Thrasyas from Mantinea

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Thrasyas from Mantinea (lived around 370 BC) was a Greek scientist. Thrasyas was a contemporary of Aristotle . According to the testimony of Theophrastus of Eresus , Thrasius of Mantinea was the most skilful rhizotome of that time. He found that the effects of the plants on different people could be very different. Thrasyas mainly occupied himself with the preparation of poisons from poppy seed juice and hemlock . He realized that this mixture kills much more gently than hemlock alone, as the soporific effect of opium sets in first and only then does the paralysis caused by hemlock, which ultimately lead to death.

Thrasyas realized that herbal ingredients do not have the same effect on every organism. He also showed that one and the same poisonous plant or its drug has different effects depending on the dose administered, a discovery that is mostly attributed to Paracelsus today.

source

  • Lewine, Louis (1920): The poisons in world history - toxicological, generally understandable investigations of historical sources. 596 S. Springer, Berlin.
  • Fuhrmeister, Anna Charlotte (2005): Poisonings - Panorama Change of the Last Decades Results of a Literature Study. 154 p., Graph. Darst.Univ., Diss. Bonn.
personal data
SURNAME Thrasyas from Mantinea
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Greek biologist and botanist (rhizotome)
DATE OF BIRTH before 370 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 4th century BC Chr.