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Peridot Etymology: The True Identity Of The Topazion

As discussed in the previous part of this series on Peridot’s etymology, the Septuagint’s translation of the ’Pitdah’ of the First Temple’s breastplate being the gem ‘Topazion’ was probably mistaken. However, the question remains as to the identity of the green ‘Topazion’ gem as seen by Josephus in 90A.D., in the Second Temple’s version of the breastplate. Pliny, author of the world’s first encyclopedia and living at the same time as Josephus, gives us a detailed account of ‘Topazion,’ its origins and its time of discovery.

Pliny, author of the world’s first encyclopedia Natural History, expounds on the origins of ‘Topazion’ in this passage: “Philon, the king's prefect, was the first to bring these stones from this island; that, on his presenting them to Queen Berenice, the mother of the second Ptolemæus, she was wonderfully pleased with them; and that, at a later period, a statue, four cubits in height, was made of this stone, in honour of Arsinoë, the wife of Ptolemæus Philadelphus, it being consecrated in the temple known as the "Golden Temple." Pliny states that the green 'Topazion’ was first discovered under the reign of Queen Berenice. Berenice was the mother of Ptolemy II and wife of Ptolemy I Soter, the first Greek pharaoh of Hellenistic Egypt and once a Macedonian general in Alexander the Great’s army.

Pliny's statement denotes the discovery of ‘Topazion’ coinciding at the time Ptolemy II, and also with his request for the Septuagint’s translation of the Hebrew Bible for the library of Alexandria, the documents which would later become the basis of the Christian Old Testament. So with the discovery taking place at the time of the Septuagint’s translation in 300B.C., we can assume that ‘Topazion’ couldn’t have been the ‘Pitdah’ gemstone known to Aaron and the Hebrew slaves of the Exodus in 1444 B.C. Concluding that the Septuagint’s translation and identification of ‘Pitdah’ was erroneous, as well as all the subsequent versions related to it, the question remains as to the correct identification of the green ‘Topazion’ brought back from Pliny’s island.

The identity behind the green ‘Topazion’ in the ‘Second Temple’s’ version of the breastplate is of course our Peridot. Peridot received its ‘Topazion’ alias at the start of the Hellenistic period in ancient Egypt circa 300B.C. Some 400 years later, in the first century A.D Pliny wrote: “Juba says that there is an island in the Red Sea called ‘Topazion,’ at a distance of three hundred stadia from the main land; that it is surrounded by fogs, and is often sought by navigators in consequence; and that, owing to this, it received its present name, the word ‘Topazion’ meaning ‘To seek’.” Today, Pliny’s island of ‘Topazion’ is known as Zabargad meaning Peridot in Egyptian Arabic. Zabargad is the largest of a group of islands in Foul Bay off the southeastern coast of Egypt in the Red Sea.

The island, now a popular destination for reef diving, got its ‘Topazion’ name from its inaccessibility. Indeed, the fog-entwined island must have been truly perilous to ancient mariners: For if they wrecked, managing not to drown in the tumultuous currents between the coral reefs, they then had to swim through swarms of sharks that teamed in the waters. If that wasn’t enough, once ashore they then had to circumnavigate the millions of pit vipers, as prior to Pliny’s time the island was called the ‘Serpent Isle.’ These tasks completed the shipwrecked mariners would then have to avoid Ptolemy II’s royal soldiers posted on ‘Topazion’ with strict orders to kill, or put to work any uninvited visitors in the mines for the rest of their lives.

The captured slaves were forced to dig for the green ‘Topazion’ gems, which were then delivered to, and cut by the royal gem cutters. Mining was done by day, but also by night, as it was apparently difficult to distinguish the lustrous green gems by daylight. The workers would go out at dusk, mark the location of the gemstones, and return the next day to work the area. It is perhaps from this nocturnal brilliance that came scintillating ‘Topazion’s’ pseudonym: ‘The Evening Emerald.’

Pliny describes the green ‘Topazion’ further: “Topazion is the largest of all the precious stones, and is the only one among those of high value that yields to the action of the file, the rest being polished by the aid of stone of Naxos. It admits, too, of being worn by use.” This statement, even if Pliny did have the reputation as an embellisher, gives almost irrefutable proof that Pliny’s ‘Topazion’ is our Peridot. Today, it is quite easy to find transparent green Peridot in sizes above 10 Carats; some Peridots have even been found in sizes over 300 Carats.

Pliny also mentions the softness of ‘Topazion,’ stating that “… yields to the action of the file, the rest being polished by the aid of stone of Naxos.’ The stone of Naxos is what we refer to today as emery, derived at Pliny’s time from corundum stones on the Greek Island of Naxos in the Aegean Sea. Corundum is the base mineral of Ruby and Sapphire and possesses a hardness of 9 out of 10 on the Moh’s hardness scale. Therefore, the ‘Topazion’ of Pliny must have been softer, he also states, “It admits, too, of being worn by use.” This would make ‘Topazion’ considerably softer than most gems, and Peridot possessing a hardness of 6.5 on the Moh’s scale, between soft microline and quartz, fits the description. If all this corroborative evidence wasn’t enough to identify Peridot as the ancient ‘Topazion’ gemstone, there still remains one last piece in the puzzle.

Peridot is a transparent gem variety of the Olivine group, one of the most common mineral types on the Earth’s surface. However, Peridot is the transparent gem species of Forsterite-Olivine (Mg2SiO4) a rare sub-group within the Olivine family. Although Olivine is an abundant mineral, gem quality Forsterite i.e. Peridot is found in fewer locales than either diamond or sapphire, and its formation reliant on specific geological conditions for its creation.

Zabargad, like Hawaii, was once an oceanic volcano, forming sometime within the two million yearlong quaternary period, which also witnessed the appearance of mankind. Zabargad became visible above sea level, as a result of Africa and Asia’s tectonic plates colliding. The convergence caused rocks in the lower crust to be lifted up to the surface clearing the way for magnesium rich magma flows from below the Earth’s surface forming the Island. Olivine often crystallizes from mafic (magnesium rich and low in silica) volcanic magma. As a result the Island of Zabargad is rich in Olivine, and possesses rare deposits of the gem Forsterite-Olivine: Peridot.

So, having established that the ‘Topazion’ gem of the Second Temple's breastplate, correlated by Pliny’s documentation and Josephus’s eyewitness account, is without doubt our Peridot…What of the word Peridot, and its etymology?

Read Peridot Sterling Silver Jewelry Etymology Part I – In the Beginning

Read Peridot Sterling Silver Jewelry Etymology Part II – The Pitdah In The First Temples Breastplate

Read Peridot Sterling Silver Jewelry Etymology Part IV – The Origins Of The Word Peridot

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