The History Of Eye-Glasses

From Nero's Emerald to Superman's Specs

- Niraj Kakade

Glasses. Superman wears them to be Clark Kent. Spider-Man wears them to be Peter Parker. Not because they take away their power, but because they make them more human. This comparison holds metaphorical weight in today's context. Culturally, wearing glasses is often associated with weakness, a tool to fix a flaw, which is accurate in theory. However, flipping through the pages of history, with the help of glasses no less, reveals a different perspective.

Like sewage systems and legal frameworks, the existence of glasses can be traced back to the ancient Roman Empire. While evidence is scattered, it is said that Emperor Nero used an emerald to enlarge or magnify images or text. Other sources suggest that Seneca, a Roman tragedian, used a glass globe filled with water to magnify text in his books. The first written record, however, dates back to ancient times when years were still measured in triple digits, thanks to a rough Arabic translation of Ptolemy's Optics, a 2nd-century book on geometrical optics dealing with reflection, refraction, and colour.

Regardless of the debate on who was the OG glasses wearer, they soon became popular in the Roman Empire, with the elites of ancient society commissioning glass blowers to make glass spheres. As time evolved, so did the practices. The spheres started flattening out, evolving into thinner, curvier glass blocks. While no evidence exists of the person who invented frames, 13th-century records from Italy describe an early rudimentary version worn by monks, who were the only people allowed to learn and read at the time.