Kill or Cure

By chance, Heracles pops up again. There are so many myths surrounding this figure that his name could probably be wound into just about any narrative. One of the darker ones is that his wronged and vengeful step-mother Hera made him insane, and so out of control that he murdered his own wife and children. Grim enough, but things could presumably have been much worse had he not been healed by a wise physician who treated him with Hellebore - then went on to found a town in the region of Greece where the medicinal varieties grow wild

Don't try this at home. Hellebore is an irritant, toxic and potentially fatal. It was, however, used - presumably in a much-diluted extraction - in ancient Greek medicine for the treatment of insanity

The madness of King Donald is already in evidence. I wondered if there has ever been a King Donald before. I find Scotland had at least three of them; the third one had no sons but was not above killing his nephews - though more in the spirit of Richard and the princes in the tower than outright insanity. Donald III came to some kind of sticky end (though exactly what is disputed). I can't see the current one ending well. Perhaps we should try Hellebore