Articles
Farmacopea de la peonia, la planta de la Luna
Published:
2021-10-10
https://doi.org/10.22315/ACD/2021/9
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Keywords
Peony plant Greek medicine Dioscorides Latin Herbaria Health and sickness Gynecology Mental diseases Madness Moonlight Astrology Magic
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Copyright (c) 2021 Acta Classica Universitatis Scientiarum Debreceniensis
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Perea Yébenes, S. (2021). Farmacopea de la peonia, la planta de la Luna . Acta Classica Universitatis Scientiarum Debreceniensis, 57, 143–166. https://doi.org/10.22315/ACD/2021/9
Abstract
For the Greeks, the peony plant had exceptional properties. It was used for many medicinal remedies. The most frequent were gynecological, nervous and mental diseases (insanity), as well as other minor, varied uses. This plant becomes visible at night when the moonlight falls on it. For this reason, it soon became associated with astrological and magical superstitions. These beliefs passed into the Latin world. It appears in herbaria and in medical treatises. In the Middle Ages it was still a plant frequently used in rural areas.