Maciej Kokoszko, Zofia Rzeźnicka, Krzysztof Jagusiak, Konrad Tadajczyk

Polyarchion (πολυάρχιον): New Research and Its Results

 

2025-07-23

The present study serves as a supplement to previously published conclusions concerning the history of the medicament known as polyarchion (πολυάρχιον). While the earlier research has primarily centered on ancient prescriptions, the current analysis focuses on the medieval period. The data examined derive from Greek-language sources composed up to the 13th century CE, originating from both the eastern and central regions of the Mediterranean basin.

For the historian of medicine, the investigation of polyarchion holds particular significance, as the extensive corpus of medical texts referencing this remedy, spanning the period from antiquity through the Byzantine era, allows for a reconstruction of its evolution and thus offers a basis for assessing Byzantium’s contributions to the development of medieval medicine.

This topic has been revisited due to the urgent need to revise existing knowledge in light of recent publications by Holt N. Parker (2024) and Ilias Valiakos (2025), concerning the contents of Codex Laurentianus Pluteus 75.3 (10th century CE).

The present case study devoted to polyarchion appears to confirm once again the view that Byzantine medicine was built upon the foundations laid by ancient physicians. There is little doubt that the extant recipes for the medicament have their origins in the tradition found in the works of Galen (2nd–3rd century CE), who in turn represents an earlier stage in the development of this drug. Given that Galen based his two complete formulations on ingredients from the first known recipe by Asclepiades (1st–2nd century CE), and considering that both Alexander of Tralles (6th century CE) and Paul of Aegina (7th century CE) resorted to the same ingredients, it is plausible that Asclepiades’ original recipe was regarded as the most effective version up to the 7th century CE. This does not imply, however, that it was the only formulation in use. The manuscript Laur. Plut. 75.3, which contains three formulas of polyarchion, not only confirms the drug’s significant role in the later medieval period but also reveals that physicians were as inclined to draw on classical heritage as they were to create radically revised compound medicines. It thus appears that medieval members of the medical profession did not shy away from innovation or from departing from established paradigms.

Keywords: history of medicine, history of pharmacy, polyarchion, history of medical literature.

© Farm Pol, 2024, 80(12): 841–850