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Blue gems have historically been associated with the eyes, to cure and protect them, and with good luck. The belief associating with the eyes is so widespread as to be universal, even among ; in whom blue eyes would be so much a rarity as to be unique, such the American Indians and the peoples of the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The stone might be sapphire, lapis lazuli, or turquonise, but what was precious was the color-the color of the sky a heavens, which had nothing to do with the color of the eyes. Even the eyes looked upward to the sky and those heavens where the gods dwelt, and that association gave blue stones an added significance religiously, with special powers to counteract the powers and darkness or night.
In the same way, other colors had other powers. Red stones had and power of rendering associated with blood. The ruby, spinel, garnet, and blood stone other red stones, were supposed to stop hemorrhages inflammatory diseases. Yellow stones were associated liver and with jaundice, while clear or transparent stones power of rendering the wearer invisible. Purple stones, particularly amethyst, had other powers-to prevent drunkenness, because the color resembled that of certain wines. At any rate, the name "amethyst" comes from a Greek word meaning "not to be intoxicated."
These are only a few of the qualities attributed to some gems. instances, gems were supposed to have sex genders. An early Greek writer, Theophrastus, spoke of dark hues of a particular gem as being male while lighter hues were female.
Then, there were the carved or engraved gems, of which seals are only one example. Carving or engraving certain symbols on a gem was often believed to enhance the power of the gem, The Egyptian scarab, for example, signified immortality. The scarab is actually a beetle that lays its eggs in dung and rolls the clump until it becomes round and hardened. Since the eggs, as well as the immature or pupal stage of the beetle, are hidden by the dung, the beetle appears to come fully grown from the dung.
As a result, the round ball represented the world to the Egyptians, with the beetle seeming to represent reincarnation and immortality. The scarab carving, therefore, was more important than the gem itself, and man~ gems were used, regardless of whether the scarab was worn as a ring, pendant, bracelet, or other jewelry.
