Drug Jar for Mithridate (Back (.1))

This terracotta drug jar, one of a pair, was made to contain a specific preparation: antidotum methridaticum, named for King Mithridates VI, who invented the medicine and whose life is shown in scenes that decorate the jar. Mithridates ascended to the throne of Pontos in 111 B.C. An amateur pharmacist fearful of being poisoned by his enemies, Mithridates developed his own antidote, which he ingested regularly "just in case." After his defeat in a battle against the Romans, he attempted to commit suicide by taking poison, but because of his daily dose of the prophylactic preparation, he was unsuccessful. In desperation, Mithridates forced one of his own guards to slay him. A relief on one side of the jar shows Mithridates being given either his daily antidote or the ineffectual-suicide poison. On the front of the vessel, a relief illustrates the death of Mithridates at the hand of his guard.