Anise - Lebanon

Pimpinella anisum - Anise is a flowering plant native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Asia. The plant produces small white flowers bunched in clusters. The plant grows to about 90 centimeters in height and produces tiny seeds; 3 to 5 millimeters long. It is a food plant for several butterfly and moth species still in the larvae stage. Human use includes cultivating the dry seeds for use as a flavoring in various foods and beverages. The seeds have a distinctive licorice taste. 

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Phoenicia was an ancient civilization centering itself in Lebanon with its capital at Byblos. The Phoenicians owed their prosperity to an extensive network of trade routes they had established along the entire Southern Mediterranean coastline. Rather than having a centralized form of government, Phoenicia consisted of several independent city states united to serve a common cause; trade. The Phoenicians reigned from 1200 BC until they were absorbed into the Persian Empire in 539 BC.

Hemlock - Greece

Conium maculatum - Hemlock is a herbaceous plant within the Apiaceae family and is native to Europe and the Mediterranean region. The leaves, seeds, and roots of the hemlock plant are highly poisonous. They contain high levels of coniine, a substance fatal to humans and livestock if ingested. Coniine will disrupt the central nervous system by blocking the neuromuscular junctions causing eventual paralysis of the respiratory muscles resulting in death by asphyxiation. 

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The concept of polis, or city states, flourished in the Archaic Period of Greece. One such state, Lacedaemon, with its main settlement of Sparta, began its rise to prominence in the 10th century BC. It became the dominate Greek power after defeating Athens in the Peloponnesian War. Sparta was eventually defeated by Thebes, another Greek city-state, in 371 BC. Lacedaemon survived the war, but lost its regional supremacy. In a weakened state, it was absorbed into the Roman Empire in 146 BC.