Lexington Books
Pages: 172
Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜
978-1-66692-014-7 • Hardback • November 2023 • $95.00 • (£73.00)
978-1-66692-015-4 • eBook • November 2023 • $45.00 • (£35.00)
Alan Sumler teaches Latin at the University of Colorado, Denver.
Introduction
Chapter 1: Mythological Drugs
Chapter 2: Philosophical Drugs
Chapter 3: Hellebore
Chapter 4: Mandrake
Chapter 5: Henbane, Hemlock, Opium, Darnel, Cannabis, Frankincense, and Myrrh
Chapter 6: Wine
Chapter 7: Other Settings of Intoxication and Modern Biotech Applications
This study is sure to become the standard work on the topic of intoxication in the Greek and Roman worlds. Although Sumler is a Latin teacher, the strength of his book lies in its survey of Greek sources. Examining religion, magic, medicine, art, the Greek symposium, and the Roman convivium, the text considers psychotropic plants such as hellebore, mandrake, thorn apple, deadly nightshade, henbane, opium poppy, darnel containing ergot, cannabis, frankincense, and myrrh. These psychoactive plants were often added to wine. This volume will appeal mostly to specialists, although the chapter on wine should appeal to a larger audience. It joins the considerable body of scholarly literature on ancient drugs. Recommended. Graduate students and faculty.
— Choice Reviews