ireneparfums.com - facts and legends

THE EGYPTIANS used aromatic plant substances as medicines, for embalming the dead, in religious practices and for cosmetic and aesthetic purposes. Alabaster vases have been found dating back to 1400 B.C. which still retain the aromas of the oils which were stored in them. The Egyptian Goddess Isis is the Goddess of the moon, magic and sorcery, and Myrrh is her fragrance. MYRRH is also an anti-inflammatory with a specific use in inflammation of the mucous membranes, which are moon ruled, 'water' tissues. Ancient Egyptians burned incense called “kyphi” made of henna, myrrh, cinnamon, and juniper and used as religious offerings. They soaked aromatic wood, gum, and resins in water and oil and used the liquid as a fragrant body lotion. The early Egyptians also perfumed their dead and often assigned specific fragrances to deities. Their word for perfume translates to "fragrance of the gods."

For centuries Egypt was a very rich, self-sufficient country. The Nile River was the lifeblood of the country, providing the annual wealth of precious floodwaters to deposit the fertile soil around it. All of the natural aromatic materials for perfume making were available either in Egypt or by trade. Egypt still holds a prominent place in perfume essential oil production, responsible for a significant portion of the world's jasmine production. Eight thousand jasmine flowers yield 1/25 oz of absolute. Jasmine and synthetic versions of jasmine are used in 83% of all women's perfumes.

By 1200 B.C. it would appear that the use of plants as medicines had become more sophisticated and a standardized medical practice was instituted in Greece by Aesculapius the Egyptian healer.

Hippocrates the Great of Greece further developed the concept of medicine in the Western world around 460 - 377 B.C., leading to the establishment of the Alexandrian School of Medicine in 331 B.C.

THE GREEK, Theophrastus, wrote a treatise called 'Concerning Odours', in which he discussed the effects of aromatic substances and the sense of smell on thinking, feeling and general health.

Alexander the Great became obsessed with the trunks of aromatic potions he plundered from his conquests. He gave Egypt to his loyal General Ptolemy and it was his famous descendent, Cleopatra Arilius X111 who toke the art of perfume and the business of perfume to an infamous level.

As the influence of Greece as a centre of social change began to decline and the Roman Empire began to wax in power in the Mediterranean, Northern European and Middle Eastern regions, medicine also began to change. In 1 A.D. Dioscorides, considered one of the greatest Roman Physicians wrote the first complete Materia Medica, documenting thousands of medicinal plants and their therapeutic uses. He was also interested in perfumes and their uses.

THE ROMANS loved aromatics. By the 3rd Century A.D. Rome had 1,000 communal bath houses in which aromatic oils were used for massage and anointing the body. ROSE oil was a favorite of Rome. This is an interesting paradox, because the Romans were a martial society by nature, and Rose is a plant of Venus, the Goddess of love. It may be that the Romans achieved some psychological and emotional balance by adopting Rose Oil as the preferred fragrance. Or maybe because Rose is a good hang-over cure!

Cleopatra: Cosmetiques, Perfumes & Poisons At the time Cleopatra VII reigned in Egypt, perfume making in Egypt was already a 3,000 year-old art. Her famous baths and workshop were allowed to flourish under the protection of Julius Ceaser and later by Mark Anthony. She was one of the wealthiest rulers of the time and infamous in her use of scent. According to legend, she would drift down the Nile on a barge that was enveloped in a cloud of perfume, her body glistening with rare and exotic oils, and the sails of her vessel were permeated with the seductive scents of rose, patchouli, and other aphrodisiacs. The materials most often used for perfume were: rose (especially favored by the Romans), lotus blossom, lily, honey, sweet flag, camel grass (lemongrass), lavender, saffron, cassia, nard (spikenard), cinnamon, myrtle, laurel, marjoram, costus root, ginger root, cardamom, labdanum, rosewood, cyperus, wormwood, fenugreek, balsam, galbanum, opoponax, styrax, orris root, myrrh, frankincense. Perfumes were based in oil or a combination of oil, honey and raisins. All of these ingredients are available to us today. Unguents are made by combining perfumed oil in a natural wax base. In the days of ancient Egypt, unguents were used to both perfume and protect the skin from the harsh sun and dry heat. One of the Cleopatra's beauty secrets was to bathe in scented milk. Natural milk contains proteins and lactic acid (which is itself an alpha hydroxy acid). These help soften and restore suppleness to the skin. After Anthony's demise and Roman intrigue and her suicide, just 30 years before the birth of Christ, the perfume trade was lost to the Egyptians. The Romans embraced scent and were noted for their excesses, and once in control of the trade routes they funneled the lucrative endeavor to Rome.

