Amber: Did You Know?
For many years, there was no certainty about the genesis of amber. There were a number of hypotheses. The Ancient Greeks believed in the Myth of Phaeton, son of Helios. Once upon a time Phaeton stole his father's Sunny Chariot and rode into the sky. Unfortunately he lost control of the vehicle. The chariot fell down and burned the land of Africa (Sahara) and its people. That made Zeus furious. Phaeton was killed by Zeus’s thunder and fell into the river Eridan. His sisters, Heliadas, found his body. They cried so much after his death that infuriated Zeus changed them into trees. Today their petrified tears are referred to as amber.
We also know a Polish version of this legend. Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess called Jurata. She used to live in a marvelous palace made of amber. But she was very lonely and unhappy. One day she met a poor but handsome fisherman. They fell in love with each other.
But when the mighty King of the Seas uncovered their affection, he was furious. He flung a thunder and killed the fisherman. Then he killed the princess and destroyed the palace, whose tiny pieces fell into the bottom of the sea. During storms, the Baltic Sea ejects pieces of amber onto the beach to remind us of the great love of that couple and the unrestrained power of the King of the Seas.
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The world's biggest amber stone - retinite - is called Burma Amber. It belongs to The British Museum in London. It weighs 33 pounds. The biggest Baltic succinite was discovered in Kamieñ Pomorski in 1860. It weights 21,5 pounds.
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In Ancient Greece amber was used as incense. It is believed that amber smokes relax the body, refresh mind, make the immune system stronger and change the ion structure of air.
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The Ancient Greeks discovered that if you rub amber with a cloth (wool), it attracts paper, grass or feathers. The phenomenon was considered magic at that time. They called amber - "the holy stone". Tales of Millet pronounced that amber had its own soul.
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The word "electricity" comes from Greek "electron" - amber. Electron means - flashing and glittering. Scientists call amber "succinite", which came from Greek - tree sap or resin.
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The Ancient Romans called amber lyncurium, which means lynx’s urine. The Egyptian term for amber was - sokal, Arabic - anbar, which came from its characteristic aroma. The name anbar originates from ambra - Arabic beloved fragrance. They believed that amber (and ambra) came from the bottom of the sea.
Germans call amber - bernstein, which originated from brennender Stein - the burning stone. Probably the Slavic term for amber - jantar is a version of Phoenician jain-tar - sea resin. Lithuanian gin taras means talisman.
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Specialists priced the legendary Amber Room at 50 Million $.
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Slavs used to believe that amber (especially inclusions) brought luck.
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Amber was used to test virginity. A dubious girl had to drink amber brew. It was believed that a girl who had lost her virginity would urinate immediately after drinking the liquid.
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If the first gift from a man to a woman is made of amber, it means they will marry soon.
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In the XVII century, the Slavs used to say about the dead, “they went to mine the amber”.
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Roman gladiators used to wear amber talismans with an inscription “I will win”.
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The Ancient Romans used amber to make artificial musk.
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Poles used amber as a medicament. Black amber was particularly valuable because it was supposed to drive off the devil, protect from black magic and snakes. It was also used to curse enemies.
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In the XIX century people still believed that amber could be used as a cure for rheumatism, heat, hysteria or spasms. Benet, an English doctor, prescribed amber for tuberculosis.
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German scientists managed to produce synthetic amber. It was marvelous, but quickly lost its color. Moreover, it was easy to identify, because it was heavier and sank in salty water.
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The citizens of Gdañsk donated an amber crown to Jan III Sobieski a Polish king. Krzysztof Macher, who was never accepted by the Amber Guild, was probably its creator.
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The Amber Altar
It was in February, 2000 that Dariusz Drabikowski and Prelate Henryk Jankowski decided to build the Amber Alter. According to project, the Altar will be made of 5500 pounds of raw material.
The altar will be 12 yards high and almost 7 yards wide. The central part of the triptych will include a picture of the Holy Virgin. The Amber Altar will be a memorial to the laborers who died in Gdañsk in December 1970.
