Magnes the Shepherd might be the very first of the Magnetic Personalities! Origin stories were popular in numerous ancient cultures and it seems like every aspect of human life has a legend associated with it. This is particularly true of the ancient Greeks. Pandora’s Box explains how evil came into the world. Your voice’s echo is really just a mountain nymph responding to you. Even the passing of the seasons is tied up with the story of Demeter and her daughter Persephone. Magnets are no different. While the story might not be the most well-known of the Greek legends, the tale of Magnes the Shepherd is one of the earliest accounts of magnetism. And the Story Goes... Long ago in northern Greece, in the region of Magnesia (modern-day Turkey) a shepherd boy named Magnes was tending to his flock. In need of new grazing pastures, he led his sheep to the base of Mount Ida. While his sheep fed and Magnes walked about them, he stepped on a peculiar piece of rock. The nails in his shoes and the metal tip of his staff instantly flew toward it. “What sorcery be this?” mused Magnes. He’d never seen anything like it! Intrigued, Magnes began unearthing the unusual rock. It was black in color and, upon its excavation, proved very large--the reason Magnes’ shoe nails and rod flew with such force. It was what is now known as a lodestone. Always creative with their naming, the Greeks named the lodestone discovered by Magnes of Magnesia, “magnetite.” As the word traveled from Greek to Latin to English, it was eventually shortened to “magnet” (Read our earlier blog post for more on the etymology of “magnet”). More on Magnes the Shepherd and other Myths Those familiar with Homer’s Iliad and Virgil’s Aeneid might remember mentions of Mount Ida--it is a very sacred place. The sacred mountain is associated with one of the oldest deities in Greek mythology--Cybele. Known as the “Mountain Mother,” Cybele held dominion over the ground and soil. It makes perfect sense that one of the planet’s most precious resources was first discovered on the slopes of Mount Ida. While the ancient Greeks were certainly fond of creating stories for pretty much everything, the legend of Magnes the Shepherd may be a bit more credible than others. However, the location of the discovery is brought into question. Pliny the Elder, a Roman historian who lived long after Magnes supposedly discovered magnets, goes into great detail, describing the iron-rich earth of Magnesia. However, there is some dispute to exactly where Magnes’ events took place. While Magnesia certainly seems like a logical place, other historians believe it happened as far away as India!   Whether it was Greece or India, the discovery of magnets and their potential helped change the world forever. As other articles on the blog prove, magnets and magnetism are used for so many things. They are consistently involved in some of our greatest innovations in technology. And to think, it all started with a shepherd boy. Read about more Magnetic Personalities—including William Gilbert, Franz Mesmer, and Mary Fairfax Somerville—on the Apex Magnets blog!