Chances are, many of my readers have seen articles on the internet about how, supposedly, in ancient times there was a kind of giant fennel plant called silphium that was grown in North Africa in the region around the Greek city of Kyrene that was a highly effective contraceptive, perhaps even the most effective one of all time. According to the articles on the internet, the ancient Romans were so horny and they loved having sex so much that they overharvested silphium, leading it to go totally extinct in around the middle of the first century AD.
There is some truth to this story, but much of it is false. Silphium was a real plant that really was grown in the region around Kyrene in North Africa and some Romans did believe it to possess contraceptive properties. Likewise, there is a Roman source that seems to support the idea that some Romans thought that, by the middle of the first century AD, the particular variety of silphium from Kyrenaïka had become extremely rare, if not extinct.
Nonetheless, it is unclear whether silphium was actually effective at all as a contraceptive and, although a few ancient texts claim it to have possessed contraceptive properties, its primary use in antiquity was never as a form of birth control. In antiquity, silphium was, in fact, always primarily desired as a food item because people thought it was a culinary delicacy. There is far more ancient evidence for silphium’s consumption as a food item than there is for its use as a method of birth control.
A review of the origins of the popular misconception about silphium
The whole story about silphium being a highly effective contraceptive that the Romans consumed to extinction owes much of its popularity to the work of one scholar: John Riddle, who has written multiple books about the history of contraceptives in western cultures, including Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance and Eve’s Herbs: A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West.
Now, John Riddle’s works have received a great deal of criticism from historians such as Gary B. Ferngren and Helen King for making a large number of unsubstantiated claims. Unfortunately, despite this criticism, Riddle’s works have fueled dozens of popular articles on websites across the internet making unsubstantiated claims about silphium being driven to extinction because of its effectiveness as a form of birth control. These articles often stretch the evidence even further than Riddle’s actual works do.
ABOVE: Photograph of a Kyrenaic gold coin dated to betwee. c. 308 and c. 277 BC depicting a stalk of silphium
Was it really an effective contraceptive?
John Riddle claims in his books that silphium was probably effective as a form of contraception. Articles on the internet have taken his claims to radical extremes, making hyperbolic assertions about silphium’s alleged effectiveness. For instance, this article from All That’s Interesting claims that silphium was “possibly … the world’s most effective contraception.” Meanwhile, this article from the website Ancient Origins (a website which I should note is somewhat notorious for pushing all kinds of outlandish stories and even blatant pseudohistory) claims that silphium was “possibly the most popular and effective herbal contraceptive ever produced.”
The truth, though, is that silphium’s alleged contraceptive properties are probably greatly exaggerated at best. None of the articles I have linked above cite any studies to support their claims about silphium being the “most effective” contraceptive ever, which should immediately raise a few red flags to anyone paying attention. Unlike the authors of the articles linked above, John Riddle does cite a few studies on rats as evidence for silphium’s effectiveness in his book Eve’s Herbs (specifically on page 46).
Riddle cites a study that found that crude alcohol extracts of Ferula assa-foetida, a giant fennel plant thought to be closely related to silphium, impeded egg fertilization in female rats with an effectiveness rate of roughly 40% and that crude alcohol extracts from Ferula orientalis, another giant fennel plant, impeded fertilization with an effectiveness rate of roughly 50%. Riddle goes on to cite another study, which he claims found that Ferula jaeschikaena was “nearly … 100 percent effective” at impeding egg fertilization in female rats, but only if it was fed to the rats within three days before coitus.
While these studies may be evidence that silphium may have had some genuine contraceptive properties, they are hardly evidence that silphium was consistently effective. For one thing, although silphium was probably a giant fennel plant of some kind, we don’t know which species. Additionally, these studies were done on rats, not humans, and humans have very different physiologies from rats. Finally, a 40% or 50% success rate isn’t exactly stellar and the “nearly … 100 percent” success rate claimed for Ferula jaeschikaena may have been a fluke.
Was it thought to be a contraceptive, though?
Ok, so it’s unclear whether silphium was really an effective contraceptive, but the real question is, did the ancient Greeks and Romans believe it was an effective contraceptive? Well, the answer is a bit complicated. Some Greek and Roman medical writers certainly do describe silphium as having contraceptive properties, but this does not seem to have ever been the primary purpose for which silphium was harvested.
