Spring is finally here, nature is reviving itself from the long winter and new leaves are growing. In other words, this is the perfect time to write about perfume, precisely the ancient one.
Perfume has an interesting history, more than one might think. Its usage goes back thousands of years to the time of ancient civilizations, which used perfume for personal purposes and even more importantly as a symbol of authority, as well as in religious contexts. Since earlier times, humanity has interpreted scents and fragrance as a heavenly connection to the realm of the divine. A wide range of fragrances were discovered in Ancient Egypt, the Roman Empire, Mesopotamia and the Persian Empire. These fragrances and perfumes were used for hygiene and cleanliness, noted both ceremonially and as a symbol of nobility. Moreover, perfume even played a crucial role in the economy and politics of the ancient world. Likewise, perfume was not only an expensive luxury, but a valuable export.
In the past, as well as this day, sacred practice involving perfumes has been used for religious ceremonies and funerals – found all around the globe, from China to Mexico, via India and Persia, from Japan to the Amazon, even in Oceania.
The word “perfume” is derived from the Latin phrase “per”, meaning “thorough”, and “fumus”, meaning “smoke”. The French later gave the name “parfum” to the smells produced by burning incense. This ritual of burning incense was first introduced by the Mesopotamians about 4000 years ago. Burning aromatic plants, scented woods and flowers was one of the first uses for fragrant plants.
Mesopotamien, Kalhu ca. 883–859 v. Chr.: The assyrian king Assurnasirpal II uses fragrance in religious ceremony.
One of the most famous perfumers of the ancient world is Tappūtī-Bēlet-ekallim. There are multiple sites on the internet that will declare Tappūtī-Bēlet-ekallim as the first perfumer and the first female scientist, back then in Assyria, Mesopotamia. Although it would be a nice piece of history, it is not accurate, as she was not the first perfumer, nor a scientist. Tappūtī-Bēlet-ekallim worked in bit hilṣi, the perfumer’s workshop in the palace. Her name in Assyrian translates to ‘the assistant of the Lady of the Palace’, and perfume-making was at that time associated with foreign workers. Yet, the text shows us the crucial role of scents in Mesopotamia. But besides Tappūtī-Bēlet-ekallim, there are more perfumers from ancient Mesopotamia that we are aware of – for example Tukultī-ša-šāmê, a female perfumer who produced over 100 liters of product per commission (and that’s a lot!). Another one was the Marian male perfumer Nūr-ilī, a member of the bīt raqqî, perfume makers’ guild. He was responsible for overseeing all aromatic production in Mari.
Perfumes were also lavishly used in the ancient Indo Valley, by both men and women, where men rubbed their hair with oil and massaged their body with oil before bathing. People perfumed their faces and applied perfume powders and pastes to the body, serving as deodorant.
In the Egyptian, Hebrew, and Persian civilizations, perfume functioned as a symbol of power and authority. It was said to be derived from the religious realm, as the priesthoods were in charge of the production of aromatic substances and actively supported the ruler as mediators of the divine. Aroma played a prominent role in their magicks, religion and medicine. Naturally, the use of perfumes slowly became widespread, moving from the priests to society at large.
“Garden Party” Relief. Nineveh, c. 645 B.C.E. The British Museum: Assurbanipal and his queen Libbali-šarrat. We can observe two perfume-burners.
Incense made its way to Egypt around 3000 B.C. but until the beginning of Egypt’s Golden Age, perfumes were used only in religious rituals. Perfume was as valuable as gold, referred to as the ‘fragrance of gods’. Scent represented the exhalation of life-giving force. Perfume has come a long way, from exclusive use by priests onto everyday use by common folk. At first, only the Pharaoh had the authority to procure such aromatic ingredients. Most fragrances were required for temple rituals, and only the priest knew the secret of aromas and had the privilege of preparing odorous substances.
Musée du Louvre, Département des Antiquités égyptiennes, E 11377: Lily flowers used in perfume preparation.
Cleopatra inherited the Egyptian tradition of scent as a symbol of power, and took it a step further as fragrance came to function as the ultimate symbol of authority. She cultivated the role of scent during her reign through the use of essence extracted from the henna tree, a symbol of her empire. Scents were brought in from faraway areas – Cleopatra managed to have all of these areas under her sway, as they represented the extent of her rule and showed her ability and power to procure rare materials.
