De brebajes y serpientes: entre la triaca magna y una emergencia de salud global

Exhibition on venoms of animal origin and theriac magna, an antidote from antiquity, at the Real Academia Nacional de Medicina in Madrid, with historical and scientific pieces.

The exhibition traces the historical relationship between people and venoms of animal origin, from medical tradition to experimental science. Its main focus is theriac magna, a preparation that emerged in the Hellenistic world and was consolidated in Roman times, combining plants, minerals and viper flesh according to the idea that like cures like.

The show is organised by the Real Academia Nacional de Medicina together with the Museo de la Farmacia Hispana of the UCM, the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales of the CSIC and the Fundación ASISA, and brings together numerous pieces. The curator, Aida Verdes, a researcher at the MNCN-CSIC, explains that many of the ancient concepts were mistaken, but they show how people have tried to understand venoms and protect themselves from them for centuries.

A second section focuses on the species capable of producing venom, with particular attention to snakes, and on the therapeutic potential of these substances. The route through the rooms shows how history, culture and biology intersect within a single narrative.