Talk:Orichalcum

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There's a reference (in the line about the series Slayers under "In television and movies") to a "god-like diety". If nobody can explain to me how this isn't redundant, I'm going to change it in a few days. I'll also fix the period hidden in the quotes there, which I wish I'd noticed before making my other update. --Suttkus 12:57, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

An alternative way of understanding the word, "oreichalkos" (or orichalcum), would be to assume that it came from Greek word "orao" (meaning to see or look... to let oneself be seen, appear), "chalkos" (meaning copper... bronze). Put together they could mean: "seeing-copper", "looking-copper", or "transparent copper". Transparent means "through-appearing" but it is not the transparent thing that "appears": the transparent thing allows another object to be seen through it. Oreichalkos—"seeing copper" or "looking copper"—could be used to fuse to other substances that allowed people to look into objects or through them. It is possible that if energy is passed through it; it could give the desired effect of flashing red. [1] [2]

The following was deleted by someone: "The fourth-century Imperial Roman sceptres discovered by Clementina Panella's team, hidden in a wooden box on the lower slope of the Palatine Hill in Rome, have hand-holds of orichalcum, according to early reports." An irresponsible deletion, or is there something in this that escapes me? --Wetman 07:33, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

If it's a bit of a rum statement. If, as the article makes clear, nobody knows what orichalcum is, how can anyone claim a certain find is made of it? --Suttkus 04:22, 24 August 2006 (UTC)
Ah, yes: perhaps Clementina Panella's team don't know what they're talking about. That certainly does seem to have motivated the deletion. --Wetman 05:48, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Orichalc in the Bible

I just noticed that orichalc is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments, in the Vulgate Bible, translated circa A.D. 400. This could be useful to someone who is researching the history of orichalc. For example, you could look up the corresponding verses in Hebrew, and then you would know which Hebrew word was believed by 4th- or 5th-century Christian scholars to have had the same meaning as orichalc.

Vulgate verse numbers:
III Rg. vii. 45, Sir. xlvii. 20, Apc. i. 15, ii. 18

Corresponding King James verse numbers:
1 Kgs. 7:45, Sir. 47:18, Rev. 1:15, 2:18

The verse in Sirach is interesting, because it seems to presuppose that the reader will immediately recognize orichalc as the name of a metal which is not particularly scarce or valuable. The logic seems to be that orichalc is related to gold in the same way that lead is related to silver: i.e. a cheap common metal with an approximately similar color.

-- Evil-mer0dach 12:51, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] the sharpest metal ever been in mithologies

i've been told by a friend that this(orichalcum) is the sharpest metal . . what do you think the sharpest metal is? some says there is no measurement of sharpness in metal, they say it all depends on how HARD is the metal . . uhmm. . it's so confusing really. . Jcupu (talk) 13:37, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Other cultures?

In various places--one an older version of the Wikipedia article on Korean mythology--I've come across references to similar "lost red metals" in Asian cultures. Supposedly the Korean one was called "Yugi", but one would like to know the hanja for that. The Japanese equivalent was used as the name of one of Yoshimitsu's swords in "Soul Calibur 2"--which I don't have.

I think it would behoove this article to mention, briefly, that other cultures have similar legends, if better sources than video games can be found for their names. Nagakura shin8 (talk) 07:46, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

Okay, I found it (by borrowing SC2 from my sister!)--the Japanese metal was called hihiirokane or hihiirogane, which I'm guessing is written 日色金, meaning "sun-colored metal" (bronze? copper?). Unfortunately the only references to it that I can find are from the Koshikoden, which is, I believe, apocryphal. Nagakura shin8 (talk) 05:41, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Mormonism?

This line: "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."" bothers me slightly. If they were never claimed to be made of orichalcum, why is this in here? I've deleted the line.

If the line is re-added, I think it should at least be re-written to emphasise the fact that the plates have never been demonstrated to exist in anything other than Joseph Smith's fantasy. His brother, who would have a definite bias, cannot be relied upon as a neutral and objective source. Therefore, the source cited for this information should be someone other than Smith, his family or anyone from the LDS leadership of the time. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.67.93.133 (talk) 07:11, 15 March 2008 (UTC)