Stone. The statue in which the stone is hidden is shaped like a woman with hands clasped together in prayer (possibly a reference to the Lord of Nightmare, a god-like being.) In its pure form it is grey; when alloyed it resembles a stronger form of gold. It is considered more valuable than gold. In the film Slayers Return, there is a large golem made of it, which makes the golem immune to spell attacks.
  • In Hyper Police, Natsuki uses an "Orihalcon Dagger". In the English manga translation, this was mistransliterated back as "Oriharucon" instead.
  • In the anime TV series Black Cat the weapons used by the members of the Chronos Guardians are made of orichalcum, which is reported to be an extremely rare material stronger than steel.
  • In the anime TV series The White Whale of MU, the Atlantis continent is expelled to outer space instead of sinking in the ocean. Upon the continent's return to Earth, the Atlantis seek the lost "Orihalcon" which they consider a source of tremendous power.

[edit] In Print

  • In E. Nesbit's The Story of the Amulet a group of children obtain a magical talisman that enables them to travel to the past. On a journey to the lost land of Atlantis they take with them a young academic, who identifies the mysterious metal used by the Atlanteans as orichalcum.
  • In the manga series Spriggan and the movie, Yu Ominae uses a variety of weapons and armor made of Orichalcum (romanized inconsistently as Orihalcon and Omihalcon, though the former English translation calls it Omihalcon).
  • In the manga series Black Cat, The Chrono Numbers all use weapons made of Orichalcum. For example, Train (the main character) has a gun, called 'Hades', which is made of Orichalcum. However, it does not seem to give the weapons a distinctive reddish colour.
  • In the White Wolf role playing game Exalted, Orichalcum is one of the five magical metals that the Exalted use to make their weapons and armor. Each of the metals is associated with a different type of Exalted, with Orichalcum being used primarily by the Solar Exalted, servants of the sun-god (The Unconquered Sun, popularily referred to as Sol Invictus after the Roman deity) and most powerful of the Exalted. This version of Orichalcum is a durable golden metal.
  • In the White Wolf role playing game Mage: The Awakening, Orichalcum is another term for what the Awakened mages of the World of Darkness call "Perfected Gold". This version of Orichalcum is a durable golden metal, redder than normal gold, translucent, seeming to catch and hold the light longer than it ought to, capable of being drawn into fine wire and leaf like regular gold, but utterly chemically inert, even to the strongest acids. The Awakened (mages) manufacture Orichalcum by magically dissolving normal gold "dozens of times" into an immaterial state called Twilight, and then drawing it back into the physical world. The process of manufacturing Orichalcum thus removes impurities, apparently the true meaning of the alchemical maxim "solutio et coagula" (dissolve and coagulate), and reduces its weight and volume by a factor of 10. Orichalcum is closely related to the metals Lunargent (Perfected Silver) and Hermium (Perfected Mercury) and together can be used to forge the wonder metal Thaumium using a Matter 5 spell. Further details of this metal can be found in the Mage: the Awakening sourcebook Secrets of the Ruined Temple.
  • In the Shadowrun RPG (originally published by FASA and now by FanPro), Orichalcum is a magical metal, an unnatural alloy of mercury, gold, silver and copper, although there are rumors that it can also be created by combining unique radicals, called longlei or "dragon tears" (water), longqi or "dragon breath" (fire), longpi or "dragon skin" (earth), and longfeng or "dragon wind" (air). This alloy cannot be created without magic, and it is used extensively in the creation of magic items called "foci", which enhance a magic user's abilities in one way or another. In Shadowrun, magic occurs in on-again, off-again cycles coinciding with the long count cycles of the Mayan calendar. This is the game's explanation for why Orichalcum (and magic) appear to be absent in our modern world (the fifth long cycle of the Mayan calendar, beginning on August 11, 3114 BC and ending on December 21, 2012), yet they exist in both the world of Shadowrun, set in the future (the sixth Mayan long cycle) and in the ancient world in the time of Atlantis (represented by the RPG Earthdawn) - which, according to the game, sank on the exact last day of the fourth Mayan long cycle.
  • In the Earthdawn RPG (published by FASA), Orichalcum is a magical metal, created by combining small amounts of True Elements (True Air, True Earth, True Fire, True Water and True Wood) in a magical ritual. It is mainly used for creating magical artifacts.
  • In the Nephilim RPG by Chaosium, 'orichalka' is a mystical substance that was carried to Earth from Saturn by a rogue meteor. Because it possesses a magical field unlike any previously known on Earth, it has the effect of disrupting other magical fields, and can be fashioned into weapons which could be used to permanently kill a Nephilim. The Orichalka Men were a sect of humans who rose up against the Nephilim who ruled Atlantis, and were, along with the Selenim, the origin of most of the conspiracies that vie for control of the world today.
  • In the year 1977, fantasy author David A. Hargrave created the Orichalcum-based Gandolyn's Gates (an infamous 12th-level mage spell). Gandolyn's Gates appears in The Arduin Grimoire, Volume I, and is a tactically offensive spell intended to target a single person. A glittering, eight-sided tower of Orichalcum covers the target. On the inside of the Orichalcum tower are eight silver gates/doors. Seven lead to random hells, and the eighth opens on deep space. A glowing, golden mist fills the inside of the tower, nullifying all magic on the victim. The Orichalcum octagonal tower is 100% sealed and cannot be broken out of by less than a Phaser Rifle. The only ways out are the gates. Once the victim opens and steps through a gate, he can never return, and the tower disappears forever.
  • In the Mindmistress webcomic, there is a reference to ancient Atlantis as described by Plato and its Orichalcum and other rare materials. [1].
  • In the Advanced Gamemaster's Guide RPG sourcebook from Green Ronin Publishing, Orichalcum is one of the listed sovereign materials that can be used to make weapons and armor. It is described as being "crimson red" and is an alloy of alchemical silver, cold iron, adamantine, tin, and gold. Curiously, it is also noted as being called "blood-silver."
  • In the Immortals Handbook - EPIC BESTIARY: Volume One by Eternity Publishing, Orichalcum is a new material that can be used to forge weapons, armor, or an Orichalcum Golem. Here, Orichalcum is also called "star metal" and is described as being a superdense, red material that is left over when a white dwarf star cools.
  • In James Gurney's book Dinotopia: The World Beneath, part of the story involves Arthur Denison's earlier discovery of half of a key made from Orichalc, which he at first believes to be bronze.
  • In the manga series Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken, Dai's sword is made of Orichalcum.
  • In the comic OMFG!, the parody-version of the Black Cat Chrono agents use orihalcum weapons that have mysterious characteristics. Unlike Black Cat, though, it is not unbreakable but still harder than steel.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Nicholas F. Zhirov. Atlantis: Atlantology: Basic Problems. The Minerva Group, Inc, 2001. ISBN 0-89875-591-3
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