suggests that it was very dark in color, especially as the only Chian stone mentioned by ancient authors was apparently a black or dark rock variegated witli spots or streaks of lighter-colored mineral matter. It will be recalled that Theophrastus alludes to this Chian stone in sections 6 and 7. What probably misled Hill and other commentators is that Pliny,237 in quoting, or rather paraphrasing, this passage of Theophrastus, placed it at the end of his discussion of carbunculus, an error noted long ago by Beckmann238 and by others before him. The use of the anthrafyon of Orchomenos for making mirrors also shows that it was probably not garnet, for the latter, even when polished, is not distinguished by a high reflective power, nor is it ordinarily obtainable in pieces sufficiently large for such a purpose. Lenz239 concluded that this anthrahjon was obsidian, and though he gave no reason for his identification, it is possibly correct, for Pliny240 speaks of a mirror of obsidian as though it were not uncommon and mentions immediately afterwards that obsidian was used by many for jewelry. When properly polished, this glassy rock yields a better reflective surface than any other dark stone, and the possibility that the ancients used obsidian for mirrors is supported by Beckmann, who remarks: "The image reflected from a box made of it, which I have in my possession, is like a shadow or silhouette; but with this difference, that one sees not only the contour, but also the whole figure distinctly, though the colors are darkened."241 It is likely, however, that the obsidian mirrors of antiquity, being greatly inferior to those made of metal, were for ornament rather than utility. Against the identification advanced by Lenz it can be said that Theophrastus has already assigned another name, Liparean stone, to obsidian (sec. 14), but this may have been only a local name for the stone. Also, the anthra\ion of Orchomenos may have been a darker variety of obsidian than Liparean stone, perhaps approaching pitchstone in density of color, and was possibly for this reason given a distinctive name. Of course, it is entirely possible that anthra\ion was not obsidian at all, but some other dark or black stone that could be given a high polish.
237 XXXVII, 97.
238 History of Inventions, Discoveries, and Origins, Vol. II, pp. 67-68.
239 Mineralogie der alien Griechen und Romer, p. 22.
240 XXXVI, 196.
241 Op.cit., Vol. II, pp. 65-66.
