Epibatidine was isolated in 1992 from a South American poison frog. It has a unique structure among natural products, and its analgetic activity surpasses that of morphine up to 500 fold. Pharmacological interest in epibatidine focusses also on the fact that its mode of action is different from that of morphine. 10 independent syntheses were published in 1993/1994. They are compared here demonstrating the interaction of classical and modern synthetic methods.