Atropa Belladonna is the subject of several legends. How it came by
its several names it would be interesting to know. Atropa, from the
eldest sister of the Fates, she who carried the scissors with which she
cut the thread of life, is appropriate enough but not more to this
than to any other poison plant. Belladonna--so-called because Italian
ladies made a cosmetic from the berries with which to whiten their
complexions; so-called because the Spanish ladies made use of the plant
to dilate the pupils of their brilliant black eyes; so-called because
Leucota, an Italian poisoner, used it to destroy beautiful women. These
are among the explanations of the name which the old herbalists gave
without troubling themselves about historical evidence. Belladonna
is supposed to have been described by Dioscorides under the name of
Morella furiosum lethale, and by Pliny as Strychnos manikon. It was
used by Galen in cancerous affections, and its employment for this
purpose was revived in the 17th century, infusions of leaves being
administered both internally and externally. That it figured among
the philtres of the sorcerers cannot be doubted. Like mandragora, it
did not act by exciting amorous passions, but by rendering the victim
helpless.