After the fall of Rome, perfume was primarily an Oriental art and it was not until the 13th century when the Crusaders brought back samples did it spread from Palestine to England, France, and Italy. Cleopatra, who was notoriously well-versed in the art of seduction, used scent freely to create an aura of mystery and irresistibility.

From 131 to 200 A.D., around the time The Church of Rome was established, Galen of Pergamon developed the practice of medicine in a rationalistic and dogmatic form. Up to this time, healing was intimately related to the human connection with the natural world, the influence of nature spirits and the spirit world.

By 400 A.D. as the power of the Roman Empire began to wane, The Holy Roman Church took over from Roman Empire rule and the governing of the colonies, including law making, tax collection and education. Christianity spread through out northern Europe by 600 A.D. and the Holy Wars had begun by 700 A.D., heralding the beginning of the Dark Ages. It was during this time that a lot of empirical and traditional knowledge about herbal medicine was lost.

It is said that the Moslem prophet Mohammed wrote, "Perfumes are foods that reawaken the spirit."

Alchemy – The Early Form of Chemistry

Between 900 - 1037 A.D. a revival in the study of medicine and the use of plants and minerals began due to the influence of Avicenna, a Spanish born Arab who brought the healing traditions of the Arab world to Europe. Known as 'the first Pharmacist', Avicenna taught the application of chemistry (known then as Alchemy). AVICENNA was the first known to extract Rose Oil by the process known as Distillation. It is estimated to take 1,000kg of Rose petals to make 500mls of Rose oil, representing a cost of about $40,000 per litre today.

The Renaissance began in 1200 A.D. and medicine as a "Nature Cure" became virtually extinct, kept alive mainly by the practice of "folk medicine,” generally dubbed 'witchcraft' in those times.

In 1300 A.D., the Crusaders brought Eastern distillation techniques back to Europe and the scope for utilizing plants commercially widened considerably with the work of scholars such as Paracelsus leading to the development of Perfumery and chemical medicine.

Meanwhile, the practice and transformation of herbal medicine continued in the western world. While the history of the use of aromatic substances runs parallel to that of herbal medicine, it also separates from it around this point in history.

Essential oils were still being used as medicines and 'Herbals' have been written around the 15th Century which verify this, giving recipes for the use of aromatic herbs and essential oils to be used externally for various internal disorders. For example, it was advised to rub Frankincense Oil into the front and the back of the effected part as a standard practice in the treatment of stomach, liver and spleen diseases.

Europeans attributed healing properties to fragrance during the 17th century. During the Great Plague, Doctors treating plague victims covered their mouths and noses with leather pouches holding pungent cloves, cinnamon, and spices, which they thought, would protect them from disease, incense balls composed of essential oils and resins of labdanum, styrax, clove, camphor, nutmeg, gum tragacanth, gum Arabic and rosewater were burned in homes. The aromatic oils and resins acted as strong antiseptics and were used to prevent the Plague entering the house. Fires of sulphur, hops, pepper and Frankincense were burned in the street during this time for the same reason. Essential oils were then and in many cases still are today, the best form of antiseptic available to mankind.

Perfume came into widespread use among the monarchy. France's King Louis XIV used it so much that they called him the "perfume king." His court contained a floral pavilion filled with fragrances, and dried flowers were placed in bowls throughout the palace to freshen the air. Royal guests bathed in goat's milk and rose petals. Visitors were often doused with perfume, which also was sprayed on clothing, furniture, walls, and tableware, a reflection of the Golden Age of Perfume during the time of Cleopatra and the Roman Empire. It was at this time that Grasse, a region of southern France where many flowering plant varieties grow, became a leading producer of perfumes. Back in England, aromatics were contained in lockets and the hollow heads of canes and sniffed by the owner.

Across the world in the Americas, the Spanish Conquistadors were astounded at the botanical gardens they found in the Palace of Montezuma - the Aztec physicians were well supplied with raw materials for their medicines and aromatic plants played a major role. The European invaders found the Native Americans of North America had a sound traditional Materia Medica in which many aromatic herbs were to be found.

