Amethyst Legends and Lore

Amethyst was born amidst passion, gods and goddesses, jealousy, love, worship--and drunkenness. In Greek mythology, Dionysus, the god of fruitfulness and wine, fell in love with a young woman. She, however, shunned his drunkenness and choose to worship the goddess Diana instead. The young woman was then given the name "Amethyst," which in the Greek literally means "not drunk."

In his rage and jealousy, Dionysus ordered two voracious tigers to devour Amethyst. But Diana rescued her, turning her into white quartz so the tigers could not eat her--the quartz being a symbol of clarity and purity. Dionysus was heartbroken. His lovely Amethyst was lost to him forever. In his sadness, he shed tears into his goblet of red wine. Some of the wine spilled on the white quartz, and it absorbed the wine's color. Thereafter, the lavender-to-deep-purple variety of Quartz has been called Amethyst.

The ancient Greeks also believed that drinking wine from an Amethyst cup would make them immune to intoxication. It's more likely that those who wished to avoid drunkenness would drink water from the Amethyst cup, which would look like wine in the purple crystal.

In the early Christian Church, Amethyst was also believed to have properties to keep one sober. It was adopted as a symbol of the high spiritual state of purity and temperance the Bishops strove to attain. An Amethyst gold or sterling silver ring was part of the Bishop's costume. Today the highest grade of Amethyst is called "Bishops Grade."

Leonardo Da Vinci said "Amethyst dissipates evil thoughts and quickens the intelligence."

In India, meditation upon Amethyst is believed to lead to union with the universal consciousness. Amethyst is associated with the crown chakra, or energy center, of the body. In Tibet, Amethyst is sacred to Buddha and is used to make rosaries.