A History of Opium in Antiquity

Abstract

A pictorial story of the history of the opium poppy and its use. in the eastern Mediterranean area, compIled from a comprehensive article on the subject by P.G. Kritikos and S. Papadakl, laboratory of pharmacognosy, University of Athens, Greece. The study was originally published in the Journal of the ArcheologIcal SocIety of Athens (1963) and subsequently translated into English and published in the Bulletin of Narcotics (United Nations) vol. 19 (July-September 1967).At a time when drug abuse and narcotic addiction are so prevalent, it is interesting to note that the poppy plant and its hypnotic properties were well known in the classical period of ancient Greece. It was regarded as a magic and poisonous plant and was used in religious ceremonies. At a later date it was also employed in medicine. This selection of illustrations provides evidence of the widespread use of opium in these ancient civilizations and supports such legends as that of Demeter, who in despair over the seizure of her daughter, ate opium poppies in order to fall asleep and forget her grief. In the hands of Apollo and Aesculapius, gods of medicine in ancient mythology, the. poppy-capsule is symbolic of the curative qualities attributed to the plant. In the hands of the gods of sleep, Hypnos, and night, Nyx, the opium poppy emphasizes its hypnotic properties, and in the hands of Aphrodite, it is symbolic of pleasure and fertility thought to be increased by the use of opium.