Chryse and Argyre (/ˈkraɪsiː/ and /ˈɑːrdʒəriː/) were a pair of legendary islands, located in the Indian Ocean and said to be made of gold (chrysos in Greek) and silver (argyros).
In Book 6, chapter 23 of his Natural History, concerning the regions near the Indus River, Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE) wrote that "Beyond the mouth of the Indus are the islands of Chryse and Argyre, abounding in metals, I believe; but as to what some persons have stated, that their soil consists of gold and silver, I am not so willing to believe that."[1]
Some five or six centuries later, in section XIV.vi.11 of his encyclopedic Etymologies, Isidore of Seville (c. 560–636) repeated much the same information: "Chryse and Argyre are islands situated in the Indian Ocean, so rich in metal that many people maintain these islands have a surface of gold and silver; whence their names are derived."[2] This was almost certainly taken—like much else in the Etymologies, as Isidore freely admitted—directly from the Natural History. Both of these Latin works, the Naturalis Historia and especially the Etymologiae, were widely read in Europe throughout the Middle Ages and this ensured the survival of the legend of the Gold and Silver Islands until the beginning of the Age of Discovery.
A modern facsimile of Martin Behaim's 1492 Erdapfel map. Chryse and Argyre are in the same map section as Cipangu (Japan) on the right, with Chryse just to the west of its southern tip, labelled Crisis and colored yellow-brown; Argyre is to the southwest of Chryse, labelled Argire and colored white. Note the absence of the Americas.
As European geographers gathered more reliable information about the Indian Ocean, the purported location of Chryse and Argyre shifted farther and farther east to the fringes of the known world. By the time Martin Behaim created his Erdapfel globe in 1492, the islands were thought to be near Japan, possibly because Marco Polo had claimed Japan itself (which he called Cipangu) to be rich in gold and silver; Behaim is known to have used both Pliny and Marco Polo as sources.[3] Another proposed location was the Kingdom of Salakanagara on Java, based on the fact that Salakanagara means "island of silver" in Sanskrit.[4]
The discovery of the Americas changed everything. European explorers in search of fabled lands of gold now sailed west for El Dorado instead of east to Cipangu. The works of Isidore of Seville fell out of fashion and the islands of Chryse and Argyre slowly faded from the popular imagination.
Ramayana Mythology
The story of the presence of gold and silver in an island called Yavadvipa can be traced back to the story of the Ramayana, written around 8-4 BC, long before Claudius Ptolemy wrote Geographike Hyphegesis. In the mythology written by Valmiki, it is told that Sugriwa sent his men to Yavadvipa to look for Sita, as can be found in Ramayana, Kanda Kishkindha, sarga 40, verses 30:[5]
yatnavanto yavadvīpam sapta rājya upaśobhitam;
suvarṇa rūpyakam dvīpam suvarṇa ākara maṇḍitam.
Translation:
you strive hard in the Yavadvipa which splendorous with seven kingdoms [islands];
that Golden-Silver islands are enwreathed with gold-mines.
The Dindorf edition of Stephanus Byzantinus (4 volumes) contains annotation from Lucas Holstenius in the second volume, Abraham Berkelius in the third volume, and Thomas de Pinedo in the fourth volume.[6] Berkellius state that Ἰαβαδίου (Iabadiou) come from the word "iaba" which means "barley". Biegman in Hikajat Tanah Hindia (The Tale of Hindia Land) argue that yava or iaba means "jali" (Melayu) or "job's tear" (in English).[7] As for the word "diu", Berkelius said that for Persians and Indians there is no one who does not know that "diu" denotes dvipa (island). So Iabadiou was a transliteration of Yavadvipa. But, as for Pinedo said "It was not easy for me to believe that gold and silver only belong to them".[6][8]
Aftermath
Schiaparelli's 1877 map matched with the actual surface of Mars as seen from orbit by Mariner 9. Chryse and Argyre are left of centre.[9]
In 1877, Chryse and Argyre were recalled to life by the astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli, who used the planetary opposition of that year to begin mapping the planet Mars. As an expert in ancient astronomy and geography, he was very familiar with classical legends and fabled lands and used them to name the features he could see through the telescope. He assumed that dark areas might be low flat "seas", as they are on the Moon, while "land" would be lighter. In particular, he noted several light patches that he took to be islands; he named the most striking circular one Hellas (for Greece) and two others Chryse and Argyre.
