History

• The word "perfume" itself comes from medieval French. Specially scented oils that had been mixed with alcohol or other evaporate were called "Parfum." Still, the idea of perfumes, colognes, musks, oils and other fragrances dates back thousands of years. In the medieval European world, and especially during the Renaissance, perfume played a significant role in society and was based on the technology of the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and Chinese, to name a few.
  
  

Significance

• In ancient Egypt, the oils from flowers and pleasantly-scented woods such as cedar were highly prized. In addition to making the human body smell more pleasant in a time before soap, perfumes were used to make dead bodies smell less repugnant for burial ceremonies. Often, a dead person was washed in water and anointed in oils before the mummification process. To the Egyptians, the body was a sacred part of the dead person's three-tiered existence and should be a pleasant place for the departed's soul, or "Ka," to return to.
  Scented mineral deposits such as the incense known as myrrh, as well as other fragrant plants like chamomile, lavender, lotus, cedar and rose, were often used in an oil suspension or in an emulsion (called an unguent) to preserve their scent and make application easier. Common oils included olive and sesame oil, though these and other oils from foods or plants were used by themselves sometimes. In addition to making the Egyptians smell better, the oils served to protect the skin from the extreme heat and dryness of the desert surrounding the Nile.
  
  

Function

• The Greeks prized beauty and the perfection of the human form in all its aspects, including scent. Greeks, like the Egyptians, did not bathe with soap but used cold water to wash their bodies. After bathing, they would apply oils, either straight olive oil or one infused with the essences of marjoram, thyme, rosemary or other fragrant plants. Greek envy of the Egyptian's mastery of perfume led to Alexander the Great demanding that the secrets of perfume-making be divulged to the Greeks.
  Unlike the Egyptians, the Greeks used perfumes mostly for aphrodisiacs instead of for ceremonial or burial purposes. The Greek love of perfumes also influenced other great civilizations' use of perfumes, including the Romans. ,Also unlike the Egyptians, Greeks relied more on oil-based perfumes and essences than unguents, though unguents were not uncommon.
  
  

Time Frame

• Roman culture borrowed heavily from Greek culture, but with some modifications. Like the Greeks, the Romans enjoyed bathing, but instead of cold water, Roman baths offered three rooms of varying temperature to bathe in: the Calderum for hot water, the Tepidium for warm air and Figidium for cold air and water. Before a Roman bathed, he received a massage and had oil smeared on his body. The dirt and oil were scraped off and he entered the baths, where slaves would offer food, drink and perfumes.
  Most of these perfumes were myrrh and frankincense suspended in a mild oil or essences of fragrant plants such as roses, cinnamon and cardamom, most of which were imported from far off lands. Infusing oils is a more involved process and calls for placing the strongly-scented plant material or incense (such as cinnamon or myrrh) into a jar of oil and sealing it for a long period of time. As the oil penetrates the mineral or plant, it also allows for the distinctive chemical compounds that make a certain scent to diffuse into the oil. After several days, the oil is lightly scented. After several weeks or even months, the oil is more strongly scented.
  
  

Geography

• In the Middle East, particularly in Yemen and Persia, perfumes occupied a very important role both as commodity to be traded and as a distinction of rank or wealth. Yemen produced large amounts of myrrh and frankincense, which was used both as an incense and as an infuser in oils to create powerful musks. Musks are artificial imitations of the naturally pungent properties created by the glands of certain animals, though they do not often mimic the smell. Musks were used to scent men's beards as well as women's hair in pre-Islamic Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula. Borrowing from the Egyptians, ancient Arabs also bathed dead bodies and anointed them with perfumes before interring them, though perfume seems to have been more of an aesthetic choice than a religious one.
  Persia, as an ancient and vast empire itself, was able to call upon the perfume-making abilities and techniques of its neighbors, including the Egyptians, Greeks and Arabs. Light scents seem to have been preferred by Persians, and scents from roses, jasmine and other delicate flowers were used by men and women. Persian poetry often compares the scent of a lover to the jasmine that blooms at night, or to the fragrance of the rose. Rosewater and jasmine blossom water was the most common form of perfume and was obtained by slowly crushing thousands of blossoms in order to obtain mere drams of oil.
  
  

Benefits

• To the Chinese, perfume elevated the soul and assisted in enlightenment as well as made close company pleasant. Every aspect of a wealthy Chinese person's life was infused with scents and fragrances from ginger, nutmeg, sesame oil and even jasmine perfume from India and scented rosewater from Persia. In addition to the skin and hair of a well-born Chinese noble, these scents were used to "flavor" clothing, furniture, paper and even the inks they used for writing.
  Infusing of inks and other liquids usually occurred the same way oil was infused in the West while other perfumes were used as powders, oils, unguents and even as medicines, such as in the case of camphor. Perfume making and use remained constant for thousands of years in China, until Western countries began to make their presence known in the Far Eastern nation.