Perfume Bottles: Just as the art of perfumery progressed through the centuries, so did the art of the perfume bottle. Perfume bottles were often as elaborate and exotic as the oils they contained. The earliest specimens date back to about 1000 B.C. In ancient Egypt, newly invented glass bottles held perfumes. The designing of perfume bottles spread into Europe and reached its peak in Venice in the 18th century, when glass containers assumed the shape of small animals or had pastoral scenes painted on them. Today perfume bottles are designed by manufacturers to reflect the character of the fragrance.



	medicines, clothing and consciousness-altering substances. Between 10,000 and 5,000 B.C. written evidence shows that aromatic plants were used extensively as foods, cosmetics, medicines, trade currency and in religious rites in China, India, Mesopotamia, North and South America, Egypt, Britain. The art of perfume making is an ancient art and was more precious than gold. Aromatic materials and natural oils from plants were treated and crafted with great patience into perfumes, incense, bath oils, and the scented unguents. Many different parts of the plants were used then, and still are today: flowers, bark, roots, resins, rinds, and seeds. In modern times, essential oils are distilled and mixed into a volatile alcoholic base so the fragrance surrounds the wearer more quickly.	The History of Perfume & “Scent as Medicine” tr.v., -fumed, -fum·ing, -fumes. (pər-fyūm') To fill or permeate with fragrance; impart a pleasant odor to. [French parfum, from Old Italian parfumo, from parfumare, to fill with smoke : par-, intensive pref. (from Latin per-, per-) + fumare, to smoke (from Latin fūmāre, from fūmus, smoke).] perfume: a substance that emits and diffuses a fragrant odor, especially a volatile liquid distilled from flowers or prepared synthetically. 2. A pleasing, agreeable scent or odor. See synonyms at fragrance Perfume comes from the Latin "per" meaning "through" and "fumum," or "smoke." Many ancient perfumes were made by extracting natural oils from plants through pressing and steaming. The oil was then burned to scent the air. Archaeological excavations have uncovered signs of the use of medicinal herbs as long ago as 60,000 years providing evidence that hunter/gatherer societies used plants as foods, *THE EGYPTIANS* used aromatic plant substances as medicines, for embalming the dead, in religious practices and for cosmetic and aesthetic purposes. Alabaster vases have been found dating back to 1400 B.C. which still retain the aromas of the oils which were stored in them. The Egyptian Goddess Isis is the Goddess of the moon, magic and sorcery, and Myrrh is her fragrance. MYRRH is also an anti-inflammatory with a specific use in inflammation of the mucous membranes, which are moon ruled, 'water' tissues. Ancient Egyptians burned incense called “kyphi” made of henna, myrrh, cinnamon, and juniper and used as religious offerings. They soaked aromatic wood, gum, and resins in water and oil and used the liquid as a fragrant body lotion. The early Egyptians also perfumed their dead and often assigned specific fragrances to deities. Their word for perfume translates to "fragrance of the gods." For centuries Egypt was a very rich, self-sufficient country. The Nile River was the lifeblood of the country, providing the annual wealth of precious floodwaters to deposit the fertile soil around it. All of the natural aromatic materials for perfume making were available either in Egypt or by trade. Egypt still holds a prominent place in perfume essential oil production, responsible for a significant portion of the world's jasmine production. Eight thousand jasmine flowers yield 1/25 oz of absolute. Jasmine and synthetic versions of jasmine are used in 83% of all women's perfumes. By 1200 B.C. it would appear that the use of plants as medicines had become more sophisticated and a standardized medical practice was instituted in Greece by *Aesculapius the Egyptian healer. Hippocrates the Great of Greece* further developed the concept of medicine in the Western world around 460 - 377 B.C., leading to the establishment of the *Alexandrian School of Medicine in 331 B.C. THE GREEK, Theophrastus, wrote a treatise called 'Concerning Odours', in which he discussed the effects of aromatic substances and the sense of smell on thinking, feeling and general health. Alexander the Great became obsessed with the trunks of aromatic potions he plundered from his conquests. He gave Egypt to his loyal General Ptolemy and it was his famous descendent, Cleopatra Arilius X111 who toke the art of perfume and the business of perfume to an infamous level. As the influence of Greece as a centre of social change began to decline and the Roman Empire began to wax in power in the Mediterranean, Northern European and Middle Eastern regions, medicine also began to change. In 1 A.D. Dioscorides, considered one of the greatest Roman Physicians wrote the first complete Materia Medica, documenting thousands of medicinal plants and their therapeutic uses. He was also interested in perfumes and their uses. THE ROMANS* loved aromatics. By the 3rd Century A.D. Rome had 1,000 communal bath houses in which aromatic oils were used for massage and anointing the body. ROSE oil was a favorite of Rome. This is an interesting paradox, because the Romans were a martial society by nature, and Rose is a plant of Venus, the Goddess of love. It may be that the Romans achieved some psychological and emotional balance by adopting Rose Oil as the preferred fragrance. Or maybe because Rose is a good hang-over cure! Cleopatra: Cosmetiques, Perfumes & Poisons At the time Cleopatra VII