Hercules was probably one of the most famous early practioners of biological weapons, and one of its most prominent victims.
Slayer of the Lemean Hydra, Hercules dipped his deadly arrows in the Hydra's blood, creating a fatal weapon—one that echoed down through Greek history, claiming myrid lives. Eventually the Fates drew him full-circle, and Hercules was destroyed by the gift of a cloak from his wife. That garment, secretly poisoned with the blood of Nessus, a centaur whom Hercules had shot with his envenomed arrows, "burned like fire" until Hercules, in agony, begged his own son to burn him in a bonfire.
The legendary story of the 12 Labors of Hercules serves as both metaphor and warning in Adrienne Mayor's fascinating and highly-readable examination of the usage and prevelance of biological and chemical warfare in the Ancient World. Greek Fire, Poison Arrows and Scorpion Bombs is a timely and relevant eye-opener, touching on the practical usages of such tried-and-true weapons as poisoned food, tainted water, bug bombs (scorpions and bees were apparently popular tools to loft onto besieging armies), snake bombs, burning oil, pestilence-ridden corpses, maddened cattle, pitch-covered pigs (ignited, of course), and, of course, the precusor of modern napalm, greek fire. Of special note is the "mad honey" that Xenophon and the Ten Thousand encounter on their trek to the sea. Mixed from the rhododendron plant, the honey of Pontus is a famous and lethal toxin causing hallucinations, and often death.
Mayor carefully outlines the often-ambigious nature of chemical and biological weapons, particularly the fact that the ancients recognized the double-edged sword they wielded might have terrifying implications for their own populations, if used unchecked. Mixing the mythological roots of bio-war with historical examples, Mayor has written a highly-readable, utterly absorbing work that, at the end, leaves you grimly fascinated and nervously appalled.
For some terrific information on the ancient world and such stalwarts as Hercules, check out the Perseus Project from Tufts University.
Worried about that fever? Check out the National Library of Medicine's Biological Warfare page. Brrr. Hey, where'd that rash come from?
Damn, those guys are busy—here's their page on Chemical Warfare... damn, now there's spots with the rash.
Lastly, here's a copy of Sophocle's "Philoctetes", the tale of the man who inherited the dubious prize of Hercule's poisonous arrows.
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Edited: PC
Article comments
1 - Victor Lana
Great post, deano!
I recall reading about the Greek fire, and how it seemed like an enhanced type of flamethrower. It is definitely one of the reasons why Byzantium (later Constantinople) survived long after Rome and the western empire fell to the barbarian hordes.
2 - DrPat
There was a great series on Discovery or The History Channel (probably the latter), in which a team had to try to reproduce the engines of previous ages. One the most fascinating was the one where they tried to replicate a sea battle using Greek fire.
I'm drawing such a blank this morning that I can't even find it in a search...
3 - Natalie Bennett
There's a message in that Hercules story - what goes around comes around as they say. But fascinating review, thanks.
4 - Victor Plenty
The ancients might have used more chemical and biological weapons if they'd had access to industrial production methods. Logistics and supply have always been major limiting factors in any form of warfare.
An ancient city under siege would probably have liked to catapult hundreds of scorpion bombs onto the heads of the enemy army, but where are you going to find that many scorpions inside the walls of a little town?
The modern world we can take some small pride in how rarely we have used chemical or biological weapons, even though our technology renders them far easier to construct in large quantities.