Namly, Pythagoras taught that man contributes all essential characteristics whereas the woman contributed only metrial substrate [Wikipedia and a number of Internet sources].
Curiously, the idea that male sperm contained a fully formed human (just as it was believed that a seed of a tree contained a fully formed miniscule tree) was the predominant belieef until the 17th century! Some early microscopic observers reported "seeing" small humnas inside the sperm (homonculus).
By the 18th century the sides reversed and ovism became the favored theory, shifting everything to the woman, and the male was believed to simply provide the "energy" needed for growth.
It was the discovery of cell division, Mendalian genetics, and the discovery female eggs that advanced our understanding of conception and inhertance, in the 19th century and onward.
I thought it all had to do with birds and bees and stuff like that. Then you go out to the cabbage patch and pick a baby from under the leaves.
Personally, I think combining feathers and honey would just make a mess.