With regard to toxic honey, there is also a long history. One of the
earliest references comes from the writings of the Greek Xenophon
(approx. 400 B.C.) who described the effects of soldiers eating a toxic
honey. The incident occurred in what is now Turkey. The soldiers were
returning to Greece from a campaign in the Persian Empire, encountered the
hives and robbed them of their honey. Xenophon indicated that the
soldiers who consumed the honey lost thier senses, and were inflicted with
"vomiting and purging". A later reference indicates that the honey of
that region was also used against soldiers of the Roman army under
Pompey. The Heptakometes left jars of the honey along the roadside as a
"tribute" to some of the advancing army. The soldiers who ate the honey
lost their senses and were easily defeated by the Heptakometes. The
source of this toxic honey in the Middle East is probably Rhondodendron
ponticum, although R. luteum could also be a source. A good reference to
the toxic honey of this region is Sutlupinar et al. 1993. Poisoning by
toxic honey in Turkey, Arch. Toxicol. 67:148-150.
