Orichalcum: Origins and History
Introduction
Orichalcum is a legendary metal from antiquity, famously linked to the myth of Atlantis and long shrouded in mystery. Ancient writers described it as a gleaming, golden-colored metal second only to gold in value. The very name derives from Greek oreikhalkos meaning “mountain copper”, hinting at its coppery nature. For centuries its reality was uncertain – some thought it merely a myth – but modern discoveries have shed light on the truth. In 2015, divers off the coast of Sicily found dozens of metal ingots believed to be orichalcum, and scientific analysis revealed them to be a copper–zinc alloy similar to brass. This find helped confirm that orichalcum was a real historical material, albeit one elevated by legend.
Mythological Origins: Plato’s Atlantis
The earliest and most prominent mythological account of orichalcum comes from Plato’s dialogues, specifically the tale of Atlantis in the Critias. In Plato’s story, Atlantis was rich in natural resources – including orichalcum, “which is now only a name, but was then something more than a name,” considered more precious than anything except gold. The Atlanteans mined orichalcum from their island and used it to spectacular effect. Plato describes how the entire Temple of Poseidon on Atlantis “flashed with the red light of orichalcum,” with its walls, pillars, and floors sheathed in the metal. Even a great pillar inside the temple, upon which the laws of Poseidon were inscribed, was made of solid orichalcum. Such details lent orichalcum an almost otherworldly status in the dialogue – a shining red-gold metal reserved for divine monuments. By Critias’ own time (circa 4th century BCE), however, Plato notes that orichalcum had become “known only by name,” implying it was no longer obtainable in the Greek world.
In later myths, orichalcum’s mystique persisted. Some traditions even credited the discovery or invention of orichalcum to ancient culture heroes. For example, one legend claimed the Phoenician hero Cadmus (famed for bringing the alphabet to Greece) had created orichalcum in prehistoric times. Whether in Plato’s utopian allegory or subsequent folklore, orichalcum was firmly placed in the realm of fable – the glittering Atlantean metal that embodied the lost grandeur of a vanished civilization.
Ancient References and Uses in Greek and Roman Sources
Outside of the Atlantis story, orichalcum is indeed mentioned by several Greek and Roman writers, showing that it was part of the classical world’s vocabulary. One of the earliest references appears in a 7th-century BCE Homeric Hymn. The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite describes the goddess Aphrodite’s earrings as “flowers of copper from the mountains and precious gold”, which scholars interpret as a poetic allusion to orichalcum alongside gold. Likewise, the poet Hesiod (circa 700 BCE) was said to speak highly of orichalcum, indicating the metal’s reputed value was recognized in early Greek literature.
Roman authors also made notable mentions of orichalcum. Cicero in the 1st century BCE wrote that orichalcum so closely resembled gold that people often confused the two, though orichalcum was far less valuable. In fact, an anecdote relates that Julius Caesar once pillaged 3,000 pounds of gold from Rome’s Capitol then deceitfully replaced it with orichalcum-coated bronze as a substitute. The Roman poet Virgil adds a literary flair in the Aeneid, describing the armor of the hero Turnus as “stiff with gold and white orichalcum” – suggesting orichalcum was envisioned as a shining, whitish-gold alloy suitable for royal armor.
Natural historians tried to explain orichalcum as well. Pliny the Elder (1st century CE) noted that orichalcum had largely disappeared in his time, supposedly because the known mines of it were exhausted. He attempted to describe its manufacture, writing that orichalcum was produced by smelting copper with a peculiar earth known as cadmia (oxide of zinc). This is a remarkably accurate description of brass-making by cementation, even if Pliny did not fully grasp the chemistry (he believed the copper somehow “absorbed” the cadmia to form the new metal). A pseudo-Aristotelian text similarly described a type of “very shiny and white” copper produced not by tinning (as in bronze) but by fusing copper with a special earth – again likely a reference to creating orichalcum with zinc ores. These accounts show that learned observers in antiquity knew orichalcum was an artificial alloy, even if they considered its recipe esoteric.
Aside from textual references, the Romans actually used the term orichalcum in practice – especially in coinage. Beginning around the late Republic, the Romans minted certain coins from an alloy they called aurichalcum (the Latin form of orichalcum). According to numismatic evidence, by 45 BCE the Romans were striking high-value base-metal coins (such as the sestertius and dupondius) in a bright golden-colored brass identified as orichalcum. Under Emperor Augustus’s monetary reforms, orichalcum became the standard metal for these denomination coins, distinguished from lower-value copper coins. Emperor Nero (54–68 CE) even expanded orichalcum coinage to smaller denominations (the semis, as, and others). Contemporary writers remarked that orichalcum coins were prized for their appearance – “similar in color to gold but of much lower value,” as Cicero noted. Orichalcum coinage was tightly controlled by the state (a virtual monopoly on its production), and by the late 2nd century CE the alloy’s use in coins waned (gradually replaced by bronze as zinc supplies dwindled). Nevertheless, many Roman brass coins have survived with their golden sheen intact, tangible proof that orichalcum was not just a mythical substance but a working metallurgical reality.
