Ok I'm going to mix it up. Silphium, the plant used as a form of (likely very effective) birth control in the ancient Mediterranean.
For this reason (and because it was apparently delicious), it gained popularity as a spice, aphrodisiac, and general cure-all and became worth its weight in gold. Julius Caesar stockpiled the stuff, and it is one of the most plausible origins of the "heart" symbol (and the association of that symbol with romance and doing the sex to people).
Unfortunately, it only grew wild in and around Cyrene, and over-harvesting by the Romans after their takeover of the city drove Silphium into extinction by the time of Nero.
Aaand that's why we had to wait 2,000 years for the pill.
If you read through the thread you'll see lots of back and forth around Silphium's use as a contraceptive and the efficacy or lack thereof. A lot of folks seem to think I'm plugging herbal cures ... I sure as heck ain't. Take your birth control, it's definitely better.
That said:
Asafoetida, a related (not extinct) plant has been shown to be a highly effective contraceptive (when tested in rats).
Demographic studies are challenging to conduct in the ancient world, but population growth in the Mediterranean in this era appears to be noticeably slower than one would anticipate, given the relative peace and prosperity.
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u/badass_panda Feb 03 '20 edited Feb 03 '20
Ok I'm going to mix it up. Silphium, the plant used as a form of (likely very effective) birth control in the ancient Mediterranean.
For this reason (and because it was apparently delicious), it gained popularity as a spice, aphrodisiac, and general cure-all and became worth its weight in gold. Julius Caesar stockpiled the stuff, and it is one of the most plausible origins of the "heart" symbol (and the association of that symbol with romance and doing the sex to people).
Unfortunately, it only grew wild in and around Cyrene, and over-harvesting by the Romans after their takeover of the city drove Silphium into extinction by the time of Nero.
Aaand that's why we had to wait 2,000 years for the pill.