The plant’s exact identity is unknown to this day, since it went extinct in Roman times. It was a major cash crop of Cyrene, Libya, and even depicted on coins. It was used as seasoning, perfume, aphrodisiac, contraceptive and abortifacient. The last specimen was supposedly given to Emperor Nero.
The main reason it went extinct…
And what it was actually effective at. But the best way to convince a male dominated society that was important to make accessible was to convince them it made women horny.
When it just freed them of potentially serious consequences, like, a shit ton of women died a n childbirth until very recently. A one night stand could leave a women dead or shunned from her family with no source of income and a baby.
Reliable birth control would have been an absolute game changer.
You’ll have to elaborate on that
They used it all…
To the point it went extinct.
It wasn’t something people grew it was a wild plant. Started out common and all over the place, but Everytime someone saw it, they picked it