What Was Orichalcum? Theories and Metallurgical Identity
Given the lore surrounding orichalcum, a natural question is: what exactly was this metal? Ancient sources were not in full agreement. Some Greek writers vaguely suggested it was an alloy of gold and copper, or perhaps a particular copper ore or mineral with a brilliant luster. Others simply classed it among the noble metals – for instance, one theory held that orichalcum might be a form of platinum, since Plato said it was mined (platinum being a rare precious metal that remains in native deposits). However, no ancient authority could give a definitive recipe, and by Roman times the word orichalcum was also being applied to different materials – from the yellow copper-sulfide ore chalcopyrite to the zinc-rich brass alloy used in coins.
Modern analysis and archaeological evidence have largely solved the mystery. All indications point to orichalcum being essentially a type of brass – that is, an alloy of copper and zinc. The chemical composition of known Roman orichalcum coins, for example, is typically around 70–80% copper with 20–30% zinc. In 2019, metallurgical researchers using electron microscopy confirmed that certain Augustan-era and Neronic coins contained up to ~30% zinc (with the rest copper), consistent with the brass definition. Trace elements like nickel, lead, and tin are also often present, reflecting the impurities of ancient smelting processes. This matches Pliny’s account of mixing copper with cadmia (zinc oxide) to make a golden alloy – in essence, the Romans were manufacturing brass without knowing zinc as a separate metal (zinc vapor from the ore would infuse into the copper).
It’s worth noting that brass in the ancient world had a somewhat mystical status because its production was less straightforward than bronze. The Greeks and early Romans may have first encountered orichalcum/brass as an imported product or accidental byproduct of smelting certain ores. As one historian put it, “the Greeks may not have known how orichalcum was made – they might even have had an imitation of the original”. Over time they learned to produce it, but the secrecy or rarity of the process gave orichalcum a legendary aura. Earle R. Caley, a modern chemist-historian, noted that “orichalcum” should really be understood not as a single formula but a class of copper-zinc alloys with a gold-like appearance; Roman brass had variable zinc content (often lower than modern brasses), so using a special term like orichalcum is convenient to denote this ancient alloy class. In short, orichalcum was real, but it was not a mysterious new element – it was an early form of brass that happened to captivate the imagination.
Other identifications have been proposed over the years but are less supported. For instance, some have likened orichalcum to electrum (the natural gold–silver alloy) because of its shiny yellow color. However, electrum contains no copper and was well known in its own right (used in early coins of Lydia), so it is unlikely to be what Plato intended. The name aurichalcum in Latin literally means “gold-copper,” which accurately reflects brass (a copper alloy that looks like gold). A few modern theorists once speculated that orichalcum could have been an exotic alloy of copper with gold or other precious metals – for example, a mix of gold, copper, and silver similar to the legendary Corinthian bronze – but no direct evidence for significant gold in orichalcum has emerged. In fact, analyses of purported orichalcum ingots and objects consistently show predominantly copper and zinc with only minute traces of precious metals. Thus, the consensus is that orichalcum’s “mystery metal” reputation came not from being a precious element, but from being a brilliant industrial alloy that ancient people semi-accidentally invented and then mythologized.
Archaeological Evidence: Orichalcum Ingots Rediscovered
For a long time, orichalcum was known only through ancient texts and coinage, with no raw samples of the metal identified. That changed in the 21st century with dramatic archaeological finds. Orichalcum ingots recovered from a 6th-century BCE shipwreck near Gela, Sicily. These cast metal bars were part of a cargo that sank ~2,600 years ago. X-ray fluorescence analysis showed the ingots consist of about 75–80% copper and 15–20% zinc, with small amounts of nickel, lead, and iron. This composition confirms them as a form of brass, matching ancient descriptions of orichalcum. In 2015, divers exploring a wreck off Gela (southwestern Sicily) brought up 39 ragged, reddish-gold ingots from the seabed. The wreck (dated to the early 5th or 6th century BCE) yielded an unprecedented cache of this metal. A year later, in 2016, a second nearby recovery brought the total to 86 ingots of orichalcum found at the site. The ingots are rectangular lumps that still show a bright brassy sheen on their surfaces. They were likely destined for ancient workshops in Sicily or mainland Italy – evidence that Mediterranean traders were transporting orichalcum as a commodity by the 6th century BCE.
