Ancient Medicine

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Some fumigations for lizards, snakes and scorpions

Deer and snake. From this 15th century herbal: British Library, Sloane ms. 4016, fol. 30v.

PhilumenusOn poisonous animals and their remedies is only available in one manuscript, Vat. gr. 284. A friend at the CMG has been working on a new edition of the text and hopefully it will be published soon. For now, the manuscript is digitized and available at the Vatican Library (with snake drawings in the margins).

Here is chapter six: on fumigations against snakes (and other things), which includes one recipe from Archigenes.

Fumigations for snakes

From Archigenes' works:

Hooves and hair of goats burnt at a distance. Snakes are repelled by their smell.

A compound incense of Philinus, the Theriac:

Of galbanum, root of kakhru, horn of deer, cumin, one ounce each

Grind all the ingredients, mix with vinegar and make them into tablets.

To use, the incense is soaked in oil and placed in the middle of the house, or if you are out in the open, in the middle of your bed.

Another:

of galbanum, of fat of the Egyptian mongoose, one ounce each.

Dissolve them together and store.

To use, fumigate in the same way as before.

Another one, Egyptian:

an old asp, soaked in oil.

[Place the] incense close to the snake's den and it will immediately come out.

Another, bringing down scorpions and every snake and driving them away from the house:

incense of equal amounts of galbanum, realgar, butter, bryony, fat of goat.

θυμιάματα ἑρπετῶν

ἐκ τῶν Ἀρχιγένους· ὁπλαὶ αἰγῶν καὶ τρίχες θυμιώμεναι πόρρωθεν· ἀναστέλλεται <γὰρ> τὰ ἑρπετὰ τῇ τούτων ὀσμῇ. σύνθετον θυμίαμα Φιλίνου <τοῦ> θηριακοῦ· χαλβάνης, κάχρυος τῆς ῥίζης, κέρατος ἐλαφείου, μελανθίου ἀνὰ 𐆄 α. λεάνας πάντα ἀναλάμβανε <ὄξει>, ποιῶν τροχίσκους. ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς χρείας ἀποβρέξας εἰς ἔλαιον θυμία κατὰ μέσον τῆς οἰκίας, ἐὰν δὲ ἐν ὑπαίθρῳ ᾖς, κατὰ μέσον τῆς κοίτης. ἄλλο· χαλβάνης, στέατος ἰχνεύμονος ἀνὰ 𐆄 α τήξας ἀπόθου· ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς χρείας θυμίασον ὁμοίως. ἄλλο Αἰγύπτιον· γῆρας ἀσπίδος βρέξας εἰς ἔλαιον [ἄλλο] θυμία ἐγγὺς τῶν φωλεῶν καὶ εὐθέως ἀναβήσονται. <ἄλλο> καταφέρον καὶ σκορπίους καὶ πᾶν ἑρπετὸν <ἀπελαῦνον> ἐξ οἰκίας· χαλβάνην, σανδαράκην, βούτυρον, βρυωνίαν, στέαρ αἴγειον ἐξ οἰκίς· χαλβάνην, σανδαράκην, βούτυρον, βρυωνίαν, στέαρ αἴγειον ἐξ ἴσου θυμία.

Philumenus, De venenatis animalibus eorumque remediis (On poisonous animals and their remedies), chapter 6 (p. 10,16-28 Wellmann)