Latin tetrapharmacum, Greek tetrapharmakos (τετραφάρμακος) (sometimes tetrapharmakon, τετραϕάρμακον) - the "fourfold drug" was a pharmaceutical compound known in ancient Greek pharmacology, a mixture of wax, pine resin, pitch and animal fat, most often pork fat.

The word tetrapharmakos

Tetrapharmakos

The Tetrapharmakos , or, "The four-part cure," is the Greek philosopher Epicurus' remedy for leading the happiest possible life...

has been used metaphorically by Epicurus

Epicurus

Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher and the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism.Only a few fragments and letters remain of Epicurus's 300 written works...

 and his disciples to refer to the four remedies for healing the soul.

Apparently named after this unprepossessing concoction, tetrafarmacum (standard Latin tetrapharmacum) was a complicated and expensive dish in Roman Imperial cuisine. It contained sow

Sow

Sow may refer to:* Sowing seed* Female animals: badger, bear, pig family* Shape in which metal is cast* Type of siege engine* River Sow, England* "Sow", a poem by Sylvia Plath* Sow , the band/spoken word project comprising Anna Wildsmith-People:...

's udder

Udder

An udder is an organ formed of the mammary glands of female quadruped mammals, especially ruminants such as cattle, goats, sheep and deer. The udder is a single mass hanging beneath the animal, consisting of pairs of mammary glands...

, pheasant

Pheasant

Pheasants refer to some members of the Phasianinae subfamily of Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as wattles and long tails. Males are usually larger than females and have...

, wild boar and ham

Ham

Ham is a cut of meat from the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especiallypigs. Nearly all hams sold today are fully cooked or cured.-Etymology:...

 in pastry

Pastry

Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...

. The only surviving source of information on the tetrafarmacum is the Augustan History

Augustan History

The Augustan History is a late Roman collection of biographies, in Latin, of the Roman Emperors, their junior colleagues and usurpers of the period 117 to 284...

, which mentions it three times. All three mentions are credited to the now-lost biography of Hadrian

Hadrian

Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...

 by Marius Maximus

Marius Maximus

Marius Maximus was a Roman biographer, writing in Latin, who in the early decades of the 3rd century AD wrote a series of biographies of twelve Emperors, imitating and continuing Suetonius. Marius’s work is lost, but it was still being read in the late 4th century and was used as a source by...

. According to this source, the Caesar Lucius Aelius

Lucius Aelius

Lucius Aelius Caesar became the adopted son and intended successor, of Roman Emperor Hadrian , but never attained the throne....

 (died 138) invented the dish; his senior colleague, the Emperor Hadrian

Hadrian

Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...

, liked it; a later emperor, Alexander Severus

Alexander Severus

Severus Alexander was Roman Emperor from 222 to 235. Alexander was the last emperor of the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his cousin Elagabalus upon the latter's assassination in 222, and was ultimately assassinated himself, marking the epoch event for the Crisis of the Third Century — nearly fifty...

, liked it too.

Source

• Galen
  Galen
  Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus , better known as Galen of Pergamon , was a prominent Roman physician, surgeon and philosopher...
  
  , On the properties of simples (vol. 12 p. 328 Kühn).
• Augustan History
  Augustan History
  The Augustan History is a late Roman collection of biographies, in Latin, of the Roman Emperors, their junior colleagues and usurpers of the period 117 to 284...
  
  Hadrian 21, Aelius 5, Alexander Severus 30.