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Infection, Disease, and Weapons:

Exploring Biological Warfare in the Ancient World

Victoria Kearns

Senior Division

Historical Paper

2,278 Words

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“There is nothing more dangerous than poisons and the bites of noxious animals”

-Galen, 2nd

century AD 1

Many people believe biological warfare is a fairly new form of painful and inhumane

deaths in battle, however ancient historians reveal a very different story. From noxious poisons

made from stewed animal blood to decomposing corpses thrown into cities during siege,

biological weapons have always been used and have always faced public opposition. In the

ancient world, the effects of biological warfare were terribly harmful. Civilizations explored new

recipes for poisons and war tactics, as well as antidotes and treatments for wounds inflicted by

biological weapons. New pathogens potent enough to kill thousands of Athenians were

exchanged throughout populations due to biological weapons. Anyone using biological warfare

as an offensive tactic encountered moral opposition to the use of such heinous methods. The use

of biological warfare had a profound impact on world history and the history of the ancient

world.

Natural Toxins

Ancient people spent lots of time exploring the natural toxins in their environment and

picking the ideal poison for their arrows. Finding the best poison wasn’t easy; it had to be toxic

enough to give excruciating deaths, but mild enough to handle. It also had to be readily available.

Naturally occurring poisons in plants and animals seemed to be good choices. Hellebore was a

plant with extremely potent toxins that was sometimes prescribed by doctors in Ancient Greece,

including Hippocrates.2 It was a poor medical treatment because of the toxins, but it made

fantastic poison. It was also dangerous to collect, and the collectors practiced special rituals

1Adrienne Mayor, Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs

2Adrienne Mayor, Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs

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beforehand to ensure they were not accidentally poisoned. Another toxic plant commonly used

for arrows was Aconite or Monkshood, or occasionally called Wolfbane.3 This plant grows in

many parts of the world and is one of the most dangerous plant poisons that can be found. When

someone is first shot, the toxin acts as a stimulant and then suppresses the nervous system

causing drooling, vomiting, numbness, and eventually death. Naturally toxic animals also made

prime candidates for the ideal arrow poison. The Psylli tribe in North Africa would place toxic

toads in heated pans to extract as much of the potent chemicals as possible. Stingray spines were

also used for their poisonous potential, and in mythology Odysseus died from a spear with a

stingray spine attached. But perhaps the most readily available and most feared natural toxin was

snake venom. Many ancient tribes used arrows steeped in snake venom to kill their enemies.

Scythian Poison Arrows

Some of the best and most dreaded archers of the ancient world were the Scythians. The

Scythians were nomadic people that built an empire in what is now Crimea,4 and they had the

best poison for dipping their weapons in. Their poison, called scythicon, was a mixture of many

toxins and had a lengthy recipe. Aelian, also called Claudius Aelianus, wrote, “The Scythians

even mix serum from the human body with the poison that they smear upon their arrows.”5

Snake venom, separated human blood, animal dung, and other ingredients were put into

containers and buried to let the bacteria grow and the toxins intensify. The Scythians also had

extremely sophisticated quivers with flaps over the arrows to prevent contact with their arrows

and their potent poison. (See Appendix I)

Wounds and Treatments

3 Adrienne Mayor, Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs

4 “Scythian” Encyclopedia Britannica

5 Claudius Aelianus, Claudius Aelianus (Varia Historia)

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In Greek mythology, someone who used crafty methods, like biological weapons, to

wage war were fated to die by similar methods to the ones they used. Biological weapons were

fairly new, so there was lots of exploration into the wounds caused by them and treatments for

said wounds. Hercules used arrows tipped with venom from the hydra6 he is said to have killed,

and had many accidents with the toxins. Hercules accidentally shot Chiron, his centaur trainer

and mentor, and despite being treated with a special healing plant his wounds never healed and

he died. Hercules was fated to die by a biological weapon, and his wound contaminated with

centaur blood, an extremely toxic mythological substance, proved fatal. Likewise Achilles,7

Paris,8 and Odysseus

9 all died from wounds induced by biological weapons, and the antidotes

they were given were futile. Two of the only heroes to survive biologically contaminated wounds

were Philoctetes10

and Telephus11

. Philoctetes was injured by a hydra venom arrow and was

treated by sucking out the venom, then applying a poultice12

. This was the standard treatment for

snake bites and poison arrow wounds at the time; it could be fatal for the doctor and was almost

always fatal for the wounded. Telephus was wounded by Achilles’ poison spear, and Achilles

scraped iron rust off his sword into Telephus’ injury to try to save him (see Appendix II). This

was also a common practice for treating wounds, and military doctors had rusty metal in their

kits. However like the other treatment, this was not very effective.

