Julius Caesar kept a cache of it in the government treasury and the Greeks even put it on their money. It was worth its weight in gold – but no one knows if it still exists. Long ago, in the ancient ...

Perfume, tonic – even love potion – silphium was prized by the ancient Romans, but in its success lay the seeds of its own downfall Of all the mysteries of ancient Rome, silphium is among the most ...

Silphium is a herb that may have not looked the most pretty or striking, but in the ancient city of Cyrene, the plant soon became as valuable as gold. It is described as having short leaves, tiny ...

Roman leader Julius Caesar is said to have kept a stock of it in the treasury. Ancient writer Pliny the Elder says Rome’s Emperor Nero owned the last stalk of it. And some have suggested rampant ...

To most people, the phrase birth control doesn’t evoke mental images of herbs, sneezing, or crocodile excrement. But women and men in ancient cultures used a variety of unusual methods to prevent ...