Description
Toxicology in Antiquity provides an authoritative and fascinating exploration into the use of toxins and poisons in antiquity. It brings together the two previously published shorter volumes on the topic, as well as adding considerable new information. Part of the History of Toxicology and Environmental Health series, it covers key accomplishments, scientists, and events in the broad field of toxicology, including environmental health and chemical safety. This first volume sets the tone for the series and starts at the very beginning, historically speaking, with a look at toxicology in ancient times. The book explains that before scientific research methods were developed, toxicology thrived as a very practical discipline. People living in ancient civilizations readily learned to distinguish safe substances from hazardous ones, how to avoid these hazardous substances, and how to use them to inflict harm on enemies. It also describes scholars who compiled compendia of toxic agents. New chapters in this edition focus chiefly on evidence for the use of toxic agents derived from religious texts.- Provides the historical background for understanding modern toxicology- Illustrates the ways previous civilizations learned to distinguish safe from hazardous substances, how to avoid the hazardous substances and how to use them against enemies- Explores the way famous historical figures used toxins- New chapters focus on evidence of the use of toxins derived from religious texts
Table of Contents
1. The Prehistory of Poison Arrows2. Beetle and Plant Arrow Poisons of the San People of Southern Africa3. Toxicology in Ancient Egypt4. The Death of Cleopatra: Suicide by Snakebite or Poisoned by Her Enemies?5. Kohl Use in Antiquity: Effects on the Eye6. Nicander, Thêriaka, and Alexipharmaka: Venoms, Poisons, and Literature7. The Case Against Socrates and His Execution8. Murder, Execution, and Suicide in Ancient Greece and Rome9. The Oracle at Delphi: The Pythia and the Pneuma, Intoxicating Gas Finds, and Hypotheses10. Alexander the Great: A Questionable Death11. Mithridates of Pontus and His Universal Antidote12. Theriaca Magna: The Glorious Cure-All Remedy13. The gates to hell in antiquity and their relation to geogenic CO2 emissions14. Lead Poisoning and the Downfall of Rome: Reality or Myth?15. Poisons, Poisoners, and Poisoning in Ancient Rome16. Chemical and Biological Warfare in Antiquity17. Asclepius and the Snake as Toxicological Symbols in Ancient Greece and Rome18. Anthropogenic Air Pollution in Ancient Times19. Poisoning in Ancient Rome: Images and Rules20. "Gleaming and Deadly White: Toxic Cosmetics in the Roman World21. Cherchez la femme: three infamous poisoners of ancient Rome22. Did Hannibal really poison himself?23. Drugs, Suppositories, and Cult Worship in Antiquity24. Entheogens in Ancient Times: Wine and the Rituals of Dionysus25. Entheogens (Psychedelic Drugs) and the Ancient Mystery Religions26. Ancient Mystery Initiation: Toxic Priestesses and Vaginal Communion27. Harmful Botanicals28. Pearl, an Ancient Antidote of Eastern Origin29. Rhetoric, Demons, and the Poisoner's Tongue in Judaism and Early Christianity30. Poisonous Medicine in Ancient China31. Toxicity of Ayurvedic Medicines and Safety Concerns: Ancient and Modern Perspectives32. Mushroom Intoxication in Mesoamerica