6 The hydra is a mythological creature that regrows two heads for every head that is cut off. It’s blood was

supposedly very toxic. 7 Achilles is a Greek hero of the Trojan War, featured in Homer’s the Iliad (Homer).

8 Paris is a Greek hero who was fated to cause the destruction of Troy. He was abandoned as a child in the

countryside and end up destroying Troy (Homer). 9 Odysseus is a Greek hero from Homer’s works. He was featured in the Iliad and the Odyssey (Homer).

10 Philoctetes was a Greek hero in the Trojan War who was famous for his archery skills (Homer).

11 Telephus is a Greek hero who was injured when an army came to sack Troy and bring back Helen (Homer).

12 Poultice-a soft, usually heated and sometimes medicated mass spread on cloth and applied to sores or other lesions

(Merriam Webster).

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Disease

Through looking at multiple documents it is clear that ancient people had a vague idea of

disease transmission and were using this knowledge to win wars as early as 1200 BCE.

Cuneiform tablets13

from the ancient Hittite civilization of Anatolia reveal the Hittites driving

animals and at least one woman infected with an epidemic into their enemy’s territory. This is a

clear and deliberate act to try and infect enemies with disease. In 74 AD, the king of Pontus,

King Mithridates, began a siege on the city of Cyzicus. When “corpses that were thrown out

unburied in the neighborhood brought on a plague,”14

King Mithridates gave up the siege and

left. Understanding the exchange of pathogens between corpses and bodies was essential

information that caused a king to leave a siege. Poisoning well water was not an uncommon

strategy either. In 430 BCE, during the Peloponnesian War, the city of Athens was under siege

by the Spartans. That same year a major plague swept through Athens, and the first thing the

Athenians did was to blame the Spartans for poisoning their well water. After the Peloponnesian

War, generals got together to write a manual on sieges for other commanders. In it the author

advises to “make water undrinkable.”15

Germs spread between the Spartans and the Athenians

through the wells has not been proven to be intentional, however there is strong speculation from

the Athenians that it was. This exchange most likely caused the Plague of Athens.

Psychological Factors

With modern biological weapons, psychological warfare and fear are major aspects of the

weapon’s purpose. This was also the case in the ancient world, where the psychological effects

of biological warfare were first encountered. Some of the most feared animals in the ancient

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Cuneiform was the language of writing in Mesopotamia at around 3000BCE 14

Adrienne Mayor, Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs 15

Virgil, The Aeneid

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world were venomous snakes. Warriors, especially the Scythians, took full advantage of this

fear. Archeologists uncovered arrows from Scythian tombs with red and black stripes similar to

the patterns on the backs of venomous snakes. Their arrows were soaked in a special recipe of

venom and had barbs to stick into the flesh of the enemy and be almost impossible to pull out.

The barbs and painted arrow shafts would create a terrifying effect of a venomous snake, flying

right at you to deliver a grueling and painful death. Warriors would put images of snakes on their

shields, probably to frighten enemies. Ancient people were rightly afraid of snakes too. Who

wouldn’t be afraid of venom that would burn your wounds, cause numbness, limbs swelling,

convulsions, and eventually, death? The Indian strategist and author of the Arthashastra16

,

Kautilya, wrote hundreds of ridiculous recipes for toxins and poisons, probably for the purpose

of terrifying his enemies.

