Final answer:
Historically, poisons or toxic potions have been used in many contexts, from siege tactics and political machinations to the unregulated use of what were thought to be medicinal substances. Toxic chemicals have also been employed in warfare as lethal weapons. The line between poison and medicine was often blurred, especially when substances like so-called love potions were involved.
Step-by-step explanation:
Throughout history, poisonous concoctions have been used for a variety of nefarious purposes, from siege warfare to personal vendettas. During a siege recounted from historical sources, aggressors utilized biological warfare by catapulting plague-ridden corpses over city walls, relying on the toxins generated from decay to bring about death and disease. Poison was also employed in domestic Roman politics; Roman matronae were caught preparing toxic potions that were camouflaged as medicinal remedies.
Additionally, toxic substances were often inadvertently consumed through unregulated medicines such as morphine and opium, which led to addiction rather than cures. In warfare, scientific advancements resulted in the development of lethal chemical weapons, notably by Fritz Haber, who oversaw the use of chlorine gas during World War I, demonstrating the intentional harnessing of chemistry to engineer death on a massive scale.
Historical reports of toxic substances also include accounts of poisons being mistaken for medicinal elixirs. For instance, in Hawthorne's fiction, a character contemplates a 'most precious poison' that could prolong life or cause immediate death, reflecting the dual nature of many chemical substances. During the Roman era, love potions and magical substances could be lethal, blurring the lines between remedy, magic, and poison. Heliodorus' novel describes an aged witch who meets her end by accidental contact with a spear, amidst her frustration over foiled witchcraft, a metaphor perhaps for the unpredictable and often fatal consequences of dealing with toxic agents.