You will have to excuse the Fearless Fellowship Leader when she states that Dr. Martelli’s research is Greek to her: he does research on ancient Greek alchemy. In fact, Matteo Martelli’s work is a truly international affair. The object of Matteo’s reflection is the 1st-century writer now known as pseudo-Democritus, a cunning man who used the fame of the philosopher Democritus to write on precious stones, metals, and other materials. His marketing strategy clearly worked out: Egyptian alchemists were intrigued by these writings; Islamic scholars produced translations into Syriac and Arabic; and Western medieval alchemists would think of pseudo-Democritus as one of the fathers of alchemy. Matteo, who joins us from the Universities of Bologna and Pisa in Italy, is therefore able to trace the story of alchemy through its different phases and contexts by looking at one author, with one linguistically gifted brain.

A true philologist at heart and a happy fellow among our sundry collection of historians of chemistry, Matteo is currently learning Arabic at the University of Pennsylvania, applying his Greek to texts in the Othmer Library, and immersing himself in both the structured events and the scholarly freedom his 9-month Postdoctoral Edelstein fellowship offers. So, there you have it: Greek, Arabic, Italian, and English rolled into one fellowship experience.

We say: benvenuto! 

Matteo Martelli (left); anonymous alchemist (right)

* ricercatore = researcher in Italian.