Konrad Tadajczyk, Krzysztof Jagusiak

Selected insects in ancient medicine and in the Roman and Byzantine law

 

2025-03-20

In ancient Greek and Roman medicine (and later in medieval Byzantine medicine), remedies of mineral, plant, and animal origin were commonly used. The latter group also included three species of insects known in Latin as Lytta vesicatoria, Buprestis splendens and Thaumetopoea pityocampa. All of these had proximate properties and were therefore juxtaposed together in extant medical treatises. However, because of their peculiar characteristics and strong effects on the human body, when used inappropriately, they could prove dangerous.

This article will discuss the opinions of Graeco-Roman and Byzantine physicians active between the fifth century BC and the seventh century AD (from the Hippocratic authors through the authors of the most important surviving medical writings of antiquity and the early Middle Ages: Dioscorides, Galen, Orybasius, Aetius of Amida to Paul of Aegina) on the use of the three insect species of interest in medicine. The sources provide, among others, information on their use mainly in the treatment of gynecological and dermatological diseases, as well as urinary and neurological ailments.

In addition, the article presents the symptoms of the toxic effects of these insects, as identified by the authors of the works analyzed (they may have varied from species to species, although they were similar to some extent, including hematuria, disturbance of consciousness, fainting, and intestinal pains) and the methods of treating possible poisoning preserved in the sources. The latter mainly included enemas and the use of vomiting agents, but also the consumption of appropriate foods.

Complementing the position of ancient medicine will be the records from the collections of Roman law. Roman jurists noted that the improper use of medicines caused damage to human health and life. They made the misuse of animal remedies (including the insect species in question) in medical treatment a criminal sanction. These legal solutions were repeated by the jurists of the Byzantine period.

Keywords: Lytta vesicatoria, Buprestis splendens, Thaumetopoea pityocampa, history of medicine, history of pharmacy.

© Farm Pol, 2024, 80(10): 681–685