Opium use in antiquity

[guy]

 

There have been previous posts about the use of opium in antiquity, including the recent finding of opium in a Canaanite grave (see below).

Here is a scientific article dealing with the subject of the Canaanite find and conclusions of the research:

Quote

 

After the conquest of Assyria and Babylonia by the Persians (539 bce), the cultivation of the opium poppy and preparation of opium subsequently appeared in Persia. Opium also made its way from Asia Minor to Greece and Rome. The word “opium” has been assumed to be of Greek origin, deriving from “opos” (juice) and “opion” (poppy juice). The ancient Greeks associated various divinities with opium such as Hypnos (sleep), Morpheus (dream), Nyx (night) and Thanatos (the twin brother of Hypnos) (death). Opium is frequently mentioned in Greek mythology, and Homer cites the drug as an intoxicating, pain-relieving and sleep-inducing substance in both The Iliad and The Odyssey. The Romans continued in the use of opium as a medicine and as a poison (510 bce to 476 ce). Subsequently, opium use spread throughout the rest of the world: China, India, Europe, etc..

According to historical literary sources and new chemical evidence, it is suggested that opium was first cultivated in Asia Minor (c. 3000 bce). It made its way to Greece and Cyprus as early as the 16th century bce, and became an important import from Cyprus to the Ancient Near East for its stimulating properties, giving it a high economic value. Opium was indeed extracted and collected into Cypriot Base-Ring ware for the purpose of trade in and around the Levant. The opium was most likely used in a number of ways: for medicinal, cultic and ritualistic purposes, as many Cypriot vessels were found in a variety of contexts, signifying its use either for burial rites and/or as an offering for the dead.

 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/arcm.12806

 

 

Edited September 25, 2022 by guy