In one of the most brutal ambushes in history, an entire Roman military unit was slaughtered by enemy soldiers who poisoned them with a kind of hallucinogenic honey produced by bees living on the shores of the Black Sea, or, as it is known, mad honey. The intoxicating feast known as “mad honey” caused severe but temporary discomfort, turning hapless Roman soldiers who tasted it into standing targets.
This event occurred during the Third Mithridatic War, which aimed to expand Rome’s empire across Anatolia between 73 and 63 BC. During this expedition, the Roman Republic encountered one of the most cunning enemies it had ever faced, Mithridates VI, King of Pontus, also known as the Poison King.
Mithridates, who has a history befitting villains in movies, is said to have become obsessed with poisons after his father was assassinated with a deadly toxin. Known for his intelligence and fascination with pharmacology, the monarch successfully developed tolerance to several deadly poisons by regularly consuming non-lethal doses, a practice known even today as mithridatism.
When the Romans came to the city, Mithridates was more than happy to take the stage and demonstrate his extraordinary military moves. According to historical sources, his soldiers attacked the invading forces with poisoned arrows, released “horses and wild beasts” into Roman siege tunnels, and even developed chemical weapons from naphtha.
The ancient historian Strabo, describing an event that took place in 65 BC, explains how Mithridates’ allies, the Heptacomitae, used a substance called mad honey to destroy a Roman army. Honey produced by bees that feed on the nectar of a particular rhododendron species contains high concentrations of a class of neurotoxins called grayanotoxin.
Those who take higher doses of this substance, which can cause hallucinations, loss of coordination and nausea in small doses, may experience serious heart complications. The Heptacomitae placed bowls of mad honey in the path of the advancing Romans, Strabo says, and “later when the soldiers drank the mixture and lost their minds, they attacked them and easily destroyed them.”
Not the first “mad honey case”
The authors of the new study compile historical accounts of the event, explaining that this is not the first instance of a former military unit being poisoned after consuming mad honey. Three centuries ago, Greek commander Xenophon stated that hundreds of his soldiers, with the help of a substance, “suddenly lost their minds, suffered from vomiting and diarrhea, and could not stand on their feet”.
Despite their violent drunkenness, none of Xenophon’s men died, and all regained their senses within 24 hours of eating the honey. In fact, grayanotoxin poisoning was almost never fatal, as the toxins were rapidly metabolized by the body.
However, carefully timed attacks after the Roman soldiers languished with this honey meant that the Heptacomitae had little trouble slaughtering their enemies. Unfortunately for Mithridates, this minor victory did not change the course of the war, which ultimately resulted in the Pontus Kingdom being destroyed by the Roman army.
Mithridates himself, according to legend, tried to die by poisoning himself after his defeat. But ironically, his body was so used to the effects of the poison that he had to ask his bodyguard to end his life.
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