Today I am going to present you a beautiful stone and an intoxicating color: Amethyst!
Amethyst is part of the family of quartz, and all the quartz that goes from mauve to violet are called amethysts.
It is considered a fine stone (formerly: semi-precious stone), not a precious stone.
Traditionally, a gem is attached to each month. In English we call this "birthstone".
The month of February is that of Amethyst.
The word "amethyst" comes from the Latin "amethystos", which means "do not be drunk".
In ancient times, people thought that amethyst protected against drunkenness because it had a color similar to that of wine.
According to some legends, the Romans used to serve wine in cups of amethysts to reduce the effects of alcohol (according to them ...).
They often adorned these cups with the symbols of Bacchus (god of wine, excess and madness) and Silenus (god of drunkenness and adoptive father of Bacchus).
Leonardo da Vinci himself thought that amethyst had the power to sharpen intelligence and dispel bad thoughts.
While in Egypt, the stone was used by the soldiers to not be caught by fear during the fighting.
Here is a cup of amethyst:
source
Before the discovery of many amethyst mines in South America, its value was close to that of diamonds.
But since these discoveries, its price has been extremely reduced.
We now find on the market very beautiful stones at a correct size for a really reasonable price.