ohmyalchemy:

The philosopher stone, “Lapis Philosophorum”, was the end goal of many alchemists, and for centuries, they sought it out relentlessly. The philosopher stone was considered to be the symbol of perfection, and the journey to discover this stone were known as the Great Work, “Magnum Opus”. 

The philosopher’s stone was capable of achieving many things, such as prolonging someone’s life, healing the wounded or even creating a clone of oneself, known as a homunculus