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In biblical times, the mandrake root spelled sexual power, possibly because it resembled the male reproductive organs. Early Arabic authors created a veritable Aphrodisiac-of-the-Month Club. The Perfumed Garden for the Soul's Delectation, by a 15th century sheik named Nefzawi, recommended sparrow's ! tongue and, at bedtime, a glassful of honey, 20 almonds and 100 grains of the pine tree. Indian experts prescribed a powder made from the bones of a peacock. Europeans in the Middle Ages preferred the testes or urine of all sorts of animals. One Frenchman favored the flesh of a crocodile ground into powder and mixed with sweet wine ("Works miracles," he promised). Some Europeans taught that eating an apple that had been soaked in the sweat of your lover's armpit was a sure means of seduction -- provided, of course, that you had prior access to your lover's armpit.
As tastes became more refined, sensuous dining did the trick. Richelieu (the 18th century duke, not, thank heaven, the Cardinal) gave elegant little suppers for his friends and their mistresses, all of whom dined in the buff. Madame de Pompadour got interesting results with truffles. Brillat-Savarin, the French jurist and gastronome, found that the truffle "makes women more amiable and men more amorous." Rabelais, on the other hand, got his kicks from marzipan.
Americans are no less fascinated by the allure of aphrodisiacs. Some claim to use Spanish fly, a powder made from the blister beetle, but it is poisonous and can kill you. The ginseng root, long a staple among Asians, is popular in the U.S. But nobody has yet bottled the genuine article, and until that happens, one simple rule will continue to apply: a tiger's penis or powdered peacock bones are aphrodisiacs only if you think they are.
Americans are not comfortable lurking in drugstores, waiting for a chance to ask sotto voce for a pack of pomegranate pith, so we disguise our pursuit of Aphrodite in more acceptable forms: the pulse-racing perfume, the sexy dress, the dirty dancing, even the lofty status. No less a personage than Henry Kissinger asserted that view in the '70s. "Power," he said, perhaps with sparrow's tongue in cheek, "is the great aphrodisiac."
But not everybody can be Secretary of State. For more and more people, the ultimate aphrodisiac is called Physical Fitness, a bigger turn-on than snails without sauce. Work out at the gym, eat oat bran and other nutritious foods, and you will have to fight off would-be lovers with a stick. To be sure, oat bran is not very titillating, but think of it as your contribution to the preservation of endangered species.
It may also help to remember that fitness as a means of courting Aphrodite has a long, respectable history. The canny Sheik Nefzawi listed bodily health as one of eight essentials for sexual delight. The other seven: "Absence of all care and worry, an unembarrassed mind, natural gaiety of the spirit, good nourishment, wealth, the variety of the faces of women and the variety of their complexions." And maybe just once in a while it wouldn't hurt to have a nice glass of camel's milk mixed with honey.