It was only with the observations made from Martian orbit by Mariner 9 in 1972 that it became clear that these light areas were not islands at all, but depressions carpeted with light windblown dust. Chryse is really a low flat plain, but the name has been kept and it is now known as Chryse Planitia, "Chryse Plain". Argyre (like Hellas) is, in fact, a broad impact crater and is now Argyre Planitia, "Argyre Plain", which in turn has given its name to one of the cartographic quadrangles of the Martian atlas.
References
^Pliny the Elder. Bostock, John; Riley, H.T. (eds.). "The Natural History, Book 6". Perseus Digital Library. Tufts University.
^Isidore of Seville. Barney, Stephen A.; Lewis, W.J.; Beach, J.A.; Berghof, Oliver (eds.). "The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville" (PDF). sfponline.org. Cambridge University Press. p. 294.
^. cartographic-images.net. Archived from the original (html) on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 29 Nov 2016.
^Edi S. Ekadjati (2005). Kebudayaan Sunda Zaman Pajajaran, Jilid 2. Pustaka Jaya.
^Johann Karl Eduard Buschmann to Wilhelm von Humboldt, March 28, 1833. In: Wilhelm von Humboldt: Online Edition of Linguistic Correspondence. Berlin. Version of 10/18/2021.
^Frey, Herbert (1974). "Surface Features on Mars: Ground-Based Albedo and Radar Compared With Mariner 9 Topography". Journal of Geophysical Research. 79 (26): 3907–3916. Bibcode:1974JGR....79.3907F. doi:10.1029/JB079i026p03907. hdl:2060/19740005454. S2CID 130914584.
August 20, 2023
chryse, argyre, chryse, region, mars, chryse, planitia, argyre, region, mars, argyre, planitia, ɑːr, were, pair, legendary, islands, located, indian, ocean, said, made, gold, chrysos, greek, silver, argyros, book, chapter, natural, history, concerning, regions. For the Chryse region of Mars see Chryse Planitia For the Argyre region of Mars see Argyre Planitia Chryse and Argyre ˈ k r aɪ s iː and ˈ ɑːr dʒ e r iː were a pair of legendary islands located in the Indian Ocean and said to be made of gold chrysos in Greek and silver argyros In Book 6 chapter 23 of his Natural History concerning the regions near the Indus River Pliny the Elder 23 79 CE wrote that Beyond the mouth of the Indus are the islands of Chryse and Argyre abounding in metals I believe but as to what some persons have stated that their soil consists of gold and silver I am not so willing to believe that 1 Some five or six centuries later in section XIV vi 11 of his encyclopedic Etymologies Isidore of Seville c 560 636 repeated much the same information Chryse and Argyre are islands situated in the Indian Ocean so rich in metal that many people maintain these islands have a surface of gold and silver whence their names are derived 2 This was almost certainly taken like much else in the Etymologies as Isidore freely admitted directly from the Natural History Both of these Latin works the Naturalis Historia and especially the Etymologiae were widely read in Europe throughout the Middle Ages and this ensured the survival of the legend of the Gold and Silver Islands until the beginning of the Age of Discovery A modern facsimile of Martin Behaim s 1492 Erdapfel map Chryse and Argyre are in the same map section as Cipangu Japan on the right with Chryse just to the west of its southern tip labelled Crisis and colored yellow brown Argyre is to the southwest of Chryse labelled Argire and colored white Note the absence of the Americas As European geographers gathered more reliable information about the Indian Ocean the purported location of Chryse and Argyre shifted farther and farther east to the fringes of the known world By the time Martin Behaim created his Erdapfel globe in 1492 the islands were thought to be near Japan possibly because Marco Polo had claimed Japan itself which he called Cipangu to be rich in gold and silver Behaim is known to have used both Pliny and Marco Polo as sources 3 Another proposed location was the Kingdom of Salakanagara on Java based on the fact that Salakanagara means island of silver in Sanskrit 4 The discovery of the Americas changed