mithridatism

One entry found for mithridatism.

Main Entry: mith·ri·da·tism
Pronunciation: mith-r-dt-iz-m
Function: noun
: tolerance to a poison acquired by taking gradually increased doses of it
Mith·ra·da·tes VI Eu·pa·tor /mith-r-dt-z-siks-yü-p-tr/ (died 63 BC), king of Pontus. Mithradates the Great ruled from 120-63 BC. A great military leader, a brave warrior, and a cunning politician, he was one of the few serious threats to Roman domination in the ancient world. A revolt of his own soldiers led him to attempt to take his own life. According to legend, he was ever suspicious of treachery, so he had consumed doses of poison in increasingly greater amounts in order to build up a tolerance. When he vainly sought to commit suicide, he found that he had become totally immune to poison. He finally resorted to ordering a follower to stab him to death.