When you think of medieval dentistry, you might picture patients gnawing on whiskey to dull the pain. Yet the ancient world boasted a surprisingly sophisticated arsenal of pain‑relieving tricks. In this top 10 ancient roundup we’ll explore the herbs, techniques, and even a bit of chemistry that kept people from screaming on the operating table.
Top 10 Ancient Pain Relievers Overview
10 Opium
As far back as 3400 BC, opium poppies were cultivated in lower Mesopotamia. The Sumerians dubbed the poppy Hul Gil, meaning “joy plant,” a hint that they recognized its euphoric and numbing qualities.
The know‑how of harvesting poppies and extracting raw opium traveled from the Sumerians to the Assyrians, then to the Babylonians, and finally to the Egyptians. By 1300 BC the Egyptians were growing their own poppies, and the opium trade flourished under pharaohs such as Thutmose IV, Akhenaten, and Tutankhamun.
In 330 BC Alexander the Great introduced opium to the Persians and Indians. Although Europe suppressed its use around 1300, branding it demonic, by 1527 the drug re‑emerged in medicinal practice.
Opium proved a powerful anesthetic, yet its recreational appeal sparked smuggling, trafficking, and criminal intrigue. Even today, opium’s reputation swings between a therapeutic boon and a societal menace, depending on its application.
9 Henbane
Much like other medicinal herbs, Hyoscyamus niger—commonly called henbane—exhibits psychotropic effects, but ancient practitioners also harnessed it as an anesthetic.
Henbane belongs to the nightshade family and packs both atropine—a poison that relaxes muscles—and scopolamine, an alkaloid that can quell nausea, calm patients, or induce sleep. By the first century AD, physicians were already employing it to dull pain.
In ancient Anatolia, the plant was known as beng or benc. Whether taken as a pill or smoked, it served to soothe toothaches, earaches, and a host of other ailments.
One clever tooth‑ache remedy involved fumigating the mouth: after rinsing with warm water, patients would sprinkle henbane seeds—rich in atropine and scopolamine—over hot coals. The rising smoke entered the oral cavity, easing the dental pain.
8 Acupuncture
The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine (c. 100 BC) is the earliest text that formally presents acupuncture as a systematic method of diagnosis and treatment, framed as a dialogue between an emperor and his minister Chhi‑Po.
The treatise likely codifies centuries‑old Taoist practices, describing life‑force channels—known as meridians—that guide the placement of needles at precise points to address diverse conditions.
Acupuncture fell out of favor in the 17th century and was outlawed in 1929, only to be reinstated as a legitimate medical alternative in 1949. Since then the technique spread to Japan and eventually Europe and the United States, though scientific studies have offered limited support for its pain‑relieving claims.
According to traditional theory, practitioners insert a variety of needles into hundreds of specific points to balance yin and yang flowing through the body’s meridians.
Skeptics argue that most analgesic effects stem from placebo, yet some researchers suggest that certain points may act as trigger sites that provoke genuine physiological responses.
7 Mandragora
One of the earliest agents capable of rendering patients fully unconscious appears to be mandragora. The Greek physician Dioscorides (AD 40–90) recorded that wine infused with mandrake produced a profound sleep, which he called “anesthesia.”
In 13th‑century Italy, surgeon Ugo Borgognoni (Hugh of Lucca) popularized the “soporific sponge,” a concoction soaked in opium, mandragora, hemlock juice, and other substances, dried, then re‑moistened and held over a patient’s nose until its fumes induced unconsciousness.
6 Datura
Although derived from a poisonous plant, the thorn apple—also known as jimsonweed or Datura—served as a popular ancient analgesic and sleep aid, earning mentions from Dioscorides (AD 40–90), Theophrastus (370–285 BC), Celsus (fl. AD 37), and Pliny the Elder (AD 23–79).
The drug carried serious side effects: a single drachma (≈3.4 g) mixed with wine could trigger vivid hallucinations, while two drachmas induced three days of madness. Larger doses risked permanent insanity or even death.
Despite its efficacy in easing surgical pain, improper dosing could be fatal, earning Datura the nickname “Devil’s apple.”