With time, fragrance became available to all Egyptians as the priests gradually relinquished their exclusivity. Citizens took elaborate baths and soaked their skin in scented oils for pleasure. Perfume was also a sign of wealth and opulence, hair, wigs and body scented with solid perfumes in the form of unguent cones. Perfume and cosmetics were important to both genders in Egypt and long before the innovation of the soap, in the Egyptian climate, perfume oils provided a way of cleansing the body and keeping it soft. Alexandria and Mendes were cities famous for the manufacturing of perfumes and as the main marketplace for several Egyptian products, such as myrrh, cinnamon or kyph. Not only did ancient Egyptians specialize in perfume production, they also exported perfumes all over the Mediterranean.
Women at a Banquet, Nina de Garis Davies (1881–1965), Tempera on paper: A.D. 1922; original ca. 1400–1390 B.C.
Perfumes were most often found in the form of oil, kept in small gypsum, chlorite and ceramic vases. The most popular scents were floral, e.g. lotus flower which held great significance in the Egyptian world, with notes both woody and fruity. On the other hand, scent was used as an erotic factor. Perfumes took on the form of unguents, personal and intimate.
This correlation between perfume, power and the sacred divine was demonstrated in the early Greek civilizations of the Minoans and the Mycenaeans – scent as a sacred symbol of authority and prestige, guarded within the religious realm. However, this correlation of perfume and sacredness took a shift as humanity entered the golden era of Ancient Greece. In the early ancient Greek world, perfume was often connected with beauty and seduction. The Greeks in general did not enjoy perfume on a wide scale until the 4th century B.C., when the civilization was at its height. In order to understand this change, we have to understand the political map of the time.
Perfume emerged in the Greek world as a luxury item, linked to commercialization, lacking its former religious and sacred connotations. In the 6th century B.C., official government sanctions banned the use of perfume, turning it into an icon of foreign luxury & Eastern success. Fragrance became associated with the monarchical trappings of the Persians, the Greeks’ enemies. The leader of Sparta even outlawed the use of makeup and perfume in the city, stating the official reason as ‘waste and spoil of olive oil’ and because it ‘panders the senses’ – and so, fragrance came to solely represent the seduction of the senses. It is important to understand that indeed olive oil served a vital role in the Greek diet and lifestyle, so tainting it with foreign aromatics seemed incompatible and inappropriate. The Greeks at this early stage, associated monarchic rule and the threat of Persian dominance within the perfume, and thus related it to inappropriate lust and the sensual artifice of the feminine realm. Perfumery was strictly viewed as a morally weakening profession. Perfumes and cosmetics exemplified a potential threat, vested in female sovereignty and the expression of her own body.
Although later on, the Greeks played a major role in the history of perfumes, as they were the first to create the liquid perfume. Perfume gained popularity and was used at all their public festivals, being offered in religious ceremonies as homage to their gods, but also looking upon them as a sign of their presence. They also used scents for funeral purposes. The ancient Greeks evolved the art of cosmetics and perfume creation while developing and promoting their trade.
And what about the Italian region? Well, here as well there were ups and downs in the advent of perfume.
In the pre-Roman culture of the Etruscans, perfume was so important in women’s lives that they were never to be caught without it. In fact, the Etruscans were the ones to introduce the oriental art of perfume to Italy. Fragrances afforded the Etruscans a pleasurable experience, but even more importantly, they saw it as an irreplaceable cultural artifact that celebrated life and preserved it in the transcendent aura of the religious realm.
A lady pouring perfume into a flask – 20 B.C. ca fresco from Villa Farnesina, Rome. Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome.
After the decline of the Etruscans, as the West arrived in the era of Roman rule, things drastically changed. The Roman empire in its early stages used perfumes in a much more limited way, until the expansion of the empire, in which Rome then exported perfumes and oils. In the beginning of the Roman era and similar to the Greeks, the Romans associated fragrance and scent as a symbol of threatening foreignness – and so again, perfume was banned for its associations with moral laxity. The Romans exiled the city Capua, which hosted the most important perfumeries, and whose inhabitants did not have the status of Roman citizens. Unsurprisingly, the city of Capua was known for their support of Hannibal, Rome’s greatest enemy. The second ban was during the civil wars of the 1st century B.C. During the early Roman era, perfume-making was considered sordida ars (“dirty business”), and perfume makers were held in low public esteem. Interestingly enough, many perfume businesses were actually financed initially by wealthy citizens, but were in fact run by slaves or freedmen.
