Medicine, zoology, botany and mineralogy are the themes of Nicander's two extant poems of the Hellenistic period - "Theriaca" and "Alexipharmaca." Fragments of other poems also survive, including some fairly substantial pieces of his "Georgica." His didactic poetry, along with that of his approximate contemporary Aratus, had some influence on later poets, notably Virgil and Ovid. This fully annotated English translation of Nicander's work was first published in 1953.