What really made Mithridates's name, though, and has ensured its commemoration in a whole host of European languages, was his mastery of poisons. The English word 'mithridatism', meaning 'the practice of systematically ingesting small doses of deadly substances to make oneself immune to them' , is to this day a fitting tribute to his toxocological obsessions.
Merriam-Webster:
Main Entry: mith·ri·da·tism
Pronunciation: \ˌmith-rə-ˈdāt-ˌiz-əm\
Function: noun
Mith·ra·da·tes VI Eu·pa·tor \ˌmith-rə-ˈdāt-ēz-ˈsiks-ˈyü-pə-ˌtȯr\ (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.
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