Legend of the Diamond Valley 9 



Epiphanius, Bishop of Constantia in Cyprus (circa 31 5-403). ' In his 

 discourse on the twelve jewels forming the breastplate of the High 

 Priest of Jerusalem, the following tale is narrated of the hyacinth. 

 The theatre of action is a deep valley in a desert of great Scythia, entirely 

 surrounded by rocky mountains rising straight like walls; so that from 

 their summits the bottom of the valley is not visible, but only a sullen 

 mist like chaos. The men despatched there in search of those stones 

 by the kings, who reside in the neighborhood, slay sheep, strip them 

 of their skins, and fling them from the rocks into the immense chaos 

 of the valley. The stones then adhere to the flesh of the sheep. The 

 eagles that loiter on the cliffs above scent the flesh, pounce down upon 

 it in the valley, carry the carcasses off to devour them, and thus the 

 stones remain on the top of the mountains. The convicts condemned 

 to gather the stones go to the spots where the flesh of the sheep has 

 been carried away by the eagles, find and take the stones. All these 

 stones, whatever the diversity of their color, are of value as precious 

 stones, but have this effect: that, when placed over a violent charcoal 

 fire, they themselves are but slightly hurt, while the coal is instantly 

 extinguished. This stone is reputed to be useful to women in aiding 

 parturition; it is said also to dispel phantoms in a similar manner. 2 



1 Epiphanii opera, ed. Dindorf, Vol. IV, p. 190 (Leipzig, 1862). The text in 

 question is reproduced also by J. Ruska (Steinbuch des Aristoteles, p. 15). 



1 The notion that the stones gathered by eagles aid in parturition rests on the 

 belief of the ancients that the so-called aetites or "eagle-stone," found in the nests 

 of eagles, possesses remarkable properties having this effect. According to Pliny (x, 

 3, § 12; and xxxvi, 21, § 151), who distinguishes four varieties, this stone, so to speak, 

 has the quality of being pregnant; for when shaken, another stone is heard to rattle 

 within, as though it were enclosed in its womb. A male and a female stone are always 

 found together; and without them, the eagles would be unable to propagate. Hence 

 the young of the eagle are never more than two in number. Philostratus, in his 

 Life of Apollonius from Tyana, notes that the eagles never build their nests without 

 first placing there an eagle-stone (F. de Mely, Lapidaires grecs, p. 27). This stone 

 is regarded as ferruginous geodes, a globular mass of clay iron-stone, which some- 

 times is hollow, sometimes encloses another stone or a little water. According to 

 the Physiologus (xix), the parturition-stone is found in India, whither the female 

 vulture repairs to obtain it. From the Physiologus the story passed into the Arabic 

 writers (J. Ruska, Steinbuch des Aristoteles, p. 165; Steinbuch des Qazwlnl, 

 pp. 18, 38; L. Leclerc, Traits des simples, Vol. I, pp. 121-123). O. Keller (Tiere 

 des classischen Altertums, p. 269) regards the legend of the eagle-stone as Egyptian, 

 because it is mentioned by Horapollo (n, 49) ; but his work Hieroglyphica belongs 

 to the fourth century a.d., while even Theofhrastus (De lapidibus, 5) speaks of 

 parturient stones. It seems more plausible that, as intimated by the Physiologus, 

 the story hails from India. The physician Razi, who died in 923 or 932, observes 

 (Leclerc, /. c.) that he encountered in some books of India the statement that a 

 woman is easily delivered when the stone is placed on her abdomen. Regarding 

 similar notions in China compare F. de Mely, L'alchimie chez les Chinois (Journal 

 asiatique, 1895, Sept.-Oct., p. 336) and Lapidaires chinois, p. lxiii. 