Public Opinions

Biological warfare in modern times is met with great opposition by the majority of the

public, at least in offensive warfare, and people’s opinions in the ancient world seemed to be

fairly similar. In ancient India, two major sources provide conflicting insight into the view of

biological warfare. The Laws of Manu say “When he fights with his foes in battle, let him not

strike with weapons concealed, nor with barbed, poisoned, or the points of which are blazing

with fire.”17

However the Arthashastra, a military treatise that came out of India and was written

by the adviser to King Chandragupta in the 4th

century BC, fully encourages the use of any

means necessary to win and includes hundreds of recipes for toxins.18

The Chinese author of The

Art of War, Sun Tzu, is also an advocate for the use of “crafty and deceptive” weapons like

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The Arthashastra is an Indian manual on nearly everything from warfare to politics to economics. 17

Manu, The Laws of Manu 18

Adrienne Mayor, Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs

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poisoning the enemy’s wells and tipping arrows with flames and toxins. However, other

humanitarian codes in Asia from the same time period condemned the use of such weapons. In

Greece, there were also mixed feeling about the use of biological weapons. For the most part, it

seemed like important figures in the Greek and Roman society condemned the use of biological

weapons, however, lots of the heroes in Greek and Roman myths applied toxic means to win

battles. According to Silius, a Roman writer at about 80 AD, weapons steeped in toxin were

“thus disgracing the steel with poison”19

and many other Greek historians shared this point of

view. However Greek and Roman myths show a different story. Hercules used deadly hydra

venom to cover his arrow tips. Odysseus used a plethora of biological weapons and crafty

tactics,20

and Achilles dipped the tip of his spear in toxins.21

Why would the Greeks and Romans

glorify such figures if they didn’t approve of their actions and methods? These stories show

some acceptance of biological warfare in society. The split opinions on biological warfare speak

volumes about human nature. Many people assume biological warfare is some new creation by a

generation that is less noble than our ancestors; however the presence of biological weapons and

the partial acceptance of them shows that human kind has always had a deceptive and cut throat

side that will use any means necessary to win conflicts.

Modern Impact

Modernly called germ warfare, biological warfare has been used in the past with world

shaking results. The Black Plague was introduced to Europe by the Mongols, who were flinging

their own plague victims’ corpses into the city they were holding siege.22

Some historian say

from Caffa the plague spread and killed an estimated 75 to 200 million people. When colonizing

19

Silius Italicus Tiberius Catius, Punica 20

Homer, The Odyssey 21

Adrienne Mayor, Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs 22

Mark Wheelis, Biological Warfare at the 1346 Siege of Caffa

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America, British troops gave the Indians they were fighting against blankets infected with

smallpox. This caused a mass epidemic among the Native American’s ranks. In the ancient

world, battles were won based on a civilization’s use of and protection against biological

weapons. They could win wars and decimate populations of opposing armies. Major aspects of

ancient biological warfare, such as the fear evoked by these weapons and the public opposition to

this form of warfare, are still major aspects of modern biological warfare. After the world saw

the effects of both biological and chemical warfare in World War I, the Geneva Protocol of 1925

banned the use of biological methods of warfare.23

During WWI, Germany had a secret project

to infect the livestock owned by Allied armies.24

They reportedly also tried to spread plague in

St. Petersburg to weaken the Russian forces there. Japan experimented with weaponizing

biological agents during World War II on prisoners of war. Reports of the Soviet Union and the

United States producing and stockpiling biological weapons during the Cold War prompted the

Biological Weapons Convention. The Biological Weapons Convention, which opened for

signatures in 1972, prohibits developing, testing, producing, stockpiling, or deploying any

biological weapons.25

Although the weapons have modernized and changed, the core aspects of

fear and public opposition have remained constant since ancient times.

Biological weapons have had a profound impact on the ancient world and modern

warfare. Human kind’s use of biological warfare can teach us about the human experience, and a

societies use of biological weapons determined the fate of wars. Destructive plagues, outcomes

of battles, and psychological warfare were caused by biological warfare. New treatments and

23

Thomas J. Johnson, “From Scythian Poisoned Arrows to Anthrax Bombs…” 24

Thomas J. Johnson, “From Scythian Poisoned Arrows to Anthrax Bombs…” 25

“Biological Weapons” Encyclopedia Britannica.

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toxins were explored, and new types of warfare were encountered. Biological warfare faced

opposition in societies in the ancient world, but it was an effective method of attack and defense

that was utilized by ancient empires.

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Appendix I

This plate is depicting a Scythian archer. Notice the flap covering the quiver to prevent

accidental contact with the toxin. (The British Museum)

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Appendix II

This carving shows Achilles treating Telephus’ wound with the rust off his spear. This was a

common treatment for the time period. (Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples)

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Bibliography

Primary Sources

Aelianus, Claudius. Claudius Aelianus (Varina Historia). Trans. James G. DeVoto. Chicago, IL:

Ares Publishing, 1995. Print.

