Orichalcum is a legendary metal mentioned in several ancient writings, most notably the story of Atlantis as recounted in the Critias dialogue, recorded by Plato. According to Critias, orichalcum was considered second only to gold in value, and was found and mined in many parts of Atlantis in ancient times. By the time of Critias, however, it was known only by name.
It is not known for certain what orichalcum was. Orichalcum (or Aurichalcum) literally means "gold copper," but the term derives from the Greek ορείχαλκος, oreichalkos (from όρος, oros, mountain and χαλκός, chalkos, copper or bronze). It is alternatively held to be a gold/copper alloy, a copper-tin or copper-zinc brass, or a metal no longer known to man.
In later years, "orichalcum" was used to describe chalcopyrite or brass. However, these are difficult to reconcile with the text of Critias, because he states that the metal was "only a name" by his time, while brass and chalkopyrite continued to be very important through the time of Plato until today. For that reason, other authors on the subject conclude that orichalcum is either the gold-copper alloy tumbaga, or a metal that is, in the words of Critias, "known only by name today, but was once more than a name."
An alternative way of understanding the word, "oreichalkos" (or orichalcum), would be to assume that it came from Greek orao ' to see or look... to let oneself be seen, appear' chalkos ' to copper... bronzé. In other words, ' seeing-copper, to looking-copper or transparent copper'. Transparent means ' through-appearing', but it is not the transparent thing that ' appears ': the transparent thing allows to another object to be seen through it. Oreichalkos ' seeing copper' or ' looking copper' would be to fuse substance that allowed to another object to be seen through it, or allowed to ' looker' to look into it or through it. It is possible that if energy is passed through it; it could give the desire effect of flashing red.
Instances of orichalcum
According to Critias, recorded by Plato, the three outer walls of the Temple to Poseidon and Cleito on Atlantis were clad respectively with brass, tin, and the third, which encompassed the whole citadel, "flashed with the red light of orichalcum." The interior walls, pillars and floors of the temple were completely covered in orichalcum, and the roof was variegated with gold, silver, and orichalcum. In the center of the temple stood a pillar of orichalcum, on which the laws of Poseidon and records of the first princes after Poseidon were inscribed. (Crit. 116-119)
Orichalcum is also mentioned in the Antiquities of the Jews - Book XI by Josephus, who stated that the vessels in the Temple of Solomon were made of Orichalcum.
The Golden Plates of Mormonism, although not called orichalcum, were reported by Joseph Smith's brother William to be a mixture of copper and gold, and have "the appearance of gold." The Andean alloy tumbaga fits the same description, being a gold/copper alloy.
Numismatics
In numismatics, orichalcum is the golden-colored bronze alloy used for the sestertius and dupondius coins. It was considered more valuable than copper, of which the as coin was made.
Fictional references
Many references originate in Japan but have been translated to English incorrectly. If a translator does not recognize that the reference is to a word in another language and directly romanizes the Japanese instead, errors are likely because of the difficulty of representing the word in Japanese in the first place and the multiple ways it could be romanized.
In video games
In several video games, particularly in the role-playing genre, Orichalcum is a rare and valuable metal that can be worked into jewelry, weapons, and other necessary gear; examples of games employing Orichalcum in this way include:
- Kirby Super Star for the Super Nintendo features "Orihalcon" as a collectible treasure, though it appears as a light blue crystal rather than the usual red, gold, or silver metal.
- In the Final Fantasy series of games, Orichalcon (or Orhacon) is the substance of a fairly strong knife. In some games in the series, this knife is one of the strongest weapons.
- In Final Fantasy XI (an MMORPG), Orichalcum Ore can be dug up or mined, and crafted into ingots, which are used for high level rings and other expensive gear.
- In the Game Boy Advance game Golden Sun: The Lost Age, Orihalcon (among other materials) can be found and forged into equipment. Orihalcon is the most valuable and rarest, as it can be used to produce some of the most powerful equipment in the game, such as the Excalibur.
