Around 400 BCE, the sculptor Callimachus—nicknamed "katatêxitechnos" (the perfectionist) by the Athenians—created a golden lamp for the Erechtheion temple in Athens that burned continuously before the statue of Athena. The secret: an asbestos wick that never consumed itself. Oil refills were required only once per year. This is one of the earliest verified uses of asbestos technology, documented in the primary source account of Greek traveler Pausanias (c. 150 CE).

In this episode, we examine the verified historical record of asbestos in the ancient Mediterranean—and separate fact from persistent myth.

Topics covered:

• Pausanias's firsthand account of the golden lamp of Athena in his Description of Greece (Book 1.26.6–7)
• Why the claim that Vestal Virgins used asbestos wicks has no primary source evidence—Plutarch's Life of Numa describes wood, oil, and incense instead
• "Linum vivum" (live linen): Pliny the Elder's account of asbestos napkins fire-cleaned at Roman banquets (Natural History, c. 77 CE)
• Dioscorides' De Materia Medica (c. 50-70 CE): reusable napkins sold to theater patrons, fire-cleaned between performances, and resold the next night
• Strabo's independent confirmation of fire-cleaned towels from Karystos, Greece (Geography, Book X)
• Royal funeral shrouds: how asbestos cloth preserved cremation ashes separate from the pyre
• Pliny's valuation: asbestos cloth "equals the prices of exceptional pearls"cover

Who this episode is for: Anyone researching the ancient history of asbestos, the Vestal Virgin eternal flame, Pliny the Elder's writings on minerals, Dioscorides' De Materia Medica, or the use of asbestos in Greek and Roman religious practice.

Sources cited:

• Pausanias, Description of Greece (c. 150 CE)
• Pliny the Elder, Natural History (c. 77 CE)
• Dioscorides, De Materia Medica (c. 50-70 CE)
• Strabo, Geography (c. 1st century BCE/CE)
• Plutarch, Life of Numa
• Vitruvius, De Architectura (Callimachus nickname source)
• Loeb Classical Library scholarly annotations

Next episode preview: The "sickness of the lungs" passage everyone cites—and why it may not be about asbestos at all. What Pliny actually wrote, and the mistranslation that persisted for over a century.

Resources

• Learn more about asbestos-related diseases: Dandell.com
• Mesothelioma legal resources: Dandell.com/mesothelioma
• Asbestos exposure sources: Dandell.com/asbestos-exposure

Asbestos: A Conspiracy 4,500 Years in the Making is produced by Danziger & De Llano, a nationwide mesothelioma law firm with over 30 years of experience and nearly $2 billion recovered for asbestos victims. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For a free consultation, visit Dandell.com.

Resources:

→ Mesothelioma legal rights: https://dandell.com/mesothelioma/

→ Asbestos exposure sources: https://dandell.com/asbestos-exposure/

→ Asbestos trust funds ($30B+ available): https://dandell.com/asbestos-trust-funds/

→ Free case evaluation: https://dandell.com/contact/

Sister Podcast - MESO: The Mesothelioma Podcast:

http://mesotheliomapodcast.com/