Hercules Saxonia recalled, in 1597, that Fallopius had invented the linen condom and further suggested that it could be improved by soaking it in a chemical solution several times and allowing it to dry in the shade. While it is conceded that Fallopius was one of the first to mention the sheath or condom it is also stressed that such a device was probably invented in many different parts of the world at different times. It is possible that sheaths of various types were used in ancient Rome - there is a legend, related by Antoninus Liberalis, of a goat's bladder being employed as a female sheath. According to the tale, Minos, the King of Crete, had a problem - his semen contained serpents and scorpions which injured the women with whom he made love. Happily his wife Pasiphae was immune to the creatures, yet the union was sterile. A remedy was discovered when a goat's bladder was placed in the vagina of a second woman. Minos ejaculated his serpents into this obliging lady and then could cohabit with Pasiphae who thereupon conceived. Sheaths could also have been used in ancient times for decoration as well as for contraception.

There is an illustration of an Egyptian wearing a sheath that hangs in clumsy fashion before him. And it has been suggested that use of the condom in ancient Egypt could well date to the XIX Dynasty (1350 B.C. to 1200 B.C.)