Ancient oral contraceptives
Medical historians now believe that effective oral contraceptives have existed for more than 2000 years. For example, the sap of the now extinct plant silphium was said to contain a powerful oral contraceptive and abortifacient (a substance that can produce an abortion). The Ancient Roman gynaecologist Soranus declared that 'Cyrenaic juice' would 'not only prevent conception but also destroy any existing one'. Silphium was the main cash crop of the Greek city-state of Cyrene in north Africa from around 600 to 400 BC. It was exported throughout the Mediterranean and was so important to the economy of Cyrene that its image was stamped on their coins.
Until recently, most medical historians considered early contraceptive recipes to be superstition or wishful thinking. Scientific testing of the ingredients however has shown that many probably worked. For example, experiments using extracts from plants related to silphium can stop female rodents from conceiving or their fertilised eggs from implanting in the uterus.
The desire for control is neither time nor space bound. It is a universal characteristic of social life.
Norman E Himes, A medical history of contraception, 1936.
Three drachma Cyrenian coin featuring the plant silphium, from about 400 BC. Lent by a private collector.
A Tibetan necklace, purchased in Nepal in 1995 from a woman who guaranteed that it would prevent the wearer from having children. Powerhouse Museum collection.