- In the city-builder PC game Poseidon, which is an add-on to the game Zeus, a red metal called "Orichalc" is mined by the Atlanteans and used both in the construction of pyramids and to upgrade warships with a flame weapon (an apparent predecessor of Greek Fire).
- In Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, the Nazis hope to use Orichalcum to create a weapon as powerful as the atom bomb, but without the radiation. This is suggested in an early cut scene where a single bead of "Orcalcium" gives a small machine enough power to tunnel through a thick concrete wall in seconds.
- In Soul Calibur II, "Orichalcum" is Sophitia's Legendary weapon. It gives a slight boost to offense as well as the ability to make extremely fast Soul Charges.
- In Dragon Warrior III for the NES, the Sword of Kings, which is used to bring down the game's main boss, Zoma, is forged from a shiny metal called "Oricon."
- In Shining Soul II for the GBA "Orihalcon" is portrayed as a quartz crystal-cluster, and is used to make Ice and Holy elemental gear at the blacksmith.
In Television
- In the Yu-Gi-Oh! animated series, the Doma/Waking the Dragons saga features Atlantis and Orichalcum. Here, the material, referred to as "the Orichalcos", is said to have rained down upon the city in fragments (like meteorites). The power of the Orichalcos was used to advance the city's technology, but they began to transform Atlantis's inhabitants into monsters. The villain of this story arc, Dartz, is corrupted by the power of the Orichalcos, bestows upon his minions fragments of the stones, and also imbues several of the series' signature playing cards with the mystical properties of the Orichalcos.
- In the Transformers Armada animated series, when the characters visit an ancient sunken city (apparently Atlantis), the Mini-Cons - a small race of robots that had previously come into contact with the city's civilisation and were used as a power source and weapon that eventually destroyed the city - are referred to as "the Orichalcum" by a hologram of Amphitrite. (Orichalcum is unfortunately mistranslated as "Olihalicons" in the English dub.)
- In the anime TV series Nadia of the Mysterious Seas (also known in translation as The Secret of Blue Water), the eponymous heroine wears a pendant of blue crystal (the "Blue Water" of the English title) which glows whenever danger threatens, and which is eventually revealed to be made of orichalcum. This portrayal is similar to that of Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, as the Blue Water/orichalcum is the power source for an inconceivably destructive energy weapon of Atlantean origin.
- In Saint Seiya, the marinas, Poseidon's knights, wear armour made of this metal.
- The Slayers animated series, manga, and novels have frequent references to "Orihalcon".
In Print
- In the manga series Spriggan and the movie, Ominae Yu uses a variety of weapons and armor made of Orichalcum (romanized inconsistently as Orihalcon and Omihalcon).
- In the manga series Black Cat, The Chronos Guardians all use weapons made of Orichalcum (Orichalcon); for example, Train (the main character) has a gun, called 'Hades', which is made of Orichalcum. However, it does not seem to give the weapons a distinctive reddish colour.
- In the White Wolf role playing game Exalted, Orichalcum is one of the five magical metals that the Exalted use to make their weapons and armor. Each of the metals is associated with a different type of Exalted, with Orichalcum being used primarily by the Solar Exalted, servants of the sun and most powerful of the Exalted. This version of Orichalcum is a durable golden metal.
- In the Shadowrun RPG (originally published by FASA and now by FanPro), Orichalcum is a magical metal, an unnatural alloy of mercury, gold, silver and copper. This alloy cannot be created without magic, and it is used extensively in the creation of magic items called "foci", which enhance a magic user's abilities in one way or another. In Shadowrun, magic occurs in on-again, off-again cycles coinciding with the long count cycles of the Mayan calendar. This is the game's explanation for why Orichalcum (and magic) appear to be absent in our modern world (the fifth long cycle of the Mayan calendar, beginning on August 11, 3114 BC and ending on December 21, 2012), yet they exist in both the world of Shadowrun, set in the future (the sixth Mayan long cycle) and in the ancient world in the time of Atlantis - which, according to the game, sank on the exact last day of the fourth Mayan long cycle.