Ancient Greek sources from the Classical Period (lasted c. 510 – c. 323 BC) almost exclusively refer to silphium as a culinary delicacy. For instance, in a passage from the comedy The Birds, written by the ancient Athenian comic playwright Aristophanes (lived c. 446 – c. 386 BC) and first performed at the City Dionysia in Athens in 414 BC, the character Pisthetairos, an Athenian man, is portrayed having a lavish feast when a trio of gods come to visit him. Pisthetairos mentions silphium amidst a variety of other culinary delicacies that he is eating at his feast. Here are lines 1579 through 1583 of the play in the original Greek:
Πισθέταιρος: “τὴν τυρόκνηστίν τις δότω: φέρε σίλφιον:
τυρὸν φερέτω τις: πυρπόλει τοὺς ἄνθρακας.”Ποσειδῶν: “τὸν ἄνδρα χαίρειν οἱ θεοὶ κελεύομεν
τρεῖς ὄντες ἡμεῖς.”Πισθέταιρος: “ἀλλ᾽ ἐπικνῶ τὸ σίλφιον.”
Here is the same conversation, in my own translation:
Pisthetairos: “Give me the cheese-grater! Bring me the silphium! Bring me the cheese! Watch over the coals!”
Poseidon: “Man, we three gods are urging you to greet us!”
Pisthetairos: “But I’m finishing off my silphium!”
There’s nothing here to even suggest that Pisthetairos is eating silphium for any purpose other than culinary enjoyment. Again, this passage is fairly typical of classical Greek texts dealing with silphium; whenever silphium is mentioned, it is in a culinary context.
ABOVE: Photograph of the obverse and reverse side of a silver Kyrenaic coin, minted by Magas of Kyrene between c. 300 and c. 282 BC
In the Roman world, silphium was still primarily sought after as a food item. For instance, the surviving ancient Roman cookbook De Re Coquinaria, which is believed to have been compiled in around the late fourth or early fifth century AD, states that silphium is best served with boiled melon. It is hard to imagine that the author of this cookbook saw silphium as much more than a dish to be eaten for culinary enjoyment.
Our first major source of information about the alleged medicinal uses of silphium is the Roman encyclopedist Pliny the Elder (lived c. 23 – 79 AD), who writes about silphium extensively in his book Natural History. Pliny the Elder lists a number of alleged medicinal uses for silphium, which include its use as a contraceptive, but even he admits that the primary use of silphium was as a food item.
Rather amusingly, Pliny the Elder attributes all sorts of miraculous effects to the eating of silphium, claiming that it “purged” the body of all ailments. This indicates that, by Pliny’s own time, the properties of silphium were becoming rather mythologized. Pliny writes in his Natural History 19.25.9–10, as translated by John Bostock, H. T. Riley, and B. A. London:
“They [i.e. the Greeks of Kyrene] used to feed the cattle there upon it; at first it purged them, but afterwards they would grow fat, the flesh being improved in flavour in a most surprising degree. After the fall of the leaf, the people themselves were in the habit of eating the stalk, either roasted or boiled: from the drastic effects of this diet the body was purged for the first forty days, all vicious humours being effectually removed.”
Stories about these alleged miraculous effects of eating silphium probably arose in a similar manner to how modern claims about alleged herbal cures arise, such as the all-too-common claims about various kinds of common herbs and spices allegedly being cures for cancer. (Spoiler alert: these claims are never supported by sound scientific evidence.)
ABOVE: Photograph of a medieval manuscript copy dating to c. 900 AD of the ancient Roman cookbook De Re Coquinaria, which was originally compiled in around the late fourth or early fifth century AD
Oh yeah, about that coin everyone keeps referencing
Nearly all the evidence that is usually cited in support of the idea that silphium was primarily used as a contraceptive is deeply contrived. For instance, John Riddle cites the fact that Kyrenaic coins often depict a seated woman gesturing to a silphium plant as evidence that silphium was primarily known as a contraceptive. Riddle interprets the left arm of the woman on the coin as gesturing suggestively towards her genital region and he claims that this is a clever hint at what silphium was primarily used for.
This is an extremely tendentious interpretation, however. If you actually look at images of coins of the type Riddle is referencing, the hand that Riddle interprets as gesturing suggestively towards the woman’s genital region looks more like it is simply resting on the woman’s lap. I honestly find it extremely difficult to see how anyone could interpret the position of the woman’s arm to mean anything sexual.
