A History of Perfume - The Importance of Scent

For thousands of years, we humans have been intrigued, enchanted and passionate about smelly things, well...pleasant scents anyway.

In 2003, archaeologists found what is thought to be the oldest perfumes on the island of Cyprus. The perfume is roughly 4,000 years old. Cyprus is said to be the birthplace of the Greek goddess of love, lust, and beauty, Aphrodite. Although the buildings on the island were destroyed by an ancient earthquake around 1850 BC, the perfume bottles and mixing jugs were preserved under collapsed walls.

It is thought that incense may have been one of the first forms of perfume. Incense was discovered by the Mesopotamians nearly 4,000 years ago. It is known that many ancient cultures burned incense made from resins and certain woods. Before incense become popular, ancient people most likely used aromatics from plants and other botanicals. The Egyptians used Myrrh and Cedar Wood oils for embalming, preserving the bodies of Pharaohs and other Egyptians for 6500 years.

Cleopatra may have been the first person who found a creative way to use aromatherapy as she perfumed the sails of her ship when meeting Mark Anthony after the assassination of Julius Caesar. She announced her coming with a cloud of perfume before the ship was in view and the rest is history. Imagine, a woman of substance using scent for allure in 46 BC and capturing the hearts of two important men at the time.

Nefertiti, another Queen of Egypt from a previous dynasty surrounded her temple with perfume, generally Myrrh and the Pharaoh Hatshepsut was fond of incense.