Translating alchemical practice into symbols: Two cases from Codex Marcianus graecus 299

In the Byzantine anthologies of alchemical works, a considerable number of symbols are listed and used for various purposes. This chapter looks at the symbols occurring in Stephanus’s Lessons and the Dialogue of the Philosophers and Cleopatra (written in Constantinople during the first half of the seventh century) as preserved by codex Marcianus graecus 299. The two cases indicate that the alchemical symbols conveyed operative information aiming to interpret passages not immediately related to the practice of alchemy. By translating alchemical procedures into an iconic form of language, these symbols interacted with the natural language in which the original alchemical works were written and reshaped the hierarchy of information conveyed by the manuscript. Accordingly, the study of the addition of alchemical symbols to a specific manuscript witness sheds new light on the expertise and cultural expectations of Byzantine readers of alchemical works.