The Great Theriac Elixir And The Cures You Buy Online Today

Some Things Never Change

Ron Hines DVM PhD

   Back to Maimonides

  Back to rabies

The “Great Theriac” that Maimonides mentions was a potion that, throughout the ages, has gone by many names. Over the 2000+ years that it was used, it had from 20 to 72 ingredients (but always with some opium & given with honey wine).

Legend had it that it was originally invented by Mithridates, an ancient king of a region that is now part of Turkey. You can read more about him here. Emperor Nero’s physician added ground up vipers (poisonous snakes) to the formula (viper=theriaca=theriac) – hence its name. Variations of the Great Theriac were in common use by doctors up through the time of George Washington.

You don’t have to blow the dust off of some ancient text to find the recipe for this potion today. The miracle cures, homeopathic remedies, anti-aging potions, alternative medicines and pet nutraceuticals marketed online, on cable, in stores and occasionally sold by veterinarians or appearing at the bottom of my webpages are the Great Theriacs of today. As fast as I block them, the Googlebot inserts another. Some things will never change.

You are on the Vetspace animal health website

Visiting the products that you see displayed on this website help pay the cost of keeping these articles on the Internet.