Welcome to Part 1 of “ A Fresh Eye”, an interview with historian-folklorist Adrienne Mayor, who specializes in the early history of science. Nonfiction author of Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs, her most recent book is a can’t-put-down biography and a National Book Award finalist called The Poison King.
VL: Adrienne, before we get too deep into toxins, I’m wondering: has your research ever taken you outside your comfort zone?
AM: Most of my research does just that–because unanswered questions
are the only kind that attract me! For three decades, I’ve been reading my way through ancient Greek and Roman literature, amassing files and taking notes on topics both weird and neglected. I am attracted—as you are!—to marginal material that no one else seems to find fruitful. The research paths
I prefer can be prodigiously frustrating. But the exhilaration of chasing down elusive kernels of scientific or historical truth keeps me going.
VL: I’m a library freak and imagine you are, too. Any favorites to tell us about?
AM: I have fond feelings for two research libraries in particular. Living in Athens in the late 1970s, I was lucky enough to begin research in classical folklore at the Library of the American School of Classical Studies. There
I met archaeologists, art historians, and classical scholars who patiently and generously responded to my off-the-wall questions. In 1990, when my husband and I moved to Princeton, N.J., I developed a crush on the magnificent Firestone Library, spending many happy hours in their rare book rooms.
VL: During your years of research, what have you found to be your most useful tools and strategies?
AM: Insatiable curiosity, for one. Willingness to give ancient sources the benefit of the doubt, for another. I’ve also developed a “rapture of the deep” ability to persist while doing complex library, museum, and internet searches. In addition, I find that dreams help me solve knotty problems.
VL: What’s your writing environment like? Any special rituals or quirks?
AM: Yellow legal pads: indispensable for brainstorming and outlines. White ones just won’t do. I compose on my laptop, being too nomadic to have a desktop computer. Music helps me jumpstart the flow of words. I have a superstitious faith in Chopin’s Nocturnes performed by Daniel Barenboim–and can listen to them for days.
VL: I can relate. To write my first big book, I played Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” over and over. And that was back in the days of LPs and typewriters!
AM: Another genre that puts me in a writing mood is droning, ethereal music, like Jonsi and Alex.
VL: How do you reward yourself after a hard day’s work?
AM: A bowl of popcorn with Greek olive oil and sea salt on it.
VL: Can you describe a few peak research moments for us?
AM: I’ve had many while working on The Poison King and other toxicological projects. For example, I was thrilled to find an obscure paper by an Italian archaeologist who’d discovered residues in a large vat at a villa near Herculaneum. Chemical testing showed the vat had been used to boil medicinal plants, opium, and (the exciting kicker) bits of reptiles! King Mithradates’ celebrated elixir, his secret “universal antidote” to make him immune to all poisons, was said to contain 50-plus ingredients, including plant toxins AND minced lizards. Decades after Mithradates’ death in 63 BC, Imperial physicians not only claimed to have his original formula but several boasted that they’d “improved” it. Nero’s doctor Andromachus, for example, replaced the minced lizard with chopped viper; another Imperial physician added opium. In the Italian archaeologist’s paper, she concluded that the vat she found may have been used to produce a royal version of the new improved antidote, sometime before AD 79 (when Vesuvius erupted, destroying Herculaneum and Pompeii).
VL: Wow. What an amazing find. Were you able to interview the archaeologist herself?
AM: Sadly, no. I tried for a year to contact her, only later learning she’d left archaeology to become a recluse.
VL: Tell us about researching the Mithradates book. Any memorable breakthrough moments?
AM: Twice King Mithradates nearly died on the battlefield, profusely bleeding from grievous wounds. Ancient historians report that both times
his life was saved by his team of Agari medicine men. These mysterious Scythian shamans hailed from the region between the Black and Caspian Seas, now Azerbaijan. Masters of poison, their specialized repertoire included the secrets of using deadly venoms as medicine. To identify which snake species the Agari would have worked with, I searched online. Turns out the most likely was the Caucasian steppe viper. As I combed the web
for images of it, I turned up a recent article in an Azerbaijani magazine (miraculously in English!) about their country’s valuable new export: the venom of the Caucasian steppe viper. In demand at hospitals around the world, viper venom now brings in more cash than oil does.
Why? Because scientists in the brand-new field of venomics, as it’s called, have discovered that miniscule amounts of venom stop hemorrhage. That’s the secret that Mithradates’ shamans discovered more than 2,000 years ago! Here we have a medical history milestone: the first documented accounts of saving lives with snake venom.
VL: A true eureka! moment for you, then.
AM: Yes. Nevertheless, more mystery remains: how did the Agari shamans manage to dilute and deliver the venom in antiquity?
VL: So we’ve come full circle. More unanswered questions–and seekers like you, patiently pursuing the answers. Thank you, Adrienne!
AM: It’s been a pleasure.
VL: We’re not finished, folks—please join us on the next blogpost for Part 2 of our interview with author Adrienne Mayor, my fellow historical detective and researcher extraordinaire. (To learn more about Ms. Mayor and her books, visit YouTube, facebook, RedRoom, and other sites.)
Fascinating Interview Vicki! Very much looking forward to part 2. The Poison King definitely goes on the reading list!
Also, your blog is getting visually prettier each time I visit it – well done and keep it up!
Kind Regards
H
Greetings H.N.! My most sincere thanks for the compliments—they rightfully belong to Justin, who does all the heavy lifting here—I’m the diletante. Poison expert Mayor has much more to share–some of it shocking!
I first read about Mithradates in Plutarch’s Lives. Th elives of Pompey, Sulla, Lucullus, all had stories about him. The Poison King tied it all together beautifully. After reading it, I was torn. Mithradates was guilty of genocide, killing his sons, family. It all seemed slightly justified based on the times he lived in, but like Boudica, who tried to throw off the Roman yoke, she seemed to go to far (burning innocent civilians hiding in a temple), and when she lost, I couldn’t help but think she was just as bad as the Romans she despised.
I once admired Carthage for the same reasons (fighting the big bad Roman empire), but after studying in Tunisia, and learning of their child sacrifices, I can’t help but wonder if Rome was the lesser of the evils at the time. Mithridates will always have my respect and pity for trying to fight the Romans but failing. I wonder though, what the world would be lke today with a Pontic cultural meme instead of a Roman one that changed our world as we know it.
The Poison King is an excellent read. I highly recommend it.
Excellent interview! I also love the book. I’m a big fan of Greek Fire too because it’s chock full of deliciously dark details. The idea that “insatiable curiosity” is her most useful tool is a wonderful observation. So true!
Thanks Joel for your perceptive comments and feedback. Much appreciated! @Vicky aren’t we lucky to live and write in the company of such fine researchers and writers? It is a grand time to be alive (easy for me to say because I refuse to pay attention to what is foolishly called “news” today.