Shennong is one of the Three Sovereigns of ancient Chinese lore. Also called the Divine Farmer, he's strongly associated with...

Serket is the ancient Egyptian goddess of healing relating to venomous stings of scorpions and bites of snakes. She often wears a...

Tiberius Claudius Narcissus plays a major role in the court of Roman Emperor Claudius (r. 41 - 54 AD). A former slave, he gains great...

Poppaea Sabina is a beautiful, ambitious woman embroiled in the plots and schemes of Imperial Rome. She manipulates her way to the bed of...

Wolfsbane, monk's hood (Aconitum) delivers a lethal dose of poison. In the ancient world, poison plays a vital part, from death by elixir...

Women scientists in specialize in astrology, astronomy, medicine, alchemy, chemistry, beauty enhancement and magic. In chronological...

Chun Yuyan (Chunyu Yan) is a Chinese court official in the 1st century BCE, during the Han Dynasty. As obstetrician and gynecologist to...

Vermilion (vermillion) is a brilliant red, orange-red or scarlet pigment obtained by grinding cinnabar (HgS), a sulfur and mercury ore. A...

Cinnabar or mercury sulfide (HgS) is a rock composed of mercury (Hg) and sulfur (S). Historically it's used to make vermillion or scarlet...

Qin Shihuang (Qin Shi Huang) is China's first Emperor. He ascends to the throne as King at age 13 in 246 BCE. Twenty five years later he...

Chinese alchemical elixir poisoning in ancient China is generally a death of the rich. Poisoning occurs over time or swiftly, caused by...

Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) is an Old World evergreen species of the cherry family. Often mistaken for edible bay laurel, Prunus...

Grayanotoxins are neurotoxins. They're active ingredients in mad honey, produced by bees harvesting pollen and nectar of plants carrying...

Rhododendron is a plant genus of the heather family. With bright showy flowers, this glamorous perennial is known for medicinal...

Veratrum album (white hellebore, false hellebore) is a poisonous plant in the family Melanthiaceae. Used in ancient natural medicine for...

Black hellebore (Helleborus niger) or Christmas Rose is a plant of the Helleborus sub-family, used in folk medicine and lethal poisons....

Ninkasi is a goddess of beer and brewing in ancient Mesopotamia. She embodies the pleasant, ambrosial and aphrodisiac effects of beer as...

Tanning hides is practiced in the ancient world since c. 7000 BCE, in the Indus Valley site of Mehgarh. By 2500 BCE, Sumerians of...

Mad honey comes from a group of plant-produced neurotoxins named after Leucothoe grayana, a plant native to Japan. Grayanotoxins can...

Mugworts are used in folk medicine of India, China, Europe, America and other regions. A member of Artemisia , mugwort is also called...