Theriac

Theriac or theriaca is a medical concoction originally labelled by the Greeks in the 1st century AD and widely adopted in the ancient world as far away as Persia, China and India via the trading links of the Silk Route.

It was also considered a panacea,[3] a term for which it could be used interchangeably: in the 16th century Adam Lonicer wrote that garlic was the rustic's theriac or Heal-All.

When cane sugar was an exotic Eastern commodity, the English recommended the sugar-based treacle as an antidote against poison,[7] originally applied as a salve.

[12] Thinking by analogy, Henry Grosmont also thought of theriac as a moral curative, the medicine "to make a man reject the poisonous sin which has entered into his soul".

Since the plague, and notably the Black Death, was believed to have been sent by God as a punishment for sin and had its origins in pestilential serpents that poisoned the rivers, theriac was a particularly appropriate remedy or therapeutic.

[13] By contrast, Christiane Fabbri argues[14] that theriac, which very frequently contained opium, actually did have palliative effect against pain and reduced coughing and diarrhea.

According to the commentary on Exodus, Ki Tisa, the Spanish scholar Moses ben Nachman lists the ingredients of theriac as leaven, honey, flesh of wild beasts and reptiles, dried scorpion and viper.

Roots: Iris, Balsamorhiza deltoidea, Potentilla reptans (creeping cinquefoil), Rheum rhabarbarum (garden rhubarb), Zingiber officinale, Ulmus × hollandica 'Angustifolia' odorata[clarification needed], Gentiana, Meum athamanticum (spignel), Valeriana, Corydalis cava (hollowroot), glycyrrhiza Stems and barks: Cinnamomum verum (cinnamon), Cinnamomum aromaticum (cassia) Leaves: Teucrium scordium (water germander), Fraxinus excelsior, Clinopodium calamintha (lesser calamint), Marrubium vulgare (white or common horehound), Cymbopogon citratus (West-Indian lemongrass), Teucrium chamaedrys (wall germander), Cupressaceae, Laurus nobilis (bay laurel), Teucrium montanum (mountain germander), Cytinus hypocistis Flowers: Rosa, Crocus sativus, Lavandula stoechas (French lavender), Lavandula angustifolia (common or English lavender), Centaurea minoris (common centaury) Fruits and seeds: Brassica napus (rapeseed), Petroselinum (parsley), Nigella sativa, Pimpinella anisum (anise), Elettaria cardamomum, Foeniculum vulgare (fennel), Hypericum perforatum (St. John's wort), seseli, thlaspi, Daucus carota (carrot), Piper nigrum (black pepper), Piper longum (long pepper), Juniperus (juniper), Syzygium aromaticum (clove), Canary Island wine, Agaricus fruiting bodies Gums, oils and resins: Acaciae (acacia), Styrax benzoin, Gummi arabicum, Sagapeni (wax of an unknown tree, possibly some kind of Ferula), Gummi Opopanax chironium, Gummi Ferula foetida, Commiphora (myrrh), incense, Turpentine from Cyprus, oil from Myristica fragans (nutmeg), Papaver somniverum latex (opium).

Animal parts and products: Castoreum, Trochisci Viperarum, Narbonne white honey Mineral substances: Boli armen.