Love potions have been the stuff of history and legend since ancient times. These elixirs, designed to allure, played a major role in both Greek and Egyptian mythology. The potions have long been credited with having magical influences over the whims and woes of human attraction.
In the second century A.D., Roman writer and philosopher Apuleius allegedly concocted a potion that snagged him a rather wealthy widow. Relatives of the widow brought Apuleius to court, claiming the potion had subverted the woman’s true wishes. Apuleius argued that the potion (supposedly made with shellfish, lobsters, spiced oysters, and cuttlefish) had restored his wife’s vivacity and spirit — and the court ended up ruling in his favor.
Today, if you’re looking for love, most people probably turn to Facebook, but some people do believe that love potions are for real. The ancient Greeks ground up orchid, which they regarded as a powerful aphrodisiac, into a powder and added it to wine. They believed that this concoction could inspire passionate love in whoever consumed it.
Most people can’t think of love potions without remembering the popular song, “Love Potion No. 9,” that was recorded by The Clovers in 1959 and made popular again in 1963 by The Searchers.
The song was written by songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and according to the song, the potion’s ingredients “smelled like turpentine and looked like India Ink.” Doesn’t sound very good, but it apparently helped a guy who was “a flop with chicks” — at least until he “kissed a cop down on 34th and Vine.”
But all serious-ness aside, if you’re really interested in a love potion, in the mid 1990s, Leiber and Stoller (the song writers) and a couple of other people developed a trademarked cologne spray bearing the name of Love Potion No. 9.
According to the label, Love Potion No. 9 is made with water, SD40B alcohol, isopropyl myristate, isopropyl alcohol, and the fragrances of citrus and musk. Sounds like this concoction could really heighten you passion and arousal and make you attractive to the opposite sex. Of course, there is a disclaimer on the bottle….”No guarantee of success is granted or implied.”
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