In Greek mythology, Andromache, the wife of the Trojan warrior Hector, was accused by Hermione, wife of Neoptolemus, of gaining his love by means of love-potions. Euripides, the tragic poet (c. 485–406 B.C.), refers to the situation in his drama Andromache:

Not of my philtres thy lord hateth thee,

But that thy nature is no mate for his.

That is the love-charm: woman, ’tis not beauty

That witcheth bridegrooms, nay, but nobleness.

Philtres were in actual use beyond mythological times.Xenophon (c. 430–354 B.C.), the Greek historian, author of Memorabilia, alludes to the practice:

“They say,” replied Socrates, “that there are certain incantations which those who know them chant to whomsoever they please, and thus make them their friends; and that there are also love potions which those who know them administer to whomso they will; and are in consequence loved by them.”

In ancient orgiastic cults, particularly those dedicated to Dionysus and to the Syrian Baal, religious frenzies were accompanied or stimulated by drugs, fermented drink, by rhythmic dance movements, by tambourine, drum, and flute music that culminated in ecstatic self-mutilation followed by wild sexual debaucheries. (LOVE POTIONS THROUGH THE AGES / HARRY E. WEDECK)