Test Ilponnaitre Tener * Ante corromne a un Magnets 1. Magnetism was known to the extrly Greek philosophers. According to the story Magnes, a shepherd, when he was on Mt. Ida on the island of Crete, was so strongly attracted to the ground by the tip of his stick and nails of his shoes that he had difficulty in getting away. Upon digging into the ground to find the cause, he discovered a stone with the most amazing properties of attracting iron. This stone is now called lodestone or magnetite. 2. The idea that a lodestone can be used as a compass is a very old one. The evidence that a piece of iron could be magnetired by a lodestone and used as a compass appears to have been mentioned as early as the beginning of the 12 century.