Claudius Aelianus discusses what did and didn’t work with regards to methods of siege and other

types of warfare, including biological, in this source.

Catius, Silius Italicus Tiberius. Punica. Trans. J. D. Duff. Cambridge: Harvard, 1934. Print.

The author’s opinion portrayed on biological warfare portrayed in this piece of work was very

useful.

Herodotus. “Book Four.” The Histories. Trans. Aubrey De Sélincourt. Harmondsworth: Penguin,

1972. Print.

The Histories by Herodotus provided an in depth look at the Scythians, which was written by

Herodotus who had very reliable sources on the Scythians.

Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. E. V. Rieu. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.

Homer’s myths provided a look into how the Greeks viewed their heroes and their use of crafty

warfare.

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Manu and Marut. The Laws of Manu. Trans. Wendy Doniger. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1991.

Print.

These rules provided a look into the Indian opinions of biological weapons and laws of war.

Thucydides. The History of the Peloponnesian War. Trans. Richard Crawley. Norwalk,

Connecticut: The Easton Press, 1974. Print.

In this book, Thucydides is full of examples when and how biological warfare was used in the

ancient world.

Tzu, Sun. The Art of War. Trans. Samuel Griffith. Norwalk, Connecticut: The Easton Press,

1988. Print.

Sun Tzu provides many insights into the opinions on biological weapons.

Virgil. The Aeneid. Trans. Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Random House, 1983. Print.

The Aeneid provides a brief look into the history of the time, especially with regard to biological

warfare.

Secondary Sources

“Biological Weapon.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia

Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 05 April 2016.

Modern biological warfare is important to explain the historical impact of ancient biological

warfare.

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Fleming, Stuart. “Biowar in Ancient Times: A Discussion with Adrienne Mayor.” Expeditions,

vol 47 no 1. Web. 10 November 2015.

This question session provided more information and clarification on Adrienne Mayor’s book.

“History of Biological Warfare.” E Medicine Health. Web MD. Web. 10 November, 2015.

This article was another good source of background information. The source details the history

of the use of biological weapons.

Hobbes, Nicholas. “A Short History of Biological Warfare, pg 37.” Essential Militaria. New

York: Grove Press Books, 2003. Print.

Nicholas Hobbes gives a short, chronological list of major uses of biological weapons.

Johnson, Thomas J. “From Scythian Poisoned Arrows to Anthrax Bombs, Biological Warfare

has Always Been with Us.” Military History, vol 9 no 3. EBSCOhost. August

2002. Web. 10 November 2015.

The sources for this article were very helpful, and the brief topics were very good starting points.

Newark, Timothy. “Chapter 7: Sieges and Siege Machines, pg 102-4.” Medieval Warfare.

London: Bloomsbury Books, 1988. Print.

Biological warfare was used often with siege warfare, and this book talks briefly about it.

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Mayor, Adrienne. Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, & Scorpion Bombs: Biological and Chemical

Warfare in the Ancient World. Woodstock: Overlook Duckworth, 2003. Print.

This book was extremely helpful. It is an entire book on my NHD topic and the bibliography was

almost as helpful as the content.

“Poultice.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster. Web. 05 April 2016.

I found a definition for clarification at this site.

Ramirez, Anthonony. “Was the Plague of Athens Really Ebola?” NYTimes.com. New York

Times, 18 August, 1996. Web. 23 December, 2015.

The Plague of Athens might have been Ebola, but this article was a good source of primary

sources about the plague.

“Scythian”. Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica

Inc., 2016. Web. 05 April 2016.

I used this source for more general information in the Scythains.

“The Story of...Smallpox - and other Deadly Eurasian Germs.” Guns Germs & Steel: Variables.

PBS. Web. 10 November, 2015.

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This article talks about the first instances of biological warfare and how it was used after the

ancient time era.

Wheelis, Mark. “Biological Warfare at the 1346 Siege of Caffa.” Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Center for Disease Control. September 2002 Web. 12 November, 2015.

In this paper, Mark Wheelis talks in depth about the effects of biological warfare on the siege of

Caffa and the eventual spread of the Black Plague.