Mad Honey Warfare: How King Mithridates Poisoned Pompey’s Legions

According to historical sources, Mithridates’ forces strategically placed jars of mad honey along the paths that Pompey’s troops were expected to take. The Romans, unaware of the honey’s toxic properties, consumed it.

Who was Mithridates?

Mithridates VI, also known as Mithridates the Great, was a formidable ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). He is best known for his resistance against the Roman Republic during the Mithridatic Wars.

King Mithridates VI of Pontus is a notable figure in the history of toxicology, renowned for his intellectual prowess and his keen interest in poisons. He was known for surrounding himself with renowned philosophers, physicians, and scientists of his era. His extensive library contained numerous essays on toxins, and he was reputed to have used poisons against both his family members and political rivals. To protect himself from being poisoned, he famously ingested small doses of various poisons over time, attempting to build up immunity to them.

The kingdom of Pontus was endowed with abundant sources of pharmaka, (φάρμακα, Greek for medicine) which are powerful substances and materials utilized in various technologies and crafts. These included metalworking, dyes, and pigments, as well as the production of medicines, ointments, perfumes, and poisons.