Caveat Emptor: The Perils of Shopping for Medical Products in the Ancient Marketplace

Abstract

Authors such as Scribonius Largus, Dioscorides, Pliny the Elder, and Galen were concerned with the materials used to treat illness and warned consumers against rampant fraud practiced in the ancient drug industry. Reading these texts alongside the archaeological evidence for ancient medicine, such as stamps for collyria (eye salves) and the containers and labels used to package the products, makes it possible to understand a commercial market fraught with possibilities for fraud and adulteration. It is worthwhile to explore how Roman consumers and even doctors could navigate such a marketplace so that they could locate bona fide products.