Poison dress
Encyclopedia
The tale known as "The Poison Dress", or "Embalmed Alive" features a dress
that has in some way been poison
ed. This is a recurring theme throughout legends and folk tales of various cultures, including ancient Greece
, Mughal India, and the United States
. Although there is no evidence suggesting that the American urban legend
s are directly linked to the classical tales, they share several common motifs
.
, when Jason
left the sorceress Medea to marry Glauce, King Creon
's daughter, Medea took her revenge by sending Glauce a poison dress and a golden coronet
, also dipped in poison. This resulted in the death of the princess and, subsequently, the king, when he tried to save her.
The Shirt of Nessus is the shirt smeared with the poisoned blood of the centaur Nessus
, which was given to Hercules
by Hercules' wife, Deianira
. Deianira had been tricked by Nessus into believing that his blood would ensure that Hercules would remain faithful. According to Sophocles
' tragedy The Women of Trachis, Hercules began to perspire when he donned the shirt, which soon clung to his flesh, corroding it. He eventually threw himself onto a pyre on Mount Oeta
in extreme agony and was burnt to death.
Numerous tales of poison khilats (robes of honour) have been recorded in historical, folkloric, and medical texts of British Indianists. Gifts of clothing were common in major life-cycle rituals in pre-industrial India, and these stories revolve around fears of betrayal, inspired by ancient custom of giving khilats to friends and enemies as demonstrations of a social relationship or a political alliance.
In 1870, Norman Chevers, M.D., a Surgeon-Major to the Bengal Medical Service, authored Manual of Medical Jurisprudence for India, describing unusual crimes involving poisons native to India. The book included three cases of poison khilat death, attributing the cause of one of the deaths to lethal vesicants impregnating fabric of the robe and entering victim's sweat pores.
Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod
wrote on the same case providing more detail. In the late 17th century, Mughal emperor Aurangzeb
sent his rival Jaswant Singh to war in Afghanistan
, and summoned Jaswant's son, Prithi Singh, to attend his court. During the meeting, Prithi's defiant attitude convinced Aurangzeb that he needed to be eliminated. Aurangzeb gave him "a splendid dress" in the guise of friendship, which Prithi put on and then left the court. He was taken ill soon after reaching his quarters, and died in utmost agony. However, when Aurangzeb tried to murder his own son Prince Akbar in the same way, the prince, knowing his father too well, made an excuse to delay putting it on and ordered a slave try it on first, averting the unpleasant death.
In Annals and antiquities of Rajasthan, James Tod mentions another folk story that describes how the "Queen of Ganore" killed Dost Mohammad Khan, Nawab of Bhopal
with a poison dress, when he asked her to marry her.
s, which were recorded in folklore collections and journal articles in the 1940s and 1950s. Folklorist Stith Thompson
noted the classical prototype in these stories, "Shirt of Nessus", and assigned Motif D1402.5, "Magic shirt burns wearer up". Jan Harold Brunvand
provides the summary of one of the stories:
Folklorist Ernest Baughman speculated that the story might have been used as adverse publicity to discredit a well-known store, since several variants of the story specifically mention the name of the store at which the dress was supposedly purchased. The legend continued to be told long after its initial popularity, with "embalming fluid" sometimes replacing the formaldehyde mentioned in the earlier version. This urban legend was dramatized in the episode "'Til Death Do We Part," from the crime-scene drama, CSI: NY
.
Another American folklore related to the poison-dress theme is the story of blankets contaminated with smallpox
, which were given by colonists to native Americans
.
Dress
A dress is a garment consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice or with a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment.Dress may also refer to:*Clothing in general*Costume, fancy dress...
that has in some way been poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
ed. This is a recurring theme throughout legends and folk tales of various cultures, including ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
, Mughal India, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Although there is no evidence suggesting that the American urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
s are directly linked to the classical tales, they share several common motifs
Motif (narrative)
In narrative, a motif is any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative aspects such as theme or mood....
.
Greek mythology
In Greek mythologyGreek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, when Jason
Jason
Jason was a late ancient Greek mythological hero from the late 10th Century BC, famous as the leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus...
left the sorceress Medea to marry Glauce, King Creon
Creon
Creon is a figure in Greek mythology best known as the ruler of Thebes in the legend of Oedipus. He had two children with his wife, Eurydice: Megareus and Haemon...
