The History of Perfume
The use of fragrances can be traced back nearly to the beginning of mankind. Initially man used fragrances to improve the flavor of food by burning aromatic woods. Then man began to honor their gods with the burning of incense.
In the 10th Century BC, the Medes, ancestors of today’s Kurds are generally given credit for the invention and widespread use of scents on the body, presumably to hide certain smells originating form over-eating or the failure to bathe.
In the 2nd Century BC, the Egyptians are known to have created perfumes for both daily uses as well as in religious ceremonies. Egyptian women used perfumed creams and oils as cosmetics and aids to lovemaking. Queen Cleopatra was reported to use perfumes to seduce her many lovers.
In the first Century BC, the Ancient Greeks would mist the air by a gentle spray of perfume dispensed by the fluttering wings of white doves. The Greek were obsessed with man’s relatively new ability to control fragrance and they created scents specifically for each part of the body. Scents were used to enhance lovemaking, increase the appetite, and sharpen the mind and were even thought to cure illness. Wealthy Greeks were buried with a small bottle of their favorite scent, while poor ones were often buried with a picture of such a bottle painted on their caskets.
By 500 A.D the Roman civilization was the first society to use scents made from flowers of the vervain plant, but they were strictly reserved for ceremonial use by druids and practical use by sacred virgins.
During the Middle Ages, women would bathe in water perfumed with the essence of flowers and coat their bodies with scented oils. Musk, ambergris and fragrant oils were used to emit aromas that were believed to have the powers of warding off the plague and other epidemics.
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