III) Honey as a poison

Xenophon, in his Anabasis, recounts the story of some people who, after eating honey, gave the impression of being drunk, raving mad, and even dying:

‘hoi de Hellênes anabantes estratopedeuonto en pollais kômais kai tapitêdeia polla echousais. kai ta men alla ouden ho ti kai ethaumasan: ta de smênê polla ên autothi, kai tôn kêriôn hosoi ephagon tôn stratiôtôn pantes aphrones te egignonto kai êmoun kai katô diechôrei autois kai orthos oudeis edunato histasthai, all' hoi men oligon edêdokotes sphodra methuousin eôikesan, hoi de polu mainomenois, hoi de kai apothnêiskousin. ekeinto de houtô polloi hôsper tropês gegenêmenês, kai pollê ên athumia. têi d' husteraiai apethane men oudeis, amphi de tên autên pôs hôran anephronoun: tritêi de kai tetartêi anistanto hôsper ek pharmakoposias.²⁴⁸³

After accomplishing the ascent the Greeks took up quarters in numerous villages, which contained provisions in abundance. Now for the most part there was nothing here which they really found strange; but the swarms of bees in the neighbourhood were numerous, and the soldiers who ate of the honey all went off their heads, and suffered from vomiting and diarrhoea, and not one of them could stand up, but those who had eaten a little were like people exceedingly drunk, while those who had eaten a great deal seemed like crazy, or even, in some cases, dying men. So they lay there in great numbers as though the army had suffered a defeat, and great despondency prevailed. On the next day, however, no one had died, and at approximately the same hour as they had eaten the honey they began to come to their senses; and on the third or fourth day they got up, as if from a drugging.²⁴⁸⁴ ’

Similarly, Diodorus Siculus, in his Library, reports that people fell like dead men after eating wild honey:

‘ heurisketo de kai smênê pamplêthê peri tous topous, ex hôn polutelê prosephereto kêria. toutôn d' hoi geusamenoi paralogôi periepipton sumptômati: hoi gar metalabontes autôn aphrones eginonto kai piptontes epi tên gên homoioi tois teteleutêkosin hupêrchon. pollôn de phagontôn dia tên glukutêta tês apolauseôs, tachu to plêthos egegonei tôn peptôkotôn hoionei tropês en polemôi gegenêmenês. ekeinên men oun tên hêmeran êthumêsen hê dunamis, katapeplêgmenê to te paradoxon kai to plêthos tôn êtuchêkotôn: têi d' husteraiai peri tên autên hôran hapantes heautous anelambanon kai kat' oligon anaktômenoi to phronein anestêsan, kai to sôma dietethêsan homoiôs tois ek pharmakoposias diasôtheisin.²⁴⁸⁵

There were found in the regions great numbers of beehives which yielded valuable honey. But as many as partook of it succumbed to a strange affliction; for those who ate it lost consciousness, and falling on the ground were like dead men. Since many consumed the honey because of the pleasure its sweetness afforded, such a number had soon fallen to the ground as if they had suffered a rout in war. Now during that day the army was disheartened, terrified as it was at both the strange happening and the great number of the unfortunates; but on the next day at about the same hour all came to themselves, gradually recovered their senses, and rose up from the ground, and their physical state was like that of men recovered after a dose of a drug.²⁴⁸⁶ ’