everything European explorers in search of fabled lands of gold now sailed west for El Dorado instead of east to Cipangu The works of Isidore of Seville fell out of fashion and the islands of Chryse and Argyre slowly faded from the popular imagination Ramayana Mythology EditThe story of the presence of gold and silver in an island called Yavadvipa can be traced back to the story of the Ramayana written around 8 4 BC long before Claudius Ptolemy wrote Geographike Hyphegesis In the mythology written by Valmiki it is told that Sugriwa sent his men to Yavadvipa to look for Sita as can be found in Ramayana Kanda Kishkindha sarga 40 verses 30 5 yatnavanto yavadvipam sapta rajya upasobhitam suvarṇa rupyakam dvipam suvarṇa akara maṇḍitam Translation you strive hard in the Yavadvipa which splendorous with seven kingdoms islands that Golden Silver islands are enwreathed with gold mines The Dindorf edition of Stephanus Byzantinus 4 volumes contains annotation from Lucas Holstenius in the second volume Abraham Berkelius in the third volume and Thomas de Pinedo in the fourth volume 6 Berkellius state that Ἰabadioy Iabadiou come from the word iaba which means barley Biegman in Hikajat Tanah Hindia The Tale of Hindia Land argue that yava or iaba means jali Melayu or job s tear in English 7 As for the word diu Berkelius said that for Persians and Indians there is no one who does not know that diu denotes dvipa island So Iabadiou was a transliteration of Yavadvipa But as for Pinedo said It was not easy for me to believe that gold and silver only belong to them 6 8 Aftermath Edit Schiaparelli s 1877 map matched with the actual surface of Mars as seen from orbit by Mariner 9 Chryse and Argyre are left of centre 9 In 1877 Chryse and Argyre were recalled to life by the astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli who used the planetary opposition of that year to begin mapping the planet Mars As an expert in ancient astronomy and geography he was very familiar with classical legends and fabled lands and used them to name the features he could see through the telescope He assumed that dark areas might be low flat seas as they are on the Moon while land would be lighter In particular he noted several light patches that he took to be islands he named the most striking circular one Hellas for Greece and two others Chryse and Argyre It was only with the observations made from Martian orbit by Mariner 9 in 1972 that it became clear that these light areas were not islands at all but depressions carpeted with light windblown dust Chryse is really a low flat plain but the name has been kept and it is now known as Chryse Planitia Chryse Plain Argyre like Hellas is in fact a broad impact crater and is now Argyre Planitia Argyre Plain which in turn has given its name to one of the cartographic quadrangles of the Martian atlas References Edit Pliny the Elder Bostock John Riley H T eds The Natural History Book 6 Perseus Digital Library Tufts University Isidore of Seville Barney Stephen A Lewis W J Beach J A Berghof Oliver eds The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville PDF sfponline org Cambridge University Press p 294 The Behaim Globe cartographic images net Archived from the original html on 3 January 2017 Retrieved 29 Nov 2016 Edi S Ekadjati 2005 Kebudayaan Sunda Zaman Pajajaran Jilid 2 Pustaka Jaya Valmiki Ramayana Kishkindha Kanda Sarga 40 www valmikiramayan net Retrieved 2022 12 16 a b Stephanus Byzantinus 1825 Stephanus Byzantinus in Latin Kuehn G J F Biegman Hikajat Tanah Hindia Johann Karl Eduard Buschmann to Wilhelm von Humboldt March 28 1833 In Wilhelm von Humboldt Online Edition of Linguistic Correspondence Berlin Version of 10 18 2021 Frey Herbert 1974 Surface Features on Mars Ground Based Albedo and Radar Compared With Mariner 9 Topography Journal of Geophysical Research 79 26 3907 3916 Bibcode 1974JGR 79 3907F doi 10 1029 JB079i026p03907 hdl 2060 19740005454 S2CID 130914584 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chryse and Argyre amp oldid 1136326966, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
