Drug Jar for Theriac

This terracotta drug jar, one of a pair, was made to contain a specific preparation: theriaca Andromachi. The preparation was named for Andromachus, shown seated on the lid clasping a drug jar against his thigh, who was the court physician for the Roman Emperor Nero. Commanded by Nero to improve on an existing antidote for poison, Andromachus removed some ingredients and added others, the most important of which was vipers’ flesh. The relief on the back of the jar shows Andromachus in the act of cutting up some vipers, while being observed by a group of doctors, all wearing tall hats. The relief on the front shows the doctor presenting his new drug to the Emperor.