Goddesses, Elixirs, and Witches: Plants and Sexuality throughout Human History

224 Pages·2010·2.94 MB·English

by  John M. Riddle

Goddesses, Elixirs, and
Witches
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Goddesses, Elixirs, and
Witches
Plants and Sexuality
throughout Human History
J M. R
OHN IDDLE
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GODDESSES, ELIXIRS, AND WITCHES
Copyright © John M. Riddle, 2010.
All rights reserved.
First published in 2010 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the
world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers
Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN: 978–0–230–61064–4
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the
Library of Congress.
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: February 2010
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
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Contents
Acknowledgments vii
List of Abbreviations ix
Introduction 1
1 Inanna’s Huluppu Tree, Pomegranates, and Sexual Power 5
2 Pomegranate as Eve’s Apple 33
3 Mandrake, the Love Apple, and the World’s Religions 55
4 Artemisia, the “Mother Herb” 79
5 The Chaste Tree 113
6 Hermes, Herbs, Elixirs, and Witches 129
Notes 149
Bibliography 185
Index 207
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Acknowledgments
I acknowledge the assistance of two colleagues who have read parts or the entirety
of this manuscript; each rendered invaluable, expert suggestions and corrections.
John Scarborough (University of Wisconsin) and Anne Van Arsdale (University of
New Mexico) are extraordinary colleagues whose love of history generously extends
to helping others uncover its lessons. Francis Brévart kindly shared with me some of
his unpublished researches on wonder drugs, now in print. Kaye Hughes read the
m anuscript with an editor’s eye and two of my students, Robert West and Christopher
Musto assisted me with checking citations. I alone am responsible for any remaining
errors. Palgrave’s editors were enablers in the best sense of the word.
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Abbreviations
ABD A nchor Bible Dictionary, 6 vols. David Noel Freedman et al. eds. New
York: Doubleday, c. 1992.
ANET A ncient Near Eastern Texts Related to the Old Testament. James
B Pritchard, ed. 3rd ed. with suppl. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University
Press, 1969.
AOS American Oriental Series. Chicago-Glückstadt, 1956.
CAD The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of
Chicago, 15 vols. Chicago: Oriental Institute, 1956–.
CH-1 Corpus Hermetica, Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the
Latin Asclepius in a New English Translation, with notes and introduction.
Brian P. Copenhaver. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
CMG Corpus Medicorum Graecorum. Berlin: 1927–.
CML Corpus Medicorum Latinorum. Leipzig: Teuber, 1915–.
DAB Dictionary of Assyrian Botany. R. Campbell Thompson. London: British
Academy, 1949.
H Hermetica: The Ancient Greek and Latin Writings which Contain Religious
or Philosophic Teachings Ascribed to Hermes Trismegistus. Walter Scott,
trans., in 4 vols. Boston: Shambhala, 1985.
MTU Die babylonische-assyrische Medizin in Texten und Unterschungen. Franz
Köcher, Robert D. Biggs, and Marten Stol, eds. 7 vols. Berlin: de
Gruyter, 1963–2005.
OED Oxford English Dictionary. Electronic edition.
PL P atrologiae cursus completus. Series Latina. J. P. Migne, ed. Paris: Migne,
44–1882., 221 vols.
RAA Revue d’Assyriologie et d’Archéologie Orientale, 1884–.
RA Reallexikon der Assyriologie. 12 vols. Berlin, New York; W. de Gruyter,
1932–.
ZA Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und verwandte Gebiete. Berlin: de Gruyter,
1886–.
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