Defeating Death: The Ancient Quest for Eternal Life through Artifacts, Divine Foods and Elixirs
The very earliest written histories reveal that humanity has had the universal desire to live forever, and has sought countless ways in which to defeat the utterly relentless inevitabilities of time and mortality.
Whether bestowed by deities, attained through acts of extreme good, conjured through magical objects or potions, received as a form of punishment, or acquired through a mishap of science, tales of eternal human life exist in numerous legends, myths, religions, ancient historical texts, and they even present themselves in the modern era through life-extension and cryogenic sciences.
The most ancient writings, such as the 4000-year-old Sumerian King’s List, speak of Kings who ruled for tens of thousands of years. Biblical stories tell of people living hundreds of years at least. Cultures from around the globe refer to individuals who beat death and gained immortality. How did they do it?
References to immortality can be traced back thousands of years, and each culture has its own legends and lessons as to how to acquire it. Many found eternal life through magical artifacts, mystical foods or potent elixirs.
Magical Artifacts that Grant Eternal Life
“The Alchymist, in Search of the Philosopher's Stone” by Joseph Wright of Derby, 1771. (Public Domain)
The Philosopher’s Stone, a legendary substance long sought-after by masters of Western alchemy, was said to be used in rejuvenation, and even in achieving immortality. Not only that, but it was thought to be capable of turning metals like lead and mercury into gold or silver, and common crystals into diamonds.
It was felt the red stone turned items into gold, and the white, into silver.
Philosopher Stone: Prop as made for the film “Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone”. (CC BY 2.0)
