athanor

right|thumb|Athanor In alchemy, an athanor is a furnace used to provide a uniform and constant heat for alchemical digestion.

==Description== The first mention of an athanor is in the Life of Apollonius of Tyana, an allegorical description is given of an occult hill named "Athanor". A tandoor is a clay oven and variations of this word appeared via Middle Persian from the Akkadian language. The use of the term athanor originates in alchemy in the medieval Islamic world, which used , from which the design portrayed evidently descends.