Yeah, they actually knew that lead caused problems, at least in large amounts. They associated the problems of acute lead poisoning with miners and metalworkers, or with overuse of cosmetics and medicines. But sweetener? Just a little tasty lead sweetener? Surely that won’t be too harmful!
They added the sweetener (defrutum) to everything they could. Fed it to animals before slaughter so their meat would taste better, put it in their wine, put it on their bread, added it to their fish sauce, literally everything. At least for those wealthy enough to afford it!
Yeah, I just went down a really fun rabbithole, thanks for that!
“So many poisons are employed to force wine to suit our taste—and we are surprised that it is not wholesome!” - Pliny the Elder, Natural History (XIV.xxv.130), c. 78 CE
Yeah, they actually knew that lead caused problems, at least in large amounts. They associated the problems of acute lead poisoning with miners and metalworkers, or with overuse of cosmetics and medicines. But sweetener? Just a little tasty lead sweetener? Surely that won’t be too harmful!
They added the sweetener (defrutum) to everything they could. Fed it to animals before slaughter so their meat would taste better, put it in their wine, put it on their bread, added it to their fish sauce, literally everything. At least for those wealthy enough to afford it!
Yeah, I just went down a really fun rabbithole, thanks for that!
We really do never learn.