and similar words are used to refer to any especially Hard substance, whether composed of Diamond , some other Gemstone , or some type of Metal . Both ''adamant'' and ''diamond'' derive from the Greek word αδαμας (''adamas''), meaning "untameable". The word ''adamant'' is comparable to the word Brimstone , an archaic word for sulphur.
Since ''diamond'' is now used exclusively for the hardest gemstone, the increasingly archaic ''adamant''–and its adjectival form ''adamantine''–has a mostly Poetic or figurative use. For instance, in Mediæval Mythology , "adamant" was a hypothetical impenetrably hard mineral, and a similar use is often seen in Fantasy Fiction . '' Adamantium '' and ''adamantite'' are also common variants.
Adamant as an adjective means resistant to reason, determined or inflexible.
- In Greek Mythology , Cronus uses an adamantine Sickle to castrate his father, Uranus . Unlike Iron , adamant can affect the God s.
- In Roman mythology, Tartarus is sealed with columns of solid adamant (see Aeneid book VI, Virgil ).
- In Norse Mythology , Loki is bound underground by adamantine chains.
- In the King James Version of the Bible the word ''adamant'' is also used in several verses, including:
- :''"As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they {Link without Title} a rebellious house."'' ( Ezekiel 3:9), although later translations substitute the word ''diamond'' for ''adamant''.
- In Chaucer 's '' Canterbury Tales '' the word is used in '' The Knight's Tale '', "where cruel gods ... written in an table of adamant" (decide over the fate of this world).
- In Edmund Spenser 's Poem '' The Faerie Queene '', Sir Artegal's golden Sword Chrysaor was said to be "Tempred {Link without Title} with Adamant".
- In Jonathan Swift 's Novel '' Gulliver's Travels '', the bottom of the flying isle of Laputa is made of adamant. The gigantic Lodestone in the Astronomers' Cave that enables the island to move is also supported by adamant.
- In John Milton 's '' Paradise Lost '' Satan is bound in adamantine chains.
- In J. R. R. Tolkien 's '' The Lord Of The Rings '' trilogy, Galadriel 's ring Nenya is named the "Ring of Adamant". Also, it is mentioned that the Tower of Orthanc was made of an adamant-like material.
- In the Movie '' Forbidden Planet '', adamantine steel was the material used to build "cloud piercing towers".
- The TV cartoon character Atom Ant 's name is likely a Pun on adamant.
- In the Role-playing Game '' Dungeons And Dragons '', adamant is a material which Weapon s and Armor can be made of. Adamantine weapons can bypass the Hardness of most other materials, thereby cutting through, e.g., Stone walls like butter and damaging creatures such as Golems resistant to normal weapons.
- In the MMORPG '' RuneScape '', adamant is a type of metal used to make Armour and weaponry. The raw ore, and in ''RuneScape Classic'' also the finished metal, is known as Adamantite . Adamantite and adamant are depicted as dark green in colour. Adamantite is more powerful than Mithril , but not as powerful as Runite .
- In Philip Pullman 's '' His Dark Materials '' trilogy, the tower of the Fortress built by the character Lord Asriel is made of adamant.
- In the Marvel Universe , adamantium is one of the strongest known metals, used in Wolverine 's and Sabretooth 's claws and skeleton, Bullseye 's skeleton and some of Ultron 's robotic bodies.
- In the Console RPG series Final Fantasy , Adamantite is made from the shells of turtles (called Adamantoises) and is forged into weapons, armor, etc.
- The term adamant was used by Theophrastus about 300 B.C. to mean Loadstone .
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