Theriac

Theriac, or theriaca, is a medical concoction originally described by the Greeks in the first century AD and widely adopted across the ancient world as far as Persia, China, and India via the trading links of the Silk Route. It was an alexipharmic, an antidote for a variety of poisons and diseases, and was also considered a panacea, a term for which it could be used interchangeably. The word theriac comes from the Greek term thēriakē, meaning pertaining to animals, from thērion, wild animal or beast, reflecting the ancient bestiaries that included information, often fanciful, about dangerous beasts and their bites. The remedy's supposed effect followed a homeopathic like principle whereby a concoction containing some of the poisonous flesh of a serpent would be a remedy against that creature's own venom, since snakes were widely believed to contain an antidote to protect themselves from their own poison. Because plague, most notably the Black Death, was believed to have been sent by God as punishment for sin and to have originated in pestilential serpents that poisoned rivers, theriac was considered a particularly appropriate remedy, and because it very frequently contained opium, it may actually have had a palliative effect against pain and reduced coughing and diarrhea.