Western Literature - Aristotle wrote emerald increases the owner's importance in presence and speech during business, gives victory in trials and helps settle litigation, comforts and soothes eyesight.  He also stated "an emerald hung from the neck or worn in a ring will prevent epilepsy - the falling sickness

2nd Century B.C. - The Roman Magician Damigeron stated - it influences every kind of business and if you remain chaste while wearing the stone adds substance to both the body and speech.

3rd Century B.C. - The Greek Historian Theophrastus states in his text that the gem emits light when submerged in water.  He states Emerald of Cyprus is very rare and small size - it renders water of the same color with itself, soothes the eyes, and the people wear seals of this stone in order that they may look at them.  This stone, which soothes the eyes fatigue, was also used as eyewash.  Powdered and mixed with water it was said to be effective in reducing irritation and stopping the flow of fluid from the eye.

Hindu Physicians - used it as a cure for eye troubles adding that the best are cold and sweet to the taste.

Romans - The Emperor Nero was said to have viewed the gladiatorial contests upon smaragdus.  The Romans were known to use green jasper as a mirror - Nero watched the bloody contests indirectly on such green mirror, which would temper the red produced in the arena.

10th Century - Christian Traditions associates the emerald with St. John.  Bishop of Caesarea based thin on the Foundation Stones listed in Revelation 21 and their supposed connection with each of the apostles.

Name: 

The word of the stone was first translated from Sanskrit as marakata meaning "the green of growing things".  The name we know is believed to have come from an earlier Persian word pronounced smaragdoz. Other Sanskrit name is acmagarbhaja - meaning, "sprung from the rock", and the other name of garalari, which means "enemy of poison.  In Mexico the Aztec called it quetzalitzi, "stone of quetzal" after the brilliant green plumes of the bird quetzal, a symbol of royalty.  The modern name is derived from Persian word translated to Latin as smaragdus, corrupted to esmeraude, emeraude and emeralde.  The current English spelling dates to sixteenth century manuscript.

Myths, Legends and Lore:

Bela, King of Hungary and his flirtatious queen:  Upon his return from a journey, the king embraced his queen and his exceptional emerald broke into three pieces.  The two breaks were thought to have revealed the lady's sins during her husband's travels, others though that a true emerald fracture if worn during intercourse.

The color of the gem was said to act as a barometer of love, assigned to Venus - it stood for the highest form of love and testified the fidelity of lovers, the color waxing deeper or waning paler as love came and went.

The Origin of Emeralds: India

A person was watching a swarm of fireflies in an Indian grove one moonlight night.  After hovering for a time in the moonbeams, one particular firefly, more brilliant from the rest, alighted on the green grass.  The spectator approached to ascertain the cause and found not an insect but an emerald stone, which he appropriated and wore in a ring.

The Origin of Emeralds, Vasuki and the Bile of Vala:  India

Vala, a demon god, was slain and dismembered the demigods.  The parts of his body were scattered about the globe to create the gemstones we know of today.  The bile of the great demon Vala was taken from his torn body the serpent king, Vasuki.  In his exuberance he turned abruptly and split the heavens in two with one swipe of his mighty tail.  His long body, head crowned with a hood of jewels, appeared like a bridge across the sky. Garuda, the eagle king and carrier of Supreme Lord Vishnu, came flying through the heavens encountering the serpent-god Vasuki.  Sworn enemy of serpents, Garuda blocked Vasuki's path with his mighty claws. 

Frightened this attack, Vasuki dropped Vala's bile to earth near Mount Manikya.  This mountain was known for its beautiful forests and fragrant trees.  (It is said that this great mountain split, and as the continent moved apart, it formed the mountain ranges of South America and South Africa - an explanation for emeralds being found in these two locations). 

The balance of Vala's bile fell to the landlocked areas beyond the Himalayans - probably modern day Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The green bile was transformed into the seeds of emeralds, and where ever they fell, the great emerald mines formed.  Garuda picked up some of the scattered seeds, but their power was so great that even Garuda was overcome with fainting spells.  As he swooned he scattered small quantities of the seeds in many regions of the earth.  Most of the areas where Vala's bile fell are lush and beautiful, but rugged and difficult to access.

The Emerald Tablet:  Egypt and Greece

The Tabula Smaragdina is the name of a Greek literary work, which is reported to be a translation of ancient Egyptian writings.  The original inscriptions were discovered Alexander the Great on a tablet in the sepulchre of Hermes.  Legend says this original tablet was formed of a single massive slab of emerald.  Early alchemical literature frequently mentions such a tablet and claims an Egyptian king named Hermes Trismegetus or Hermon - meaning "Hermes three times great" - is also the Greek name for the Egyptian moon god, Thoth. He is also the god of time, wisdom and credited the Greeks as the author of all Egyptian literature.

Hermon was said to be the "founder of chemistry" and the Hermetic arts. He supposedly authored at least forty-tow books of magic and mystery.  One of these, the emerald tablet was said to have contained all the important knowledge of alchemy, including the formula to make gold.  The alchemists of the middle Ages spent much of their time seeking Hermon's original texts. It is likely that the original emerald tablet, if it truly existed, was a slab of green igneous rock or a cast piece of green glass.

The Emerald Buddha: Thailand

One of the greatest green gems in Asia is a famous statue of Buddha in Bangkok, Thailand.  The eighteen-inch carving rests at the pinnacle of an elaborate ornamental in the Chapel of The Emerald Buddha in the Grand Palace of Bangkok.  The statue is said to have been the inspiration of Nagasena, a student of Maha Dhamma Rakitta, who wished to create a tribute to the deity in precious stone.  He was told the source of such grand stone would be the mountain Vipulla, fabled for its large jade.  The genies that protect the mountain would not allow such a massive jade to be taken from the sculpture.  They did suggest an alternative gem, the Keo Amarakata, or crystal smaragdus.   Nagasena collected such a crystal and presented it to Visukamma, a heavenly sculptor.  Visukamma spent seven days and seven nights creating the lovely statue of Buddha.

The official literatures of the temple give the origin of the statue as Chiengrai in 1464 and list its composition as a single crystal jade.  The name associated to this work is from the European tradition of listing brilliant green gems with the adjective emerald.  No gemological inspections has been made of this sacred relic, but has been thought most scholars to be a green jasper.