Love Potions Through the Ages: A Study of Amatory Devices and Mores

An interdisciplinary survey examines the history and varieties of amatory devices and philtres from antiquity through the Middle Ages and across Asian traditions, cataloguing rituals, ingredients, and associated beliefs. It treats Greek and Roman erotic cults and literary testimony, Near Eastern and Indian manuals and temple practices, medieval occultism and alchemical recipes, and popular anecdotes and legal and moral responses. Chapters analyze ingredients, preparation methods, potency claims, talismans and periapts, and the social contexts that produced them, while cautioning against practical use. The tone is scholarly and descriptive, drawing on literary, folkloric, and historical sources to map continuities and regional variations.