's daughter, Medea took her revenge by sending Glauce a poison dress and a golden coronet
Coronet
A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. Unlike a crown, a coronet never has arches.The word stems from the Old French coronete, a diminutive of coronne , itself from the Latin corona .Traditionally, such headgear is – as indicated by the German equivalent...
, also dipped in poison. This resulted in the death of the princess and, subsequently, the king, when he tried to save her.
The Shirt of Nessus is the shirt smeared with the poisoned blood of the centaur Nessus
Nessus (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Nessus was a famous centaur who was killed by Heracles, and whose tainted blood in turn killed Heracles. He was the son of Centauros. He fought in the battle with the Lapiths. He became a ferryman on the river Euenos....
, which was given to Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
by Hercules' wife, Deianira
Deianira
Deïanira or Dejanira is a figure in Greek mythology, best-known for being Heracles' third wife and, in the late Classical story, unwittingly killing him with the Shirt of Nessus...
. Deianira had been tricked by Nessus into believing that his blood would ensure that Hercules would remain faithful. According to Sophocles
Sophocles
Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides...
' tragedy The Women of Trachis, Hercules began to perspire when he donned the shirt, which soon clung to his flesh, corroding it. He eventually threw himself onto a pyre on Mount Oeta
Mount Oeta
Mount Oeta is a mountain to the south of Central Greece, in Greece, forming a boundary between the valleys of the Spercheius and the Boeotian Cephissus. It is an offshoot of the Pindus range, high. In its eastern portion, called Callidromus, it comes close to the sea, leaving only a narrow...
in extreme agony and was burnt to death.
Indian folklore
In 1870, Norman Chevers, M.D., a Surgeon-Major to the Bengal Medical Service, authored Manual of Medical Jurisprudence for India, describing unusual crimes involving poisons native to India. The book included three cases of poison khilat death, attributing the cause of one of the deaths to lethal vesicants impregnating fabric of the robe and entering victim's sweat pores.
Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod
James Tod
Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod was an English officer of the British East India Company and an Oriental scholar.Tod was born in London and educated in Scotland, later joining the East India Company as a military officer. He travelled to India in 1799 as a cadet in the Bengal Army where he rose...
wrote on the same case providing more detail. In the late 17th century, Mughal emperor Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb
Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...
sent his rival Jaswant Singh to war in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, and summoned Jaswant's son, Prithi Singh, to attend his court. During the meeting, Prithi's defiant attitude convinced Aurangzeb that he needed to be eliminated. Aurangzeb gave him "a splendid dress" in the guise of friendship, which Prithi put on and then left the court. He was taken ill soon after reaching his quarters, and died in utmost agony. However, when Aurangzeb tried to murder his own son Prince Akbar in the same way, the prince, knowing his father too well, made an excuse to delay putting it on and ordered a slave try it on first, averting the unpleasant death.
In Annals and antiquities of Rajasthan, James Tod mentions another folk story that describes how the "Queen of Ganore" killed Dost Mohammad Khan, Nawab of Bhopal
Dost Mohammad Khan, Nawab of Bhopal
Dost Mohammad Khan was the founder of the Bhopal State in central India. He laid out the modern city of Bhopal, the capital of the Madhya Pradesh state....
with a poison dress, when he asked her to marry her.
American urban legends
The theme of the poison dress appears in several American urban legendUrban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
s, which were recorded in folklore collections and journal articles in the 1940s and 1950s. Folklorist Stith Thompson
Stith Thompson
Stith Thompson was an American scholar of folklore. He is the "Thompson" of the Aarne-Thompson classification system.- Biography :...
noted the classical prototype in these stories, "Shirt of Nessus", and assigned Motif D1402.5, "Magic shirt burns wearer up". Jan Harold Brunvand
Jan Harold Brunvand
Jan Harold Brunvand is an American folklorist. A professor emeritus of the University of Utah, he best known for spreading the concept of the urban legend, a form of modern folklore...
provides the summary of one of the stories:
Folklorist Ernest Baughman speculated that the story might have been used as adverse publicity to discredit a well-known store, since several variants of the story specifically mention the name of the store at which the dress was supposedly purchased. The legend continued to be told long after its initial popularity, with "embalming fluid" sometimes replacing the formaldehyde mentioned in the earlier version. This urban legend was dramatized in the episode "'Til Death Do We Part," from the crime-scene drama, CSI: NY
CSI: NY
CSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...
.
Another American folklore related to the poison-dress theme is the story of blankets contaminated with smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
, which were given by colonists to native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
.