Greek Birth Control

Since before the Common Era, mankind has placed a large importance on the evolution of health and medicine. The first medical texts date back thousands of years to ancient Egypt, and over these many years medicine has evolved. As practical medicine has evolved throughout history, so too has human sexuality, sexual health, and even contraception – the logical path of course, as without procreation this essay would not be written today. Though sex allows the human species to carry on, the fact of the matter is that throughout antiquity and the middle ages, the use of contraceptive methods of birth control were equally, if not more important and prevalent as the use of contraceptives in the modern age. Though modern science has led to breakthroughs
In ancient Greece, the practice of child “exposure” was used as a means of population control of children that were seen to be “not worth rearing.” Child exposure is simply a glorified term for infanticide; the killing of an infant. Where exposure and infanticide differ is that exposure literally exposes a child to the elements by abandonment, allowing them to die by “natural causes” such as starvation, weather, or even being eaten by an animal - whereas infanticide is the actual forceful killing of a child, similar to homicide. There were several common themes in ancient Greece behind the decision to expose a new-born child: the physically defective child, the illegitimate child, the unwanted female child, and poverty – having too many children to be able to care for1. The laws of ancient Greece permitted exposure, but it is important to note the distinction between exposure and infanticide based on the age of a child. In Athens, the ceremony known as dekatê indicated the celebration of a child’s tenth day of life, and acceptance into the family unit.2 Prior to being accepted into the family, the child was merely just a child, where the factors pertaining to exposure could be weighed against the decision to raise the new born, or abandon
Ancient Greek mythology tells the tale of Minos and Pasiphae, where Minos wore a goat bladder sheath to protect Pasiphae from his serpent-bearing semen14. Male barrier contraceptives did not become commonplace until after the 15th century, but it is believed that the similar forms of male barrier contraceptive, such as the goat bladder sheath, were practiced in the middle ages. Withdrawal from intercourse was of course the most widely practised technique of male contraceptive, but this means was meant for the prevention of pregnancy. In the tale of Minos and Pasiphae, the goat bladder was used for the prevention of disease – Minos’ serpent-bearing semen. In the modern era, the tables have turned in society, so to speak, when it comes to pregnancy and disease prevention. Today, males are largely held responsible to wear a condom to prevent pregnancy and disease. Condoms are the most popular form of contraceptive, whereas throughout the Middle Ages, female suppositories were the most popular. Though the dynamic has changed for who society has deemed more responsible for pregnancy and disease prevention, the reasons behind contraception remain the same as they did thousands of years