silphium
nounEtymology From Latin silphium, from Ancient Greek σίλφιον (sílphion).
1
Historical A plant, thought to be extinct, used in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome in cooking and as a contraceptive.
- Of all the mysteries of ancient Rome, silphium is among the most intriguing. Romans loved the herb as much as we love chocolate. They used silphium as perfume, as medicine, as an aphrodisiac and turned it into a condiment, called laser, that they poured on to almost every dish.2022 May 15, James Tapper, “Caesar’s favourite herb was the Viagra of ancient Rome. Until climate change killed it off”, in The Observer: