Theriaca

Theriaca (Gr., from thērion, 'a wild beast'), a medicine in the form of an electuary, supposed to be an antidote to the poison of venomous animals. It is said to have been invented by Andromachus of Crete, physician to the Emperor Nero; and was a mishmash of about seventy ingredients, some of them quite inert, and others antagonistic to one another. Yet it continued in repute until recent times; in Venice, Holland, France, and elsewhere the druggists had for centuries to prepare the compound with certain solemnities in the presence of the magistrates. The term was applied to various compounds of a similar nature, and theriac and theriacal became synonymous with medicinal. The English word tracle is a corruption of theriacal, and originally meant an electuary, or compound syrupy medicine; and it was applied to molasses from the similarity in appearance.