These Sicilian ingots provided the first archaeological confirmation of orichalcum’s makeup. Using XRF and other spectrometry techniques, scientists identified the alloy as primarily copper and zinc, with the aforementioned trace elements. In one batch the zinc content was ~15–20%, and in another it ranged up to 25%, consistent with the variability known in ancient brass. Notably, the ingots contain a bit of nickel and lead – elements often present in ore-derived copper – but only traces of silver or other precious metals. This dispelled any notion that they might be electrum or a gold-containing alloy; they are unequivocally brass. The find at Gela suggests that by the time of the shipwreck, people around the Mediterranean had a developed orichalcum industry. Sebastiano Tusa, the late Sicilian archaeologist who oversaw the recovery, remarked that while orichalcum was known from ancient writings and a few small ornaments, “the discovery of these ingots is unprecedented” – it provides invaluable insight into ancient trade and metallurgy. Today, some of the ingots are on display at the regional Archaeological Museum in Gela, bringing a legendary material out of myth and into the light of history.
Orichalcum in Modern Culture and Fiction
Given its intriguing blend of history and myth, orichalcum has captured the modern imagination and found new life in fiction. Writers of fantasy, science fiction, and steampunk have adopted orichalcum as a exotic material, often imbuing it with magical or super-scientific properties. In many role-playing games and novels, for example, orichalcum is portrayed as a rare metal of great power – akin to how mithril or adamantite are used. The DC Comics universe incorporates orichalcum into its lore of Atlantis: in DC stories, orichalcum is depicted as a “fabled mineral with magical properties,” created by ancient Atlantean alchemists and used to trap sorcerers. This echoes Plato’s tale, extending the idea of orichalcum as a secret Atlantean super-metal. Likewise, the popular video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim features Orichalcum Ore as a minable resource – players can smelt it into orichalcum ingots to forge Orcish armor and weapons. The game’s lore thus ties orichalcum to the strength of the warrior Orcs, a creative repurposing of the metal’s legendary status.
In steampunk and alternate-history fiction, authors sometimes imagine orichalcum as a special alloy that revolutionizes technology. Since steampunk settings exalt Victorian-era brass machinery, orichalcum is a perfect fit – a kind of super-brass. Fans have speculated about orichalcum being a “copper super alloy that far surpasses steel,” perhaps used to build fantastical airships or advanced clockwork devices in an alternate 19th century. This shows how orichalcum’s mystique as a nearly magical metal persists into the modern age, allowing storytellers to invoke its Atlantean pedigree for creative world-building. From appearing as an alchemical fuel in the Indiana Jones game Fate of Atlantis (where orichalcum beads power ancient devices), to being referenced in Japanese anime and fantasy novels, the metal continues to inspire. In all these cases, orichalcum is used as a shorthand for mystery and power – a substance that is at once real and imagined, historical and fantastical.
Comparisons to Other Materials and Myths
The story of orichalcum invites comparison to other famed materials in both history and mythology. One obvious parallel is Corinthian bronze, another highly valued ancient alloy. According to legend, Corinthian bronze was created when the city of Corinth was burned in 146 BCE, melting together gold, silver, and copper into a miraculous new metal. It was said to shine like gold and never tarnish, and Roman writers like Plutarch and Cicero praised its beauty. Yet, much like orichalcum, the exact nature of Corinthian bronze was long a mystery – no confirmed samples survive, and later generations could only speculate about its composition. In reality, Corinthian bronze was probably a brass or bronze alloy with a bit of precious metal content, but it attained a legendary aura. Orichalcum and Corinthian bronze thus share the pattern of being real alloys that became mythic: each was an ancient “wonder metal” that people believed had almost magical quality (the one emerging from Atlantis, the other from a city’s fiery destruction). Both demonstrate how ancient societies ascribed special status to shiny copper alloys, in an era when metallurgy still held an element of mystique.
Orichalcum also stands in contrast to purely mythical substances. For example, in J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy, mithril is a precious silvery metal mined by dwarves, and adamantine (or adamant) in Greek myth was an unbreakable metal of the gods – these were entirely fictional or symbolic materials. Orichalcum, by contrast, likely did exist in the hands of ancient craftsmen, even if its memory was later embellished. In terms of real-world chemistry, orichalcum can be likened to a high-zinc form of bronze or brass. It was essentially the “golden bronze” of the ancient world, analogous to what we today call gilt brass. In fact, some scholars note that many so-called bronze artifacts from antiquity with a yellow shine may have actually been orichalcum (brass), deliberately produced for visual effect. The key difference is that whereas gold and silver were elemental and rarer, orichalcum could be made from common metals – yet its striking appearance gave it an allure out of proportion to its cost.