Indeed, there is almost nothing about the image on the coin that can be reasonably construed as sexually suggestive. The woman is clothed and seated in what seems to me to be a perfectly normal, albeit rather stiff, position. The overall scholarly consensus is that it is far more likely that the Kyrenaic coins in question merely depict the nymph Kyrene, who served as the patron deity of the city of Kyrene, looking after the city’s most famous crop.
It is worth noting that articles on the internet about silphium often reference these coins, but yet they never seem to include images of the coin itself—probably because, if they included images of the coin, people would realize that it doesn’t depict what they claim it depicts. In any case, here is an image of one of the actual coins:
ABOVE: Photograph from the British Museum of a Kyrenaic coin dating to between c. 525 and c. 480 BC depicting a seated woman gesturing to a stalk of silphium. Coins of this type are often cited as evidence for silphium being primarily used as a form of birth control. In reality, the woman is probably just Kyrene, the patron goddess of the city of Kyrene, looking after the city’s most famous crop.
Is it really extinct?
Nearly all the articles on the internet about silphium claim that the plant is now totally extinct, but, in reality, the question of whether silphium ever actually went extinct is still quite open. First of all, although Pliny the Elder is often cited as claiming that it went extinct, he does not actually say that the plant was extinct. Instead, this is what Pliny says in his Natural History 19.15, as translated by John Bostock, H. T. Riley, and B. A. London:
“Next to these, laserpitium claims our notice, a very re- markable plant, known to the Greeks by the name of ‘silphion,’ and originally a native of the province of Cyrenaica. The juice of this plant is called ‘laser,’ and it is greatly in vogue for medicinal as well as other purposes, being sold at the same rate as silver. For these many years past, however, it has not been found in Cyrenaica, as the farmers of the revenue who hold the lands there on lease, have a notion that it is more profitable to depasture flocks of sheep upon them. Within the memory of the present generation, a single stalk is all that has ever been found there, and that was sent as a curiosity to the Emperor Nero. For this long time past, there has been no other laser imported into this country, but that produced in either Persis, Media, or Armenia, where it grows in considerable abundance, though much inferior to that of Cyrenaica; and even then it is extensively adulterated with gum, sacopenium, or pounded beans.”
Notice that Pliny doesn’t say that silphium was extinct; he just says that it hasn’t been found in Kyrenaïka in a long time. Indeed, he even says that another variety of silphium was cultivated in Persis, Media, and Armenia, but that it wasn’t as good as the kind from Kyrenaïka.
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of a Roman marble bust of the emperor Nero on display in the Capitoline Museums in Rome. Pliny claims that a single stalk of silphium from Kyrenaïka was presented to Nero as a curiosity.
Furthermore, there is a great deal of other evidence that leads us to seriously doubt that silphium actually went extinct in the middle of the first century AD. For one thing, silphium is mentioned and even prescribed in various Greek medical texts written long after the reign of Nero. In fact, nearly all of our sources that actually mention silphium being used as a contraceptive come from after the time when Pliny is often interpreted as saying that silphium went extinct.
For instance, the Greek medical writer Soranos of Ephesos (lived c. 98 – c. 138 AD) recommends in his book On Gynocology that a woman seeking to induce menstruation should drink an amount of balm made from silphium equivalent to the amount of a chickpea in two glasses of water. Later, a woman doctor named Metrodora, who lived in around the third century AD, includes silphium in a recipe for an abortifacient in her medical treatise On the Cures and Diseases of Women. Neither of these writers mention anything about silphium being extinct.
The fact that medical writers from late antiquity keep recommending silphium and mention nothing about it being extinct strongly indicates to me that silphium probably did not go extinct in the first century AD as Pliny the Elder has led many modern scholars to assume. In fact, I am not entirely sure that silphium ever really went extinct at all. I suspect that people probably eventually just forgot which plant it was.
There are many species of giant fennel plants (i.e. plants in the genus Ferula) native to North Africa today that look very much like the silphium plants shown on ancient Kyrenaic coins. Basically everyone agrees that, at the very least, the plants in the genus Ferula are closely related to silphium. There is a very real possibility, though, that one of the extant species in the genus Ferula native to North Africa may actually be silphium. In particular, Ferula tingitana is often cited as the extant plant that most closely resembles the plants shown on Kyrenaic coins.
