Mithridate

Mithridates' father was assassinated by poisoning, according to some at his mother's orders. After this, Mithridates's mother held regency over Pontus until a male heir was of age. Mithridates was in competition with another brother, whom his mother favored, for the throne. Supposedly during his youth he began to suspect plots against him at his mother's orders and was aware of her likely connection with his father's death. He then, supposedly, began to notice pains during his meals, and suspected his mother had ordered small amounts of poison to be added to his food in order to cause his health to deteriorate while avoiding notice of intent to kill him slowly. After other assassination attempts, he fled into the wilderness. While in the wild it is said that he began consuming non-lethal levels of poisons and mixing many into a remedy to make him immune to many poisons. In keeping with most medical practices of his era, Mithridates' anti-poison routines included a religious component supervised by Agari, or Scythian shamans who never left his side. ==Formulation==

Aulus Cornelius Celsus details one version of the antidote in De Medicina (ca. AD 30). A recent translation is as follows: "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 contained: • costmary, 1–66 grams • sweet flag, 20 grams • hypericum, 8 grams • Natural gum, 8 grams • sagapenum, 8 grams • acacia juice, 8 grams • Illyrian iris (probably I. germanica), 8 grams • cardamom, 8 grams • anise, 12 grams • Gallic nard (Valeriana italica), 16 grams • gentian root, 16 grams • dried rose leaves, 16 grams • poppy-tears (Papaver rhoeas, a wild poppy with low opiate content), 17 grams • parsley, 17 grams • cassia, 20–66 grams • saxifrage, 20–66 grams • darnel, 20–66 grams • long pepper, 20–66 grams • storax, 21 grams • castoreum, 24 grams • frankincense, 24 grams • hypocistis juice, 24 grams • myrrh, 24 grams • opopanax, 24 grams • malabathrum leaves, 24 grams • flower of round rush, 24–66 grams • turpentine-resin, 24–66 grams • galbanum, 24–66 grams • Cretan carrot seeds, 24–66 grams • nard, 25 grams • opobalsam, 25 grams • shepherd's purse, 25 grams • rhubarb root, 28 grams • saffron, 29 grams • ginger, 29 grams • cinnamon, 29 grams The ingredients are then "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." Of these ingredients, Illyrian iris, darnel, and rhubarb were not commonly found in other versions of the antidote. ==Criticism==

Pliny (Natural History, XXIX.24–25, ca. AD 77) was skeptical of mithridate and other such theriacs (panacea potions), with their numerous ingredients: ==In literature==

In A. E. Housman's collection of poetry titled A Shropshire Lad published in 1896, there is a poem about King Mithridates and his antidote's amazing abilities: In the Diary of Samuel Pepys, entry for 9 April 1664; Pepys writes at the end of the day “by the help of mithridate slept very well” having been unwell the previous night and also having vomited during the day. ==See also==