The plant’s exact identity is unknown to this day, since it went extinct in Roman times. It was a major cash crop of Cyrene, Libya, and even depicted on coins. It was used as seasoning, perfume, aphrodisiac, contraceptive and abortifacient. The last specimen was supposedly given to Emperor Nero.
That’s just wrong.
The Greek Pantheon of Gods used it excessively to maintain their immortality, and grew greedy and paranoid of its cultivation.
Once they ate it to extinction, they became mortal and had to settle down and raise cattle and shill former figurines of themselves.