Il Profumo nella Storia

Perfume in History

Today we inaugurate a new theme in the Bonel Botanicals blog. Curious?

We would like you to experience the'evolution of perfumery over the years: since 'ancient Rome up to the 21st century.

bonel botanicals profumo nella storia profumeria antica roma grecia egitto

Perfume has very ancient origins and from an anthropological point of view it has always played a fundamental role in the relationship that unites gods and men.

In'Greek imaginary, to make you understand, is L'Euôdia that is the «good smell» which reveals to'man the presence of a divinity.

So let's start our journey starting from'antiquity and from the dawn of culture of'man, in fact the history of perfume is confused and mixed with the history of our society and culture since its inception.

The primordial way that 'humanity used to perfume was to set fire to odorous substances.

bonel botanicals profumeria storia profumo antichità egitto grecia incenso riti rituale divinità

Already in the Paleolithic the populations honored their divinities by burning particular resins and woods which gave off characteristic and very intense smells.

In'antiquity the'use of perfume was often associated with religious rites , so much so that in'ancient Egypt the first perfumes, based on vegetable oils or animal fats and odorous substances, were manufactured in the temples by the hand of the priests.

The most famous perfume manufactured in Egypt is the Kyphi and is essentially composed of honey, aromatic roses, terebinth, myrrh, bunting and other botanical substances. The kyphi was set on fire to produce a thick, fragrant smoke that honored the deities during religious rites.

bonel botanicals profumeria storia profumo antichità egitto grecia incenso riti rituale divinità kyphi

Over the years, perfume has also joined medicine, in fact in'ancient Rome and Greece fumigations or ointments with some botanical substances were used for the treatment of physical and mental ailments.

In addition to sacredness and medicine, perfume, in a world that did not know soap, began to be part of the beauty routine of the Greeks and Romans and the'the use of perfumed oils entered overwhelmingly in the Greek baths and in the Roman baths.

The composition of ancient perfumes is obviously very simple, so much so that Pliny the Elder clearly distinguished «sucus et corpus» therefore the aromatic substance and the vehicle that contains it .

The vehicle was mainly composed of vegetable oils such as olive oil, sesame oil or moringa oil.

The aromatic substances in'antiquity were flowers and resins which were macerated at 'inside of the oils.

bonel botanicals profumeria storia profumo antichità egitto grecia incenso riti rituale divinità lavanda

In the Mediterranean area, the cradle of these two ancient civilizations, flowers such as roses, violets, daffodils and lavender were mainly available.

Later in the years, thanks to the nascent trade with the most remote corners of the earth, non-local and precious raw materials were also introduced into perfumery such as labdanum (Cyprus), galbanum ( Judea), l' frankincense and myrrh (Arabia), cinnamon (India).

bonel botanicals profumeria storia profumo antichità egitto grecia incenso riti rituale divinità india mirra arabia commercio

Interesting right? And it is only the'beginning of a path that even today is constantly changing and that mixes with society in such a profound way as to be influenced by every single change.

We will soon discover the'evolution of perfumery during the Middle Ages and the dark ages of'Europe.

Federica Cosmast

Dr. Federica D'Incà - COSMAST Master in Cosmetic Science and Technology

“Every woman has the right to be beautiful” - Elizabeth Arden

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