reigned in Egypt, perfume making in Egypt was already a 3,000 year-old art. Her famous baths and workshop were allowed to flourish under the protection of Julius Ceaser and later by Mark Anthony. She was one of the wealthiest rulers of the time and infamous in her use of scent. According to legend, she would drift down the Nile on a barge that was enveloped in a cloud of perfume, her body glistening with rare and exotic oils, and the sails of her vessel were permeated with the seductive scents of rose, patchouli, and other aphrodisiacs. The materials most often used for perfume were: rose (especially favored by the Romans), lotus blossom, lily, honey, sweet flag, camel grass (lemongrass), lavender, saffron, cassia, nard (spikenard), cinnamon, myrtle, laurel, marjoram, costus root, ginger root, cardamom, labdanum, rosewood, cyperus, wormwood, fenugreek, balsam, galbanum, opoponax, styrax, orris root, myrrh, frankincense. Perfumes were based in oil or a combination of oil, honey and raisins. All of these ingredients are available to us today. Unguents are made by combining perfumed oil in a natural wax base. In the days of ancient Egypt, unguents were used to both perfume and protect the skin from the harsh sun and dry heat. One of the Cleopatra's beauty secrets was to bathe in scented milk. Natural milk contains proteins and lactic acid (which is itself an alpha hydroxy acid). These help soften and restore suppleness to the skin. After Anthony's demise and Roman intrigue and her suicide, just 30 years before the birth of Christ, the perfume trade was lost to the Egyptians. The Romans embraced scent and were noted for their excesses, and once in control of the trade routes they funneled the lucrative endeavor to Rome. After the fall of Rome, perfume was primarily an Oriental art and it was not until the 13th century when the Crusaders brought back samples did it spread from Palestine to England, France, and Italy. Cleopatra, who was notoriously well-versed in the art of seduction, used scent freely to create an aura of mystery and irresistibility. From 131 to 200 A.D., around the time The Church of Rome was established, Galen of Pergamon developed the practice of medicine in a rationalistic and dogmatic form. Up to this time, healing was intimately related to the human connection with the natural world, the influence of nature spirits and the spirit world. By 400 A.D. as the power of the Roman Empire began to wane, The Holy Roman Church took over from Roman Empire rule and the governing of the colonies, including law making, tax collection and education. Christianity spread through out northern Europe by 600 A.D. and the Holy Wars had begun by 700 A.D., heralding the beginning of the Dark Ages. It was during this time that a lot of empirical and traditional knowledge about herbal medicine was lost. It is said that the Moslem prophet Mohammed wrote, "Perfumes are foods that reawaken the spirit." Alchemy – The Early Form of Chemistry Between 900 - 1037 A.D. a revival in the study of medicine and the use of plants and minerals began due to the influence of *Avicenna, a Spanish born Arab* who brought the healing traditions of the Arab world to Europe. Known as *'the first Pharmacist', Avicenna taught the application of chemistry (known then as Alchemy). AVICENNA* was the first known to extract Rose Oil by the process known as Distillation. It is estimated to take 1,000kg of Rose petals to make 500mls of Rose oil, representing a cost of about $40,000 per litre today. The Renaissance began in 1200 A.D. and medicine as a "Nature Cure" became virtually extinct, kept alive mainly by the practice of "folk medicine,” generally dubbed 'witchcraft' in those times. In 1300 A.D., the Crusaders brought Eastern distillation techniques back to Europe and the scope for utilizing plants commercially widened considerably with the work of scholars such as *Paracelsus* leading to the development of *Perfumery and chemical medicine. Meanwhile, the practice and transformation of herbal medicine continued in the western world. While the history of the use of aromatic substances runs parallel to that of herbal medicine, it also separates from it around this point in history. Essential oils were still being used as medicines and 'Herbals' have been written around the 15th Century which verify this, giving recipes for the use of aromatic herbs and essential oils to be used externally for various internal disorders. For example, it was advised to rub Frankincense Oil into the front and the back of the effected part as a standard practice in the treatment of stomach, liver and spleen diseases. Europeans* attributed healing properties to fragrance during the 17th century. During the Great Plague, Doctors treating plague victims covered their mouths and noses with leather pouches holding pungent cloves, cinnamon, and spices, which they thought, would protect them from disease, incense balls composed of essential oils and resins of labdanum, styrax, clove, camphor, nutmeg, gum tragacanth, gum Arabic and rosewater were burned in homes. The aromatic oils and resins acted as strong antiseptics and were used to prevent the Plague entering the house. Fires of sulphur, hops, pepper and Frankincense were burned in the street during this time for the same reason. Essential oils were then and in many cases still are today, the best form of antiseptic available to mankind. Perfume came into widespread use among the monarchy. France's King Louis XIV used it so much that they called him the "perfume king." His court contained a floral pavilion filled with fragrances, and dried flowers were placed in bowls throughout the palace to freshen the air. Royal guests