Quintin Maes Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 A few years ago i was watching a documentary about Greek/Roman (not shure..) warfare. They were talking about soldiers with poisonous blood and saliva, through feeding them increasing (but non-lethal) amounts of poison during their childhood and adulthood. Becoming (very) toxic but resistant to the poison, giving these warriors an advantage in battles (I.E. spitting in the eyes, or in open wounds intoxicating their opponents). Well, to get to the point; it has been a few years and i can't remember much. I have been searching the net regarding these "soldiers", IF they ever existed, but with very little result so far. They were called "Catavari" or "Calavari" as far as i can remember. I'd really like to know more about these particular soldiers and how they lived. Does this story or these names ring a bell? Please share it Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost_Warrior Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 I've never heard of that before, in some small way it seems logical though likely to be urban legend. I don't know if they really existed but it would be really cool if they did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princeps Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 Sounds more like an Aztec/Olmec/Inca thing to me (not sure why). Perhaps Eagle warriors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintin Maes Posted February 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 Well, i'll be off to the library next week then. I have a few books regarding the Olmecs but those are solely about their art and craftmanship. I'll watch this topic closely though, hoping somebody actually knows... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pertinax Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 loading weapons with toxins as nerve agents seems reasonable ( curarae, ricin, hycosine, strychnus ( brucine would be my nerve agent of choice) or many other very toxic substances -the Vietcong stored some munitions in cadavers for example,poison arrow frog we all know ) but using combatants seems to be a very long haul investment in a medium that would be most effective only as a last resort in intense hand to hand combat.Ill have a hunt through my texts but this really is a new one - ..I vote poisoned weapons! Arsenic would fit the bill as a poison which can be "tolerated" if ingested steadily, but id rather kill someone from a safe distance with a pilum (or ballista best of all) rather than bite them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmo Posted February 27, 2006 Report Share Posted February 27, 2006 I don't believe that is possible. No matter what dose one can take it will never became a cobra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintin Maes Posted February 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2006 (edited) Well, perhaps they weren't as poisonous as a cobra (what would th Edited February 27, 2006 by Quintin Maes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primus Pilus Posted February 27, 2006 Report Share Posted February 27, 2006 Just an interesting and semi related aside regarding Mithridates VI... From Appian 'The History of Rome' Mithridates then took out some poison that he always carried next to his sword, and mixed it. There two of his daughters, who were still girls growing up together, named Mithridates and Nyssa, who had been betrothed to the kings of [Ptolemaic] Egypt and of Cyprus, asked him to let them have some of the poison first, and insisted strenuously and prevented him from drinking it until they had taken some and swallowed it. The drug took effect on them at once; but upon Mithridates, although he walked around rapidly to hasten its action, it had no effect, because he had accustomed himself to other drugs by continually trying them as a means of protection against poisoners. These are still called the Mithridatic drugs. And from Cassius Dio book XXXVII Mithridates had tried to make away with himself, and after first removing his wives and remaining children by poison, he had swallowed all that was left; yet neither by that means nor by the sword was he able to perish by his own hands. For the poison, although deadly, did not prevail over him, since he had inured his constitution to it, taking precautionary antidotes in large doses every day; Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintin Maes Posted February 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2006 Primus Pilus; Very interesting, it appears they had some knowledge about poison and resistance in those days. I think i'll be searching for Mithridates IV and earlier in the library. The knowledge Mithridates had, must have it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Dalby Posted February 27, 2006 Report Share Posted February 27, 2006 Primus Pilus; Very interesting, it appears they had some knowledge about poison and resistance in those days. I think i'll be searching for Mithridates IV and earlier in the library. The knowledge Mithridates had, must have it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldrail Posted March 2, 2006 Report Share Posted March 2, 2006 I'm not a medical-person, but as far as I'm aware consuming small amounts of poison won't imbue you with poison saliva over an extended period. More likely you'd end up seriously ill, although its recorded that some people did this to build up resistance against assassination attempts. Agrippina the younger for instance, who was well aware of Nero's initial attempts to bump her off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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