Cleopatra the Alchemist

Cleopatra the alchemist
Imaginative depiction of Cleopatra the Alchemist from Mylius' 1618 Basilica philosophica "Seals of the Philosophers".
Born	c. 3rd century
Era	Ancient philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
Main interests	Alchemy
Notable ideas	Alembic
Influences Possibly Mary the Jewess

Cleopatra the Alchemist who likely lived during the 3rd century, was a Greek-Egyptian alchemist, author, and philosopher. She experimented with practical alchemy but is also credited as one of the four female alchemists that could produce the Philosopher's stone. She is considered to be the inventor of the Alembic, an early tool for analytic chemistry.

The dates of Cleopatra the Alchemist's life and death are unknown, but she was active in Alexandria in the 3rd century or the 4th century. She is associated with the school of alchemy typified by Mary the Jewess and Comarius. These alchemists used complex apparatus for distillation and sublimation.

Cleopatra is a pseudonym for an author whose real name has been lost. She is not the same person as Cleopatra VII, nonetheless she may be referred to as Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, in some later works. One example of this can be found in Basillica Philosophica by Johann Daniel Mylius (1618), where her seal is pictured alongside the motto: "The divine is hidden from the people according to the wisdom of the Lord". This incorrect naming was possibly done on purpose. She is also conflated with Cleopatra the Physician. The two lived supposedly during the same time and are said to have similar styles in their writing, both having grand imagery. Cleopatra is used as a character within the dialogue of the alchemical texts themselves.

Cleopatra was a foundational figure in alchemy, pre-dating Zosimos of Panopolis. Michael Maier names her as one of the four women who knew how to make the philosopher's stone, along with Maria the Jewess, Medera, and Taphnutia. Cleopatra was mentioned with great respect in the Arabic encyclopedia Kitab al-Fihrist from 988. She is credited with the invention of the alembic. Also trying to quantify alchemy and its experiments, Cleopatra worked with weights and measures.