"King of Pontus on the southern shore of the Black Sea, Mithridates VI (d. 63 BC) concocted one of the most well-known antidotes in antiquity (possibly with the help of his court physician Crateuas). Experimenting with different formulations and trying them out on condemned prisoners, he compounded various antidotes to produce a single universal one, which he hoped would protect him against any poison. A hundred years after the death of Mithridates, Celsus recorded the formulation, which comprised thirty-six ingredients, all of which are derived from plants, except for honey to mix them and castor to enhance the aroma. The concoction is estimated to have weighed approximately three pounds and to have lasted for six months, taken daily in the amount the size of an almond."There are additional relevant quotations here, along with discussion which includes the report that when Mithridates faced military defeat and tried to commit suicide by poison, he was unable to do so.
"But the most famous antidote is that of Mithridates, which that king is said to have taken daily and by it to have rendered his body safe against danger from poison. It contains costmary 1.66 grams, sweet flag 20 grams, hypericum, gum, sagapenum, acacia juice, Illyrian iris, cardamon, 8 grams each, anise 12 grams, Gallic nard, gentian root and dried rose-leaves, 16 grams each, poppy-tears and parsley, 17 grams each, casia, saxifrage, darnel, long pepper, 20.66 grams each, storax 21 grams, castoreum, frankincense, hypocistis juice, myrrh and opopanax, 24 grams each, malabathrum leaves 24 grams, flower of round rush, turpentine-resin, galbanum, Cretan carrot seeds, 24.66 grams each, nard and opobalsam, 25 grams each, shepherd's purse 25 grams, rhubarb root 28 grams, saffron, ginger, cinnamon, 29 grams each. These are pounded and taken up in honey. Against poisoning, a piece the size of an almond is given in wine. In other affections an amount corresponding in size to an Egyptian bean is sufficient."
Celsus, De Medicina (V.23.3)
I find it interesting that the antidote doesn't contain any "terra sigillata" or clay materials, which would have been useful against heavy metals. But eating clay on a daily basis raises the risk of inducing zinc deficiency.
Finally, a link for those who like me don't know where "Pontus" was/is (the name is derived from the Greek word for the Black Sea).
"The Poison King" by Adrienne Mayor is a fascinating read. Had not previously known of the King of Pontus...
ReplyDeletehttp://press.princeton.edu/titles/8977.html
Apparently there were a lot of Mithridates:
Deletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithridates
Yes, there were a number of Mithridates, but only VI was Eupator, or Megas.
DeleteI will enjoy looking up the ingredients to read more about their properties and current uses, if any. I am curious if anything was effective or were some of the plants used as antidotes actually poisonous themselves.
ReplyDeleteI believe the dosages of each would have been so minuscule as to be more like homeopathy than pharmacotherapy. But perhaps in combination...
DeleteI'm fascinated by the striking sculpture. Where/when is it from? Did it go with a body? The mouth is particularly interesting--it's slightly open, and you can see the upper teeth. That seems unusual--I can't recall other sculpted heads from the general period with this feature.
ReplyDeleteThe source link does not name the photographer, but does say "The bust of Mithridates as Hercules is in the Louvre (Paris)."
DeleteYour comment re the teeth reminded me of this old post:
http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2010/09/absence-of-teeth-in-fine-arts.html
Read chapter 11 of The Poison King by Adrienne Mayor to learn more about the ingredients and their effects and the principles behind the Mithradatiium--also how it might have come into the hands of the Romans after Mithradates VI's death.
ReplyDeleteRequested from the library.
Delete