Episode Details

(piano music) 

Hello, and welcome to Your Greek Word On A Sunday, a weekly, bite-size podcast for anyone curious on language, etymology and connections. I am your host, Emmanuela Lia and wherever you are in the world, if you want to entertain your brain for a few minutes, this is the podcast for you. Let's Go! 

War in the ancient world was different from what we know it to be today. Sure, it took longer to travel, to get inside information and to defeat your enemy without having to engage in close body combat. But strong ships, intelligent spies and weapons dipped in poison extracted from plants and animals, were all ways to avoid casualties. Φάρμακο (farmaco) in Ancient Greek meant 'poison', τόξο (toxo) meant 'arrow' and the use of poisonous arrows was very common.  The poisons used that way,  were named τοξικά φάρμακα (toxica farmaca) but when the phrase came to Latin, the second word was dropped and toxicum meant any kind of poison. ΤΟΞΙΚΟ/TOXIC

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