Pedanius Dioscorides (c.40-c.90 AD, right), ancient Greek physician. A woman is holding a mandrake plant, while an artist draws it. When working as a surgeon in the Roman army of Nero, Dioscorides used the mandrake plant, combined with wine, as an anaesthetic when carrying out surgical procedures. He also wrote a five-volume book, De Materia Medica, in which he described herbs and herbal remedies. The book remained in use, in various translations, until 1600. Oil painting by Ernest Board (1909).