Theriaca (poem) explained

The Theriaca (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Θηριακά) is the longest surviving work of the 2nd-century BC Greek poet Nicander of Colophon.

It is a 958-line hexameter poem describing the nature of venomous creatures, including snakes, spiders and scorpions, and the wounds that they inflict.[1]

Nicander also wrote the companion work Alexipharmaca, which explored other poisons and venoms.

Etymology

The title is the Latinized form of the Greek neuter plural adjective Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: θηριακά (thēriaka), "having to do with venomous animals",[2] which in turn derives from Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: θηρίον (thērion), "wild animal".[3] A corresponding English noun, theriac, also exists.[4]

Content

It has been noted that Theriaca is a poem not solely concerned with its intended subject matter, given its "arcane language".[5] Nicander makes references to a drakōn, however it is likely this term is utilized to refer to an Aesculapian snake rather than a dragon in the contemporary perception of the word.[6]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Nicander of Colophon. University of Chicago.
  2. .
  3. .
  4. Web site: theriaca. dictionary.com.
  5. Overduin . Floris . The Anti-Bucolic World Of Nicander's 'Theriaca' . The Classical Quarterly . December 2014 . 64 . 2 . 623 . 10.1017/S0009838814000342 . 43905601 . 170453942 . 9 May 2021. 2066/133161 . free .
  6. Senter . Phil . Mattox . Uta . Haddad . Eid . Snake to Monster: Conrad Gessner's Schlangenbuch and the Evolution of the Dragon in the Literature of Natural History . Journal of Folklore Research . 53 . 1 . 74 . 10.2979/jfolkrese.53.1-4.67 . 163428518 . 25 March 2021.