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of Ferula communis, a kind of giant fennel plant native to North Africa, which is either silphium itself or a very closely related plant
ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of Ferula tingitana, another kind of giant fennel plant native to North Africa, which is either silphium itself or a very closely related plant
How debauched were the Romans really?
The popular legend about the Romans driving silphium to extinction because they were so horny feeds into a persistent stereotype in modern popular culture of the ancient Romans as being thoroughly sex-crazed and debauched. As much as people today may wish this stereotype to be true, though, it largely isn’t. The ancient Romans were, in general, somewhat more open about sexuality than we are today, but it’s absolutely not true that ancient Rome was a “pervert’s paradise” where everyone went around having orgies and kinky sex all the time.
As I discuss in this article I wrote in February 2019, the popular idea that orgies were common in ancient Rome is a complete misconception. There is no evidence that orgies were any more common in ancient Rome than they are today. In fact, we don’t even have a single reliable, first-hand, nonfiction account of an orgy from ancient Rome; all we have are works of erotic fiction that don’t reflect reality and a bunch of salacious rumors. I imagine there were probably some people who had orgies in ancient Rome, but they certainly weren’t nearly as common as popular culture would have you believe.
Likewise, as I discuss in this article from January 2017, there is actually no evidence to support the popular idea that it was common for people in ancient Rome to gorge themselves and then vomit so they could gorge themselves even further. This habit doesn’t even seem to have been common among the extremely wealthy. The closest thing we have to evidence of anyone in ancient Rome vomiting so they could further gorge themselves is a single passage from the Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger (lived c. 4 BC – 65 AD) mocking extremely wealthy gourmands who gorge themselves on rare and expensive dishes so much that they can’t even keep their food down.
The modern image of the ancient Romans as hedonistic, orgy-loving, silphium-addicted, vomit-loving debauchees is the result of all kinds of influences, the most prominent of which include Christian moralizing, Hollywood films, and modern historical writers desperate for ways to sex-up the historical periods they are writing about.
ABOVE: The Roses of Heliogabalus, painted in 1888 by the English Academic painter Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, one of the most iconic modern representations of (alleged) ancient Roman decadence
Conclusion
Silphium was primarily desired in the ancient world because it was considered a culinary delicacy. Although silphium does seem to have been occasionally used for various medicinal purposes, including as a contraceptive, this does not seem to have ever been the primary reason why it was harvested. Saying that silphium was primarily used as a contraceptive is a bit like saying that, since some people today apparently think basil is a contraceptive, basil is therefore primarily used as a contraceptive.
Furthermore, I am not entirely convinced that silphium ever actually went totally extinct and I think it is probably more likely that people just forgot which plant it was. In all likelihood, silphium is still around—probably as a member of the genus Ferula.
It’s oddly satisfying to see the debunking of myths which I’d never heard of
I think that a lot of people feel that way. That’s part of why I do so many articles debunking misconceptions. I think that, even if someone hasn’t heard the misconception, they can still learn something from it seeing it debunked, since the process of debunking involves the presentation of so many facts. There is an old quote that is often attributed to the early Christian writer Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius (lived c. 250 – c. 325 AD) that goes: “The first point of wisdom is to discern that which is false; the second, to know that which is true.” I haven’t found the exact source of the quote, but it sounds like it is probably a loose paraphrase of Book II of Lactantius’s ”The Divine Institutes”. Regardless of who actually said it, it’s a quote I agree with.
Very interesting. I enjoyed reading your article but I would love to know what the point of your article is. You succeeded in casting a shadow of doubt on Riddle’s claims but the absence of evidence is not evidence in it self. At this point, I know a plant called silphium existed. Riddle claims it was mainly used as contraception based on his interpretation of utilization account from ancient Rome. Spencer believes silphium was mainly used as food based on his interpretation of utilization account from ancient Rome. Neither has proof.
I think Silphium has nothing to do with either the Fennel(Foeniculum) or Asafoetida (Ferula) genera. It may have more likely been related to genus Eryngium ( Culantros)- given the huge and prominent bulb shaped florets and prominent central stem as well as descriptions of flavor . Culantro may be the best taste approximation in modern day and is common in the Cuisines of trinidad, Guyana and Carribean as well as isolated reaches of North Eastern India and Vietnam and Thailand. Eryngium is a fairly cosmopolitan genus – from Mediterranean to MesoAmerica all the way to Australia .Or Silphium could have been a hybrid of 2 Eryngium species that grew only locally spreading by root system alone and explains why the Greeks or Romans could not cultivate it in other places. Id personally start with the Sea Holly and its relatives that grow in North Africa.
