There are many myths surrounding the origin of
amber. Ovid wrote that when Phaeton, a son of
Helios, the sun, convinced his father to allow him to drive the chariot of
the sun through the heavens for a day, he erred too close to the earth,
scorching it. To save the earth, Zeus struck Phaethon with a thunderbolt and
he died, plunging out of the sky. His mother and sister turned into trees in
their grief but still mourned him. Their tears, dried by the sun, are amber.
The Greeks called amber 'elektron', sun-made, perhaps because of this story,
or perhaps because it becomes electrically charged when rubbed with a cloth
and can attract small particles. Homer mentions amber jewelry - earrings and
a necklace of amber beads - as a princely gift in the Odyssey.
Another ancient writer, Nicias, said that amber was the juice or essence of
the setting sun congealed in the sea and cast up on the shore.
The Romans sent armies to conquer and control amber-producing areas. The
Emperor Nero was a great connoisseur of amber. During his time, according to
the Roman historian Pliny, the price of an amber figurine, no matter how
small, exceeded the price of a healthy slave.
The ancient Germans burned amber as incense, so they called it 'bernstein',
or 'burn stone'. Clear colorless amber was considered the best material for
rosary beads in the Middle Ages on account of its smooth silky feel. Certain
orders of knights controlled the trade, and unauthorized possession of raw
amber was illegal in most of Europe by the year 1400.
