Aphrodisiacs and Anti-aphrodisiacs

This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design. This provocative antiquarian study argues that fertility symbols were once revered as sacred emblems of life rather than dismissed as obscene. Moving from Egypt, Greece, Rome, India, and the Americas to Ireland and medieval Europe, it traces phallic worship through myth, ritual, law, and archaeology, using classical quotation, anecdote, and illustration to challenge modern ideas of modesty and sexuality. The book then widens into a strange social history of reproduction, examining impotence, sterility, aphrodisiacs, and the folklore of love magic. It surveys causes of reproductive failure in men and women, the notorious French ordeal of "judicial congress," and the perilous world of philters, mandrake lore, aromatic stimulants, and anti-aphrodisiacs. Recipes drawn from classical and medieval authorities include herbs, animal parts, and even human remains, while the legendary hippomanes appears as a potent, grotesque symbol of erotic belief. Throughout, the author blends scholarship and sensationalism to reveal how ancient fertility cults survived, disguised themselves in Christian saints, and left their imprint on symbols such as the cross.