![]() Huge chunks of it are available these days, particularly if you’re a collector of crystals instead of cut gemstones. Then the massive deposits underneath Brazil were discovered, dropping the bottom out of the high-end market for amethyst. Small deposits are often found, but deep-colored amethyst is still a rarity. A faraway land in the days before modern travel. In Europe, the majority of high-quality amethyst came from Siberia. The stones thus found their way into royal trappings like crowns, in addition to being set in gold for fine jewelry. Deposits of even mid-quality amethyst are hard to find in most places, just ask anyone who’s ever gone digging for them. While it might seem strange to the current market, amethyst was classically considered the equal of gems like ruby, sapphire, and emerald. ![]() This myth emerged in France during the mid-1500s and wasn’t a part of the classical Greek canon. Then, with either tears or wine, the stone is turned purple by the God of Wine. In general, the myths have Bacchus or Dionysus chasing a reluctant maiden named Amethystos before she is turned into crystal by Artemis to escape his affections. Now the myths about amethyst’s origins are from a later period, there are only a couple of small references to it in the classical Greek mythological texts. Amethyst can be translated as “not drunk.” The roots a- (meaning not) and methystos (drunk or intoxicated) make that the literal translation of the words. This might sound like a minor historical footnote, but it’s actually a bit more than that. It’s also acknowledged by Pliny the Elder to be a myth, just proving that the more humans change… the more they remain the same. Wine glasses were carved from the material and some old magician’s manuals describe placing it in a drink to ward off drunkenness. The Greeks thought that amethyst was a handy remedy for drunkenness. While the metaphysical properties of most gemstones are modern innovations, amethyst’s main purported magical quality is truly ancient.
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