CHG vv.1– 2 passim; Björck (1932) 64–87; Idem (1944); BNP 1 (2002) 916 (#2), A.-M. Doyen-Higuet;
McCabe (2007) 122–155.
Anne McCabe
Apuleius Celsus of Centuripae (ca 20 – 40 CE)
S L (§94) names Apuleius Celsus as his mentor alongside T
V, his fellow-apprentice in medicine and pharmacology. Celsus was born and prac-
ticed in the Sicilian town of Centuripae (§171), a city on a hill south-west across a valley
facing Mt. Aetna, where Celsus was known for his rabies cure, “since there are numerous
rabid dogs in Sicily.” The drug became famous in Crete, after a shipwreck and a successful
cure, but Z G countermanded a better and pricier drug fashioned from
hyena-hides (§172). Scribonius (or his teacher) replied he would await an opportunity to
verify for himself the effectiveness of such an exotic ingredient.
The “cure” principally entailed waiting a month to ensure that the victim lost his fear of
water, since most bite victims would not necessarily have rabies. Meanwhile, the “Antidote
of Celsus,” (§173) prepared in bulk, was administered to treat common ailments such as
diarrhea, runny eyes, and colic, and even as an antidote for snake bites. The 19-ingredient
compound and its preparation display the complex pharmacological technology character-
istic of recipes in Scribonius: it consisted of three parts each of Syrian nard, saffron, myrrh,
kostos, cassia, cinnamon, camel-grass oil (Cymbopogon schoenanthus [L.] Spreng.), “white”
pepper, “long” pepper, beaver castor, galbanum, mastic, and the latex of the opium
poppy; two parts of “white” henbane seeds and flowers; one part of anise seeds; six parts
each of celery seeds and tragacanth gum – all to be mixed with Attic honey and Falernian
wine. The tragacanth gum and opium latex were to be steeped in wine for a day before
assembly; and on the following day, the remaining substances were crushed and mixed with
honey; meanwhile, the galbanum and mastic were heated over charcoal, reduced to a
hot powder, and some honey added to ensure a waxy consistency; the mixture was boiled
until it attained a saffron-yellow color; then the ingredients steeped in wine were added.
“The antidote is put away for storage in a glass container;” and a small quantity adminis-
tered with water.
The “Antidote of Celsus” required a series of complicated and quite technical pharma-
cological stages for its manufacture (impressive in themselves), and the compound would
have been extraordinarily expensive (due to the saffron and beaver castor); the inclusion of
henbane suggests an anesthetic property, as does opium, and beaver castor (naturally rich in
salicylates) combined with mildly analgesic celery seeds suggest that the “Antidote of
Celsus” was given as a month-long calming pill that could enable a much-worried patient to
wait out the 30 days.
RE 1.2 (1894) 259 (#20), P. von Rohden.
John Scarborough
L. Apuleius of Madaurus (150 – 170 CE)
Platonic philosopher and writer belonging to the Second Sophistic, born ca 125 CE to a
wealthy family, and educated in Carthage (Florida 18) and Athens (Apol. 72). Apuleius trav-
eled widely, visiting Samos, Phrugia, and Rome (Flor. 15.49; 17.77). He was initiated into
the mysteries of Isis. In the winter of 156, on his way to Alexandria, at Oea (mod. Tripoli)
he married his friend Pontianus’ mother Pudentilla, whose relatives accused him of
L. APULEIUS OF MADAURUS