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.
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]
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]