Why would the Romans have access to a plant native to North America?
At least 3 species of Eryngium are Native to West Eurasia – around the mediterranean basin.
Eryngium bourgatii
Eryngium amethystinum
Eryngium maritimum
… and some more
Eryngium campestre
Eryngium giganteum
Eryngium planum
I never mentioned culantro as native to Mediterranean, but relatives of .
It was South America and or Central America and I’m going with Noah’s ark came from America! Also silphium is lantana camara. It’s slightly poisonous and causes a miss carry of a pregnancy. I believe they over harvested it and or planted too much of it. Lantana can choke itself out as well as be cut down too harshly.
Counterpoint: You don’t know, you weren’t there.
Along with silphium being lantana Camara I have also discovered a South American bird I believe to be the Phoenix. I also discovered a tree that I believe to be the tree of knowledge. Within that tree I also found a lizard I believe to be the dragon. I would love to have a deeper chat on these topics.
There is another way to explain the extinction of silphion plant, please read the following scientific publication:
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10010102
Kind regards,
M. Miski, Ph.D.
I think it’s kind of annoying when someone says that something is far-fetched but then they provide evidence to the country which is actually scientific. That’s pretty spooky. So it’s like you’re trying to make a whole thing out of your skeptic image, even when the facts don’t add up with what you think using science. Just imagine if you crossed those two species you were talking about being 50% effective at contraception. There is a slim chance that that alone could create something like silphium, being an effective contraceptive, and proving you wrong. Understand the possibilities of the universe you live in are Unlimited. Science purists who like to be sure what facts we ascertained and didn’t share your lack of enthusiasm with mystical sounding claims, but what they don’t share in common with you. Is your need to put on in image that looks more intelligent than you are by being more skeptical than you need to be, thinking that it’s a one trick pony. Having intelligence at something is common, being an intellectual takes a well-rounded approach to high intelligence. People who think that they can discount everything to seem more logical, and they can impress people and make them like them are like this f***** Paul who likes to get people drunk who he knows are straight and try to scare them into having sex, because he’s a bottom feeder. That’s what you are in science if you try to be skeptical elitist to get people’s attention. It just shows me you’re probably a psychopath narcissist
I honestly find it rather amusing how some commenters on this blog feel the need to hurl the most vicious invectives at me over even the most completely innocuous things I say. You’re literally calling me a “faggot,” a “bottom feeder,” a “psychopath,” and a “narcissist” just because I said that, in all likelihood, eating silphium probably wasn’t a reliable method of birth control.
I agree that it probably wasn’t an effective contraceptive in the exact literal term. In the description that you have posted about inducing menstruation. 2 pea size amounts with a glass of water. If silphium does induce menstruation even after conception or fertilization it’s still potentially extremely effective. Borderline like modern chemical abortion. If it worked to effectively abort fetuses it could also have been known to be highly effective. There are many reasons I believe it was lantana Camara. 1 it first a foremost has shown to cause female rats to begin menstruation. Scientifically caused female rats to loose body weight with no effect on male rats weight. Furthermore it matches the description the flowers are perfect the wood is also resistant to water a d sunlight damage making it useful as silphium was described being used for many things like furniture. The one two other major significant ties to lantana Camara is the description of issues it reportedly helped alleviate. 1 it’s an effect treatment for ulcers it was supposed fix stomach pains. It was also reported as a cure to madness. Lantana Camara also is an effective treatment for rabies witch could have been the cause of the madness they were referring to. The active substances causing toxicity in grazing animals are pentacyclic triterpenoids, which result in liver damage and photosensitivity. It’s also know to be antibacterial and anti-fungal leading to a long list of possible medical uses.
I would have to disagree… firstly you make out that it’s a lie at first with no hard evidence being presented, the plant is not tested – Yet you gave us true fact that it was used in the ancient books for food and contraception? you kept talking about the extinction of the plant while covering this fact of Silphium being used as contraception – In other words, I didn’t believe it before, but now I do since you gave me the real fact of the ancient books.
