Paracelsus was born in 1493 in Egg, a village close to the Etzel Pass in Switzerland. Once Paracelsus was a physician he worked for the Venetian military from 1517 until 1524. Alchemy was an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition practiced throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia, originating in Hellenistic Egypt, primarily Alexandria between the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. It aims were to purify, mature, and perfect certain objects. Common aims were chrysopoeia, the transmutation of base metals such as lead into what are known as noble metals in particular gold. Alchemists were also trying to create an elixir of immortality, or the elixir of life, the creation of panaceas able to cure any disease; and the development of an alkahest, a universal solvent. The first known account of the production of the homunculus is said to be found in an undated Arabic work called the Book of the Cow, which was originally written by the Greek philosopher Plato. Rather than using the homunculus to perform magical feats, Paracelsus thought the homunculus should be educated with the greatest care and zeal, until it grows up and begins to display intelligence. In his writings Paracelsus claimed to have created a homunculus. Here is what I could find.