# Moly (Galanthus nivalis)

*Greek *mōly**

**Known today as.** Unidentified. The snowdrop, *Galanthus nivalis*, is the most discussed candidate.

Kind: Plant

## What does modern science say?

Andreas Plaitakis and Roger Duvoisin proposed in 1983 that moly was the snowdrop, whose galantamine counters the anticholinergic poisons (like those of the nightshades) that Circe’s drugs resemble. Galantamine is now a drug for Alzheimer’s disease.

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **galantamine**: if moly was the snowdrop, as Plaitakis and Duvoisin proposed in 1983

**Mechanism.** Galantamine inhibits acetylcholinesterase and so counters the anticholinergic poisoning of the tropanes: the one drug that would have protected Odysseus from Circe’s cup, if her cup was thorn-apple. The identification is a conjecture.

**Standing.** Galantamine is a licensed drug for Alzheimer’s disease.

## What lore surrounds it?

The first protective herb of Western literature: a gift of the gods against enchantment, which turned Circe’s swine back into men.

## What did the older authorities say?

**Homer.** In the tenth book of the *Odyssey*, Hermes gives Odysseus moly, black at the root with a milk-white flower, to protect him from the drugs of Circe; it is hard for mortals to dig, but the gods can do all things.

## Sources

- Homer, *Odyssey* X.
- Plaitakis, A., & Duvoisin, R. C. (1983). Homer’s moly identified as *Galanthus nivalis* L. *Clinical Neuropharmacology* 6(1): 1–5.
- Plaitakis, A., and Duvoisin, R. C. (1983). “Homer’s moly identified as *Galanthus nivalis* L.: physiologic antidote to stramonium poisoning.” *Clinical Neuropharmacology* 6.

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*Moly.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-09-25. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/moly

Historical description, not medical advice.