5 Ethylene
At the Delphic oracle, the Pythian priestess of Apollo delivered prophecies after inhaling gases seeping from fault lines beneath the temple—gases that may have included ethylene, an inhaled anesthetic.
By 1930 ethylene was celebrated as the “new” general anesthetic, poised to replace chloroform, which was falling out of favor due to sudden‑death risks, and ether, notorious for causing nausea and vomiting post‑operation.
A surgeon who employed ethylene in roughly 800 procedures reported that patients slipped into unconsciousness within three to eight minutes, typically without panic or a sense of suffocation, and recovered swiftly once the mask was removed.
Ethylene offered several advantages: it was less toxic to the nervous system and body cells, caused fewer headaches, did not irritate lungs, and avoided spikes in blood pressure, excessive bleeding, or post‑operative sweating. It also produced minimal acidosis and rarely induced gas pains.
However, ethylene’s faint odor was a minor drawback, and its extreme explosiveness prohibited use with cauterizing tools, open flames, or in X‑ray rooms.
Aside from those limitations, ethylene proved suitable for virtually any operation, a fact the Delphic priestess would likely have approved of.
4 Cannabis
As early as 2900 BC Chinese Emperor Fu noted cannabis as a pain‑reliever, and the herb appears in the Rh‑Ya, a 15th‑century BC Chinese pharmacopoeia that functioned as an ancient drug encyclopedia. From China, cannabis‑based analgesia spread worldwide.
Around 1000 BC Indian practitioners blended cannabis with milk to produce a painkiller called bhang. Later, the plant was employed to soothe earaches, swelling, and inflammation.
By AD 200, Chinese physician Hua To crafted an anesthetic mixture of cannabis, resin, and wine, rendering abdominal, loin, and chest surgeries nearly painless. By AD 800, Arab doctors turned to cannabis for migraine relief.
3 Corydalis Plant
In ancient China, tubers of the Corydalis plant were excavated, boiled in vinegar, and used to ease headaches and backaches. Belonging to the poppy family, Corydalis thrives mainly in central‑eastern China.
Modern scientists recognize its analgesic power thanks to dehydrocorybulbine (DHCB), a natural compound that acts similarly to morphine. As pharmacologist Olivier Civelli of UC Irvine explains, “This medicine goes back thousands of years, and it is still around because it works.”
Ancient Chinese healers believed the plant relieved pain by improving the flow of chi. Contemporary research shows DHCB binds dopamine receptors rather than the opioid receptors targeted by morphine, and unlike morphine, it is non‑addictive.
Ironically, a centuries‑old Chinese remedy may pave the way for future pain‑killers, as scientists explore DHCB’s potential to combat various types of chronic pain.
2 Carotid Compression
One ancient method of pain control involved inducing unconsciousness by compressing the carotid arteries in the neck, thereby temporarily reducing—or even halting—blood flow from the heart to the brain.
Aristotle observed the technique’s effectiveness, noting that external pressure on these vessels could render a person insensible without actual choking, causing them to collapse.
The ancients recognized this effect, as reflected in the term karotids or karos, meaning “to stupefy or plunge into deep sleep.” Rufus of Ephesus (c. AD 100) claimed the name carotid derived from this very phenomenon.
A sculptural relief on the south side of the Parthenon depicts a centaur pressing the left carotid artery of a Lapith warrior, illustrating that Greeks were aware of this method both in warfare and medicine.
1 Willow Bark
For centuries, the bark of the willow tree served as an anti‑inflammatory remedy that alleviated pain. White willows grew along the Nile’s banks, offering an abundant source of bark.
The Ebers Papyrus—a medical compilation dating to about 1500 BC—records willow bark’s use as a painkiller. Ancient Chinese and Greek physicians also employed it, and Dioscorides highlighted its anti‑inflammatory properties.
Modern research attributes its efficacy to salicin, a chemical akin to aspirin. Studies suggest willow bark may be more effective than aspirin at lower doses, making it a lasting remedy for headaches, backaches, and osteoarthritis.
Gary Pullman, an instructor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, lives south of Area 51—a fact his friends say “explains a lot.” He authored the 2016 urban fantasy novel A Whole World Full of Hurt, published by The Wild Rose Press.