that the chemical and biochemical arts date back thousands of years—to beer-making? the early Renaissance alchemist who developed methods for treating syphilis and also claimed to have created a tiny man called a "homunculus" in his laboratory? Though modern chemistry as we know it began with the chemical revolution of the 18th century, chemical processes were in use long before that, and the Ancient Greeks spent a great deal of time theorizing about the nature of matter centuries before our modern theories of atoms and molecules. The alchemists, known for their relentless pursuit of the "philosophers’ stone" and a way to turn base metals into gold, are often associated with the occult, but much of what they did was real science.		Getting Started To start exploring, just click the Time Line, Faces, or Resources buttons above. Within the Time Line, click any of the items along the time line and text will appear describing that historic achievement. Within the Faces section, scroll over any picture on the grid and get a brief description of what the person is known for; click the picture and see a larger image with a brief biography.