In modern times, we understand that orichalcum was not an “extinct” metal but rather a common alloy (copper and zinc) used in uncommon ways. Its legacy, however, lives on in the interplay of fact and fiction. Just as Atlantis remains a symbol of a lost advanced civilization, orichalcum remains symbolic of ancient technological marvels – a reminder that what was once cutting-edge metallurgy could, with the patina of time, become the stuff of legend. In the end, orichalcum occupies a unique place in cultural history: it is real enough to be analyzed in a lab yet mythic enough to adorn the temples of gods in Plato’s story. This duality has ensured that orichalcum continues to fascinate historians, archaeologists, and storytellers alike – a shiny red-gold thread woven through the tapestries of both reality and myth.
References
Plato. Critias, paragraph 13 – The Atlantis narrative describing the abundance of orichalcum.
Plato. Critias, paragraphs 116–119 – Description of Atlantis’ Temple of Poseidon adorned in gold, silver, and orichalcum.
Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite (7th c. BCE) – Earliest reference to orichalcum as “mountain copper,” in Aphrodite’s earrings.
Cicero, De Officiis – Remarks on orichalcum’s resemblance to gold and lower value; anecdote of Julius Caesar swapping gold with orichalcum.
Virgil, Aeneid XII – Describes Turnus’s breastplate “stiff with gold and white orichalcum,” highlighting the metal’s lustre.
Pliny the Elder, Natural History (Book 34) – Notes orichalcum’s loss of currency due to exhausted mines; describes making orichalcum by smelting copper with cadmia (zinc oxide).
Pseudo-Aristotle, De Mirabilibus Auscultationibus 62 – Describes a shiny white copper made by fusing copper with a special earth (likely zinc ore), an ancient reference to orichalcum.
Di Fazio, M. et al. (2019). “Microstructure and chemical composition of Roman orichalcum coins…” in Scientific Reports 9, 12668 – Modern study using SEM showing Roman orichalcum coins contained up to ~30% zinc (a brass alloy).
Caley, E.R. (1964). Orichalcum and Related Ancient Alloys – Historical analysis concluding orichalcum refers to a class of copper–zinc alloys (ancient brass) with lower zinc content than modern brass.
Tusa, S. (2015). Archaeology Magazine News – Report on the Sicilian shipwreck find of 39 orichalcum ingots (6th-century BC), analyzed as ~75–80% Cu and 15–20% Zn with trace metals.
Caponetti, E. et al. (2021). “Newly discovered orichalcum ingots from the Mediterranean Sea: Further investigation” in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 37 – Analysis of 2015–2017 Gela ingots confirming brass composition: 65–80% Cu, 15–25% Zn, plus Pb, Ni, Ag, etc..
World History Encyclopedia – “Orichalcum” (L. Miate, 2023): Overview of orichalcum’s history, usage in coins (first minted 45 BCE; Nero’s issues; decline by 2nd c.), and manufacturing via cementation with cadmia.
All That’s Interesting – “What Is Orichalcum? History of the Mysterious Metal…” (A. Morgan, 2025): Summary of ancient accounts (Plato, Hesiod, Homeric hymn), Cicero’s and Virgil’s mentions, and the Sicily ingots discovery confirming orichalcum as brass.
IFL Science – “Orichalcum: Ancient Writers Spoke of a Mysterious Metal…” (T. Hale, 2023): Highlights Plato’s Atlantis description (“more precious than anything except gold” and temple walls of orichalcum) and recent scientific findings (2015 ingots and 2019 coin study) identifying orichalcum as copper–zinc alloy.
Historic Mysteries – “Orichalcum: Mystery Metal of the Ancients” (J. Leonard, 2022): Discusses ancient uses (Roman coins from Augustus to Nero), Pliny’s explanation of mixing copper and cadmea, and later myths (Homeric hymn, Virgil, Plato) surrounding orichalcum.
Greek City Times – “Ancient Greek Shipwreck in Sicily Yields Rare ‘Atlantis Metal’ Orichalcum” (B. Giannopoulos, 2025): News on the Gela II wreck salvage – 86 ingots of orichalcum found (2015 & 2017), composition ~75–80% Cu, 14–20% Zn, confirming it as the fabled Atlantis metal.
Corinthian Bronze – Historic Mysteries (J. Green, 2024): Contextual comparison describing Corinthian bronze’s legendary creation from melted gold, silver, copper, its bright untarnishing quality, and noting that like orichalcum, its precise makeup remained a mystery with no surviving samples.
DC Comics Database – “Orichalcum”: Describes orichalcum in DC lore as an Atlantean magical metal with various uses (e.g. trapping sorcerers), illustrating its modern fantasy portrayal.
Elder Scrolls Wiki – “Orichalcum Ore (Skyrim)”: Notes that orichalcum appears in the game as a minable ore and smithing material for Orcish gear, reflecting the term’s adoption into modern fantasy gaming.
Reddit r/Worldbuilding – Discussion on steampunk materials: Suggests using orichalcum as a super-alloy in a steampunk setting (a copper-based metal stronger than steel), exemplifying creative speculation on its properties in fiction.
