Theriaka and Alexipharmaka by Nicander

Nicander of Colophon was a Greek doctor, poet, and grammarian. He lived in the 2nd century B.C. and composed numerous didactic poems, of which only two have survived to today. One of them is the collection Theriaka, in which the treatment of stings and bites from poisonous animals such as snakes and scorpions is dealt with. The second surviving work is the Alexipharmaka, which deals with floral and faunal poisons for the treatment of various sicknesses. Both didactic poems were bound together in a comprehensive and breathtakingly beautifully decorated codex, which today gives us an indication of the knowledge of the great Greek scholar.

Memorable and Forceful

Nicander deliberately recorded his findings about the substances of nature in rhymed verses. Through the use of verse form he made the scientific facts memorable so that they could be easily memorized and applied in an emergency. His works are clearly structured. Each clinical picture that he knew has a passage devoted to it, in which the symptoms and the specific causes and remedies for it are portrayed. The personal physicians of the Roman Emperors Trajan and Nero were guided by the insights of Nicander in the treatment of their most important patients and spread his floral and faunal forms of treatment through the use of opium and other pain-relieving and stimulating substances.

The Only Illustrated Edition

A particular characteristic of this codex of the Theriaka and Alexipharmaka is its vivid illustration. This edition is the only illuminated manuscript of the didactic poems. 40 of the 48 total pages of the work preserve outstanding miniatures from the zoological and botanical realm. The pictures illustrate the portrayal of the didactic poem, they show the dangerous poisonous animals, which one should be vigilant against, and clarify treatments of illnesses with the help of various natural substances. In doing so, some of the depictions play with influences from mythology and thus mix scientific findings with great Greek legends. The codex is a true feast of the senses for every booklover. Today the valuable original of the work finds itself in the French National Library in Paris.