Abstract
Our knowledge of poisonous substances known to the ancient Romans is derived from the records of various contemporary writers. The Greek scholar, Theophrastus, associate and successor of Aristotle as head of the Lyceum (4th century BCE) led the way in identifying plants with medicinal (and poisonous) properties. In the 1st century CE, Dioscorides of Anazarbus wrote his famous herbal, De materia medica, which superseded all existing literature in classifying remedies and drugs from the vegetable, animal, and mineral kingdoms. This work, which dealt with close to 1000 drugs, became the standard text for centuries to come. Information on poisons can also be gleaned from the writings of the poet Nicander (2nd century BCE), the army physician Scribonius Largus (150 CE), the encyclopedist Pliny the Elder (2379 CE), another encyclopedist, Cornelius Celsus (1st century CE), and the famous physician and philosopher Galen (2nd century CE).
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