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Hohenheim in FMA is based on a real person also named
[Hohenheim](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracelsus). How similar are the
character from anime and the real person, and how do they diverge?


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question
fullmetal-alchemist-series
How similar is Hohenheim (FMA) to the real Hohenheim?


Hohenheim is named after
[Paracelsus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracelsus), a man whose name's last
portion (at birth) was "von Hohenheim". Paracelsus practiced medicine,
alchemy, and other sciences, much like Hohenheim.

In the vein of alchemy, Paracelsus also had a significant similarity to
Hohenheim. He claimed to have made a
[homunculus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homunculus#Alchemy) out of bodily
fluids, as described in _De homunculis_ :

> Let the semen of a man putrefy by itself in a sealed cucurbite with the
> highest putrefaction of the venter equinus [horse manure] for forty days, or
> until it begins at last to live, move, and be agitated, which can easily be
> seen…If now, after this, it be everyday nourished and fed cautiously and
> prudently with [an] arcanum of human blood…it becomes, thenceforth, a true
> and living infant, having all the members of a child that is born from a
> woman, but much smaller.[(1)](http://www.madscientistblog.ca/mad-
> scientist-5-paracelsus-pt-2-paracelsus-homunculus/)

Though Hohenheim himself did not make a homunculus, he did contribute the
blood that created _the_ Homunculus, Dwarf in the Flask.

There appears to be little beyond these similarities. Paracelsus's personality
was polar opposite to Hohenheim's, being stubborn and arrogant to say the
least. (This was bad enough to earn him anger and distaste from others in his
field.) Paracelsus was never a slave, nor did he challenge a great villain,
nor did he have kids.

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/P5ucym.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/P5ucy.jpg)
[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/g1fDxm.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/g1fDx.png)

While it's clear that Hohenheim's skills, name, and contributions to alchemy
are closely linked with Paracelsus, it's safe to say that little more than
that connects him to Hohenheim.


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answer