As the Roman empire expanded and established itself, perfume consumption peaked, being used in daily personal rituals and in the funeral rites practice. The Romans cast perfume as an item of luxury, commercialized for financial profit but devoid of religious connections. Caligula himself spent enormous sums on perfume and plunged himself into perfumed baths after his excessive orgies. There are many sources that mention the use of scents. Horace complains of the excessive use of them; Ovid, Martial and Juvenal document widely used scents; Lucilius notes their high cost, but above all, the authoritative source is Pliny’s Naturalis Historia.
Fresco fragment, Cupid and Psyche making perfume, A.D. 50-79.
Of course, any brief on ancient perfume should definitely mention “The Balsam”, which is known also as “Balm of Judea” or the Afarsemon, and was the most expensive perfume plant in the ancient world – far more than gold in value. The plant had many uses, among them as a medicinal drug and perfume for both men and women. The Balsam was cultivated during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, in the area surrounding the Dead Sea, and the method for producing this perfume was kept secret. For its extremely high price, it was consumed in majority by the upper class. Sadly, the plant became extinct and has long since been culturally forgotten.
As time went by, the Roman empire collapsed and early Christianity kicked in. In the Middle Ages, Christianity became the religion of reference and with due course, it condemned the use of perfume. It was considered to be a breach of moral standards and an archaic symbol of Pagan traditions.
However, that was not the case in the East, as the use of fragrance before Islam was widespread among aristocracy within the Arabic community. In fact, the religious use of fragrance in early Islamic society marked the shift of its use from the aristocratic class of the Arabic community to the common Muslim. Fragrance ceased to present a luxury good and became an affordable personal adornment. The use of perfume was widespread and the Arabs mastered the distillation technique of liquid perfume, which made perfume manufacturing viable.
It is clear that politics and money have played a major role in the perfume industry since ancient times. While some civilizations used the perfume and related them to power and control, others rejected them and correlated them to lust, sexuality and other weaknesses akin to their sworn enemies at the time. As we can see, the development of perfume had neither linear nor steady growth, and its perception changed consistently over its evolution.
“As you’ve now learned, perfume has a rich and storied history, dating back to ancient civilizations where natural ingredients were prized for their aromatic qualities. From the fragrant resins of ancient Egypt to the floral bouquets of Renaissance Europe, perfume has always been intertwined with nature, drawing upon the bountiful offerings of the earth. As the perfume industry evolved over time, so too did the methods of production. However, with the rise of synthetic ingredients in the 19th century, the once-natural origins of perfume became overshadowed by petrochemical-based alternatives. This shift not only distanced perfumery from its natural roots but also raised concerns about the environmental and ethical implications of mass-produced fragrances. And that’s where the beloved fragrance brand Abel stepped in.
In the midst of this synthetic era, Frances Shoemack embarked on a journey to rediscover the beauty of natural perfume. Disheartened by the lack of truly luxurious and all-natural options, Frances set out to challenge the status quo and redefine what it meant to create chic and modern fragrances using only plant-derived ingredients. With the guidance of master perfumer Isaac Sinclair, Abel was born – a brand committed to crafting the world’s best natural perfumes without compromising on ethics or aesthetics. Inspired by the principles of sustainability and conscious consumption, Abel’s fragrances are a testament to the power and beauty of 100% natural scents.
By sourcing ethically and transparently, Abel ensures that each fragrance not only delights the senses but also honors the planet. With a focus on ingredient integrity and minimalism, Abel creates with intention, rejecting excess in favor of excellence and integrity. In a world where the demand for ‘stuff’ often overshadows sustainability, Abel stands as a beacon of change, proving that perfume need not overwhelm a room nor the planet. Through their commitment to natural ingredients and ethical practices, Abel invites us to reconnect with the essence of perfume—where nature’s gifts are celebrated and cherished, just as they were in ancient times.
Do you feel as inspired by Abel as we do and do you want to learn more? Read this full interview with the founder and don’t hesitate to order a few of their samples to relish in the brand’s powerful fragrances!”
Tags: Fragrance, Perfume
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