Ancient Egyptian Fragrances
Ezz Al-Turkey
For thousands of years, perfume has been valued as a luxury good, and ancient Egypt was no exception. Uses for perfumes were numerous. Perfume was once considered a luxury good for the gods due to its scarcity; in order to gain the gods' favor, fragrant powders were burned. Later, perfume entered the mainstream and was used by both sexes for its holy virtues, which included its healing benefits, body-purifying properties, and enticing qualities.
In ancient Egypt, perfume had a central role in aesthetics and treatments for both sexes. Historians rely on the writings of Greek and Roman authors, relief paintings, and artifacts to understand the creation, styles, and applications of perfume throughout this intriguing time, despite the fact that the methods utilized are mostly unknown.
Creating scent was seen as an artistic endeavor. The craftsperson was seen as an artist, and both men and women could pursue this career. The perfume-making process was discovered by reliefs on the walls of the tomb of high priest Petosiris. These show that perfume-making had an overseer, workers who completed the extraction, and a professional tester.
The most well-known type of perfume was called Kyphi, and it contained frankincense, cinnamon, wine, honey, myrrh, raisins, saffron, and fragrant resins. Because this fragrance was smoked in Egyptian temples as a sign of respect for the gods, the formulas were kept a secret. The scents of that era were richer than those of today, more like olive oil than water in substance.
Much like any other major era in human history, there are still a lot of mysteries surrounding ancient Egypt. An amazing task was set for a group of researchers: they were to replicate a scent that Queen Cleopatra herself used. How did they accomplish it? To try to revive an old scent in the present day, these researchers gathered information from historical documents and remnants from amphorae.
Of course, it's hard to tell if Queen Cleopatra actually used this kind of perfume—some accounts claim that she had her own perfume-making workshops—but the concept is dreamlike, which is sufficient for a perfume that dates back 2,000 years.