An Etruscan Herbal

May 20

Herbal Medicine Used by The Etruscans

In my last essay, I explained the difficulty of understanding the Etruscans’ way of life, culture, and relationship to their world, eachother, and so on. This is due to many things, but in particular their language and alphabet, which does not resemble any known language for us to compare and translate. However, there have been 50 glosses preserved that feature 200 Etruscan words. Glosses are annotations or added texts in the margins of a page. Specifically, these words can be found in two manuscripts known as Dioscorides of Anazarbus’ de Materia Medica (R & V) written by Dioscorides Anazarbus himself, who was a 1st century AD Greek physician, botanist, and pharmacologist. This work catalogs pharmacological uses of plants, minerals, and animals.

Of these 50 glosses, thirteen of them were about plant medicine, and are believed to be associated with Etruscan religious ritual practices. The original glossopher, or the author of the annotations found in the manuscripts, is thought to have likely consulted a collection of Etruscan texts that widely dealt with Etruscan ritual practices known as Etrusca Disciplina. I have come across a list of herbs the Etruscans used for both medicinal and religious practices, and this list can be found in Etruscan News: Volume 5, Winter 2006, and this article is written by Kyle P. Johnson. The following herbs can be found in that article along with some information about the Etruscan synonym to the Latin name for each herb.

Soukinoum

Modern herbalists know valerian for its ability to induce sleep and produce gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter that communicates chemical messages throughout the nervous system, regulates blood pressure, balances the central nervous system, and is also known to reduce overall anxiety. In the Etruscan glosses, “soukinoum” (Latin Succinum) was written as the synonym for “asaron”, which was possibly due to Dioscorides’ claim that valerian has diuretic properties, and was taken for dropsy and sciatica. The glossopher continues on to connect valerian to an alchemist named Osthanes. Of these nine plants listed, Dioscorides writes that valerian and madder were the only plants to be native to Italy.

Lappa Minor or “little burr”

Madder, which makes a beautiful red natural dye, was known to be native to Italy, and cultivated in the city of Ravenna. The Etruscan gloss references it as “lappa minor”, which is the Latin for “little burr”. Madder, or “eruthrodanon” (red dye) in Latin, was used for snake bites and paralysis, but was also a plant used to support the spleen’s function.

Drakontia Mikra

“Aron'' was the Greek name for this plant in Dioscorides’ manuscript, but the Etruscan annotation for aron was “drakontia mikra”, which can be translated as “small dragon”. Dioscorides noted that aron (arum) was similar to a plant called drankontion, which we modernly know as tarragon. Drankontion was used as a stomach cleanse, respiratory blockages and issues, earaches, eyesight problems, and more. We know tarragon for its wound-healing and mood-enhancing properties.

Masutipos & Tantoum

Blue & Scarlet Pimpernel

(Anagallis arvensis and Anagallis caerulea)

In the Etruscan glosses, “masutipos” was written for scarlet pimpernel, and “tantoum” was written for blue pimpernel, and Dioscorides called the plant “anagallis”. The glossopher writes that a group of figures known as the “prophets” called scarlet pimpernel “haima opthalmou”, which translates to “the blood of the eye”. There is an Egyptian Magic connection with scarlet pimpernel, as the term “haima opthalmou” can be found in texts such as the Greek Magical Papyri.

Scarlet pimpernel is an herb known for its cholagogue and nervine properties, meaning it is used to support the liver and the nervous system.

Kikenda

Gentian was known as “kikenda” to the Etruscans. Dioscorides recommended gentian to warm up the body. It was also used as an astringent. Today, we take gentian before meals to help our stomach acids prepare to digest food. This is another cholagogue herb that supports the liver, production of bile from the liver, and the proper flow of bile from the liver.

Moutouka

Thyme was known as “thumos” in Greek and “moutouka” or “mutuca” in Etruscan. Dioscorides notes that thumos was used for breathing difficulties, internal worms, sciatica, poor eyesight, to expel phlegm, and was used as a diuretic.

Kautam

Known modernly as the migraine plant, feverfew was known as “parthenion”, which meant “maiden”. “Kautam” is the Etruscan term for parthenion. For a hard womb, gallstones, melancholy, asthma, phlegm, flow of bile, and for a rash known as erysipelas, feverfew was prescribed by Dioscorides in this text.

Garouleou

Vintage drawing of Helichrysum, a flower the Etruscans used for herbal medicine — Helichrysum

(Helichrysum stoechas)

“Chrysanthemon" or "chalkas," were the synonyms given by Dioscorides for this plant, and the Etruscan gloss for it was “garouleou”. Helichrysum’s plant medicine was utilized against sebaceous tumors. Dioscorides notes that this plant was known to make jaundice “temporarily look healthy”.

Fabouloniam

Black henbane held a considerable position as being both a medicinal and magical herb used in rituals. The Etruscan gloss for this plant is “fabouloniam”. Dioscorides presents a comprehensive entry on henbane, and notes that its plant medicine can be used for discharges of the ear, eye, and womb. It was also noted that it could be used for fever, pain, toothache, hemorrhage, coughing, inflammation, and a runny nose. Henbane was known as “The Prophet” and “insania” by two religious figures from the Mediterranean region: Democritos and Pythagoras, respectively.