Ancient Greece

Toxicology in Antiquity: Ancient Greece

Nicander of Colophon

  • (fl. 130 b.c.)

  • Greek poet and physician

  • Author of the two of the oldest extant works on poisons (TA): Theriaka and Alexipharmaka

Works (TA)

  1. Theriaka

    • Focus: Venomous animals

    • Includes (SSSILF): Snakes, spiders, scorpions, insects, lizards, fish

  2. Alexipharmaka

    • Focus: 21 poisons from various kingdoms (vegetable, mineral, and animal)

    • Contains (AWH): including aconite, white lead, hemlock

Content Description

  • Each work describes (PSA):

    • The poison

    • Symptoms

    • Antidotes


Socrates (469-399 B.C.)

  • A Greek philosopher who became an iconic figure in toxicology due to his death

  • Convicted of corrupting Athenian youth and disrespecting the gods

  • Sentenced to death by drinking hemlock (Conium maculatum), which was supposedly executed in a suicidal fashion

Questions Raised

  • Plato's Phaedo presents symptoms not entirely consistent with hemlock poisoning

    • But more so, a possible mixture of hemlock and opium involved


Alexander the Great

  • Birth: 356 B.C.

  • Death: Unsolved mystery; cause speculated.

  • Incident: Drank excessive wine at a banquet in Babylon.

    • Developed severe abdominal pain.

    • Symptoms worsened over days:

      • Partial paralysis.

      • Died two weeks later.

  • Rumors: Speculation of poisoning circulated, but the true cause remains unconfirmed.


The Oracle at Delphi

  • Most important and sacred shrine in ancient Greece dedicated to the Greek god, Apollo.

  • Pilgrims to Delphi addressed their questions to the Pythia, a role filled by various women at different times.

Pythia's Role

  • Plutarch, the celebrated Greek biographer and essayist, was a noted priest at the temple of Apollo, and documented her practices.

  • The Pythia would inhale pneuma, a gas or vapor, emitted in the adyton (small inner sanctum).

    • Inhalation induced a trance-like state for prophecy from the questions raised by the petitioners to the priest.

Nature of Pneuma

  • Hypothesized to be ethylene gas or a mixture of ethylene and ethane causing the trance-like state of the Pythia.

  • Originates from a naturally occurring geological vent.


Mythological Background

  • Toxicology has roots in Greek mythology.

Hercules and the Hydra

  • Hercules killed the nine-headed sea monster, the Hydra.

  • He dipped his arrows in the Hydra's venom, creating an early biological weapon for use in battle.

Achilles' Vulnerability

  • Achilles, a hero in Homer's Iliad who was victim of such arrow poison, was immersed as an infant in the river Styx for immortality by his mother.

    • His heel, held above the water, remained vulnerable.

  • He was ultimately killed by a poisoned arrow in his heel during the Trojan War.