According to ancient myths, amber is tears shed into the Eridanus by Hediads
grieving after the death of their brother, Phaethon, who was thrown into the
river. Rays of the setting sun hardened in the depths of the sea. A legend from the Polish
region of Kurpie has it that amber is human tears from the times of the
forty-day rain, and according to a Kashubian legend, it comes from "lightning
that strikes so loud".
In Homer's Odyssey, book
XV, lines 459-464 amber is described as a rare gem, "A man came to our
house with a golden necklace intertwined with amber. All the girls and
mother held it respectfully, touched it, unable to take their eyes off it,
and tried to bargain for a good price."