>>27152497And what revaluation followed this contrast? The very frog, when cast to aspects beyond that of reproduction and fertility, shows a similar and equally contrasting opinion held by those in power by virtue of their traditional wisdom.
The general public understanding of Mayan, Inca, Olmec, and Aztec cultures, along with many lesser tribes in that region, held that frogs were the purveyors of poison or of powerful drugs, which can heal or induce hallucinations by means of compounds found in the skin of some native species that are both poisonous and hallucinogenic. Many deceitful doctors and even murders used these frogs as a means of making poisons, while some priests used these frogs as hallucinogenic drugs for religious rituals.
Within the Classical culture of Greece and Rome, the great Pliny the Elder viewed frogs and toads as evil creatures whose blood was a potent poison and imputed many strange powers to frogs: a frog’s presence will silence a room full of people; a small bone from a frog's right side will keep water from boiling; while a bone from the left side of the frog will repel the attack of dogs. He goes further to talk of the “Toad Stone”, which, by means of cracking open a frog or toad’s skull and drilling into its brain, all while the poor creature was still alive, and driving the mystical stone from there, which could then be placed on a neckless, ring, or an amulet. One could find that this mythical stone could ward off poison by its change in color in the presence of it, and then act as an antidote by touching the stone to the poisoned area. Even the grand playwright Shakespeare and fantasy writer Cabell alluded to this in their own works.
