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Modern fertility treatments often rely on advanced medical techniques or pharmaceutical solutions. In contrast, ancient civilizations employed unconventional and sometimes bizarre methods to boost fertility and ensure successful pregnancies. Below are ten historical fertility practices that would likely be rejected in today's world.
10. A Mixture of Butter and Breastmilk
An unusual contraceptive method suggested by physicians traces back to the 4th century BC. Hippocrates, a renowned physician and a pivotal figure in the evolution of modern medicine, proposed this approach.
Despite his contributions to medicine, Hippocrates' fertility solutions raise eyebrows. In one of his essays on infertility, he recommended administering a fasting woman a concoction of breastmilk from a mother who had delivered a male child, combined with a specific plant-based butter.
Hippocrates claimed that if the fasting woman vomited after consuming the mixture, it signaled her impending pregnancy. It’s hard to imagine how many women, unsurprisingly, reacted by vomiting after ingesting such a peculiar blend.
9. A Vaginal Insertion of Lead and Breastmilk Mixture
Hippocrates also proposed another dubious fertility remedy involving crushed minerals and breastmilk. Women facing infertility were instructed to grind lead and a magnetic stone into a fine powder.
Once prepared, the mixture was to be wrapped in cloth, soaked in breastmilk, and inserted into the vagina. The theory was that the vaginal tissues would absorb the concoction, enhancing the ability to retain semen and promote conception.
Similar to the butter and breastmilk remedy, the effectiveness of this treatment remains highly questionable. However, it was one of the limited options available to women experiencing fertility challenges during that era.
8. Tossing Offerings into a Thermal Spring
Ancient cultures often worshipped deities believed to govern natural phenomena. For instance, Poseidon ruled the seas, and travelers would offer tributes to him before voyages. Likewise, fertility gods were revered as divine figures who could aid women in conceiving.
The Etruscan civilization, for example, practiced rituals involving fertility offerings. Archaeologists in Tuscany have uncovered tiny figurines of infants, which were cast into thermal springs. These artifacts trace back to the Etruscan era.
The thermal springs were seen as sources of healing, while the figurines represented the ailments people wished to cure. By throwing baby-shaped statues into the springs, Etruscans hoped to improve their odds of achieving pregnancy.
7. Whipping a Woman’s Abdomen
One of the more peculiar ancient fertility practices originated in ancient Rome. The Romans honored the god Mars during an October festival, during which they performed rituals aimed at addressing infertility.
Historical accounts reveal that during the Mars festival, priests would roam the streets of Rome carrying whips crafted from goatskin. They used these whips to strike the abdomens of women facing fertility challenges.
The origins of this unusual practice remain unclear, and its effectiveness is highly doubtful. Nevertheless, it stands as one of the earliest and most bizarre attempts to treat infertility.
6. Reciting the Lord’s Prayer
A relatively more recent historical fertility remedy emerged in the 13th century, introduced by Gilbertus Anglicus, an Englishman known for his writings on medical and surgical techniques.
Gilbertus suggested that a man aged 20 or older could address infertility by reciting the Lord’s Prayer at a designated time while uprooting comfrey and daisy plants. He was then to extract the juices from these plants.
The next step involved inscribing the phrase 'The Lord said: increase and multiply and fill the earth' along with mystical words onto an amulet. After creating the amulet, the man was to wear it during intimate relations. According to the manuscript, this ritual would result in the woman conceiving a child, regardless of gender.
5. Sacrificing a Virgin
One of the most gruesome fertility practices originated from the Aztec civilization. Known for their harsh methods, the Aztecs resorted to human sacrifice as a means to address fertility issues.
The Aztecs revered a fertility goddess named Xochiquetzal. They believed that women struggling with infertility needed to gain the goddess's favor, often through extreme measures.
To maintain the goddess's favor, the Aztecs chose a virgin to impersonate Xochiquetzal and marry a warrior symbolizing one of her consorts. Although the ritual began as a seemingly innocent ceremony, it ended tragically a year later when the virgin was sacrificed and her skin removed.
Following the sacrifice, a priest of Xochiquetzal would don the skin while the goddess's followers danced around him, offering their own blood by cutting their tongues. This act was believed to secure the goddess's blessings for fertility and safe childbirth.
With the fall of the Aztec empire within 200 years, this brutal fertility ritual also faded into history.
4. Consuming Catnip-Infused Wine
In medieval England, numerous infertility remedies circulated, many of which involved creating tonics for aspiring parents to consume.
Medieval physicians suggested a straightforward remedy for infertility: gathering catnip from the fields and boiling it in wine.
After reducing the wine to one-third of its initial volume, the patient was to consume it on an empty stomach for three consecutive days. This was believed to enhance fertility and increase the likelihood of pregnancy. One can only hope no curious cats interfered with the process!
3. Consuming Urine
Among the many fertility treatments proposed by ancient scholars, one of the most distasteful was recommended by Pliny the Elder. A Roman scholar who lived between AD 23 and AD 79, Pliny transitioned from a military career to become a prolific writer on diverse subjects.
Pliny delved into medical topics, including fertility. In one of his works, he claimed that drinking the urine of a eunuch could counteract infertility curses and promote conception.
Pliny the Elder didn’t limit his recommendations to eunuchs’ urine. He also advocated for the consumption of urine from horses, bulls, and boars, claiming it could enhance sexual arousal and boost desire in intimate settings.
2. Placing Umbilical Cords Beneath Your Home
Not all historical fertility remedies involved consuming substances. Many required specific actions or rituals to be performed by individuals seeking to overcome infertility.
One particularly unusual fertility practice comes from the Batak people of Indonesia, an indigenous group that still exists today. While their views on infertility have evolved, their traditional methods were quite unique.
In the past, the Batak community had a straightforward approach to treating infertility. They believed that placing umbilical cords and placentas under the home of a woman desiring pregnancy would aid conception.
While the effectiveness of this method remains uncertain, the Batak people have thrived over the centuries. Today, their population stands at approximately three million, suggesting their reproductive practices were successful.
1. Consuming Wine Infused with Pig Testicles
If the catnip wine remedy seemed unappealing, this medieval solution was even more so. Certain physicians recommended a different concoction to assist women in achieving pregnancy.
This remedy required extracting the testicles of a male pig, drying them, and grinding them into a fine powder. The powder was then mixed with wine for consumption.
The instructions for this remedy stated that the patient must consume the wine for three consecutive days to guarantee fertility. Interestingly, the physician who documented this recipe did not clarify whether the potion was intended for the woman, the man, or both partners. It’s possible that both individuals were expected to endure this pig testicle concoction to improve their chances of conception.
