Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index

Title: Dioscorides Receives Mandrake from Euresis
Creator:
Description: The nymph Euresis [Discovery] presents a seated Dioscorides with a mandrake root. The root bears a humanoid appearance, and according to Josephus, it also released a horrible scream when pulled from the earth. The scream would kill anyone who heard it and for this reason no human could harvest it; instead, a dog's leash was tied around the plant base. When the dog strained against the leash, it would pull the mandrake free. The plant's scream would strike the dog dead immediately. The dead dog attached to the root of the mandrake is the result of such a harvesting technique.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Rights: Public Domain
Subject (See Also): Dogs Herbs Nymphs Portraits
Geographic Area: Eastern Mediterranean
Century: 6
Date: ca. 515
Related Work: Vienna Dioscorides; Juliana Anicia Codex
Current Location: Vienna, ONB, Cod. Vindobonensis Medicus Graecus 1, 4v
Original Location:
Artistic Type (Category): Digital images; Manuscript Illuminations
Artistic Type (Material/Technique): Vellum (parchment); Paint
Donor: Laywoman; created for Byzantine Princess Anicia Juliana, daughter of Emperor Anicius Olybrius
Height/Width/Length(cm): 37cm (whole folio)/30cm (whole folio)/
Inscription:
Related Resources: M.C. Daunay, Jules Janick, Henri Laterrot, H. "Iconography of the Solanaceae from Antiquity to the 17th Century" Acta Hort 745 (2007): 2.