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Cock stone (Alectorius):
It was affirmed by the Romans to render
its possessor invisible. In the Middle
Ages, for this fiction was substituted
another, that the wearer of the stone
would never feel thirsty (like a dryad),
and the proper cock that had the stone
was to be discovered by his never
drinking with his food, like other fowls
! stones from the cock are also called
alectorius stones and they were believed
to aid wrestlers and married couples as
well as serving as medical antidotes for
poisons. The alectorius or "cock-stone"
is one of the most famous of those real
or supposed animal concretions that were
known in ancient times. From the age of
Pliny and unquestionably long before his
time-- there was a popular belief that
this stone was only to be found in the
gizzard of a cock which had been caponed
when three years old, and had lived
seven years longer. This was believed to
allow the substance to acquire its
boasted virtue, for the longer it
remained in the body of the capon, the
greater its power. From its association
with the pugnacious fowl, the alectorius
became a favorite stone with wrestlers,
and the great and invincible Milo of
Croton is said to have owned many of his
victories to the possession of one, for
if held in the mouth, it quenched the
thirst and thus refreshed the combatant.
 This
comes from a wild cock it
renders its owner courageous and
invincible, makes him wealthy,
assuages thirst, and makes both
husband and wife romantically
amicable. But the stone's most
amusing property is that it
helps to regain a lost kingdom
and acquire foreign one. Price: $1179 or Rs.50000/-.
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