Even the slightest mention of a contraceptive in those days Indicates that they were excessive with sex in general. If they were not sex-crazed then they wouldn’t even know the word “contraception” at all. You do know what contraception is back in those days? it’s called “fun”. no reproduction…
They were so sex-crazed even the warriors had sex with each other and saying that God made man in the image of God, and used the women as only incubators for reproduction.
To finish this off – you’re talking about AD and BC – The sword fighter was considered a movie star of today’s caliber. Even though civilized cultures existed so did the survival of the greatest. kill or be killed – In saying this politicians with power can do anything they desire and manipulate almost anyone into their sex toy. There’s enough evidence of corruption in the modern world to indicate how easy it would be in those times.
The plant cannot be tested because it is not currently possible to identify which specific plant it was. Moreover, as I have noted in the article, ancient people used all kinds of bizarre remedies for all sorts of purposes that modern medical professionals now know never really worked. Since it is impossible to prove that silphium was in any way effective as a form of birth control, the safest assumption is that it probably was not. Even if it was somewhat effective, there is certainly nothing to support the popular claim that it was “possibly … the world’s most effective contraception.”
Finally, merely wanting to have sex without producing offspring does not mean that someone is “sex-crazed.” If that’s your definition of “sex-crazed,” then you’d have to consider nearly everyone who has ever lived in any culture during any time period “sex-crazed,” since one thing that is clear is that people in general have been wanting to be able to have sex without reproduction since the beginning of time (although they haven’t always been successful at it).
I am curious, as you claim to have interest in ancient cultures, if you have any further opinions or input on the artistic depictions of the silphium plant on the cyrenean coins. I believe I agree with you on the more likely scenario that it is a popular female figure / goddess guarding the silphium crop on the coin rather than a cryptic picture of a Cyrenean woman, essentially pointing to her crotch, in order to symbolize the sexual nature of silphium. However I once took an art history course in school, where we learned to analyze works of art from the ancient world. And one of the first things I noticed when I saw the coin ever, was how stylized the design of the plant was. And ironically, I haven’t been able to find any articles mentioning any analysis of the design, until of course I read the article posted above by, “M. Miski, Ph.D.”, (which honestly blew me away. I highly recommend that if you have any interest in silphium, to take the time to read it.) But up until that point the very first time I saw the coin I noticed immediately that the design of the plant stalk very much resembled the fluting architecture design of of the pillars commonly found in that part of the ancient world. I know that many species, (take a look at celery), in that plant group have (fluted) stalks, or or are at least designed to look that way. Some relatives of that family with that design that come to mind are celery and poison hemlock. And I’m fairly certain fennel too. It’s been awhile since I’ve looked at the plants though. And I wondered if the depiction of the fluting on the plant stalk on the coin was intentionally representative of The columns of the ancient world, but I don’t really think that that architecture would be that significant to the people of that time so I just dismissed it. (I also wondered ironically if it were possible that if that were the case that maybe the fluting in the ancient world could have been representative of, or at least inspired by the ferula plant stalks.) But again, these are just random inquiries.
Another thing I did notice however in the stylistic depiction of the Silphion plant on the coin was the way the bulb at the top of the stalk, representing the flower, appeared. I have read before that the silphium plant was associated with Apollo, and Apollo was traditionally associated with the Sun. So, I wondered if intentionally placing the arrangement of the flowers at the top in a circle, as opposed to a more accurate depiction of what it would look like, might have been representative of Apollonian symbolism.
In addition to that, sort of on that note, is the idea that there is evidence of both phallic and Yonic imagery in the design of the plant, itself. Obviously, the very enlarged wide stalk of the plant with the flowering bulb at the top could be perceived as phallic imagery. And simultaneously, the design of the leaves protruding from the stalks of the plant and curving downward could be perceived as the symbolic Yonic cup, with the protruding leaves representing the ovaries. And actually, at first sight of the coin I immediately thought the design of the leaves ironically resembled a diagram of the female reproductive system.
Phallic and Yonic symbolism has been prevalent in art since the beginning of art. On the first day of my art history class I learned that the earliest found artistic artifact dating back to the Paleolithic period was a phallus.
I cannot say that because there’s phallic and Yonic imagery in the design of the silphium plant on the coin that it proves any significance to the coin alluding to silphium’s contraceptive purpose, but I think it’s fair to suggest, that if there was any sexual nature pertaining to the use of silphium, that it’s very likely that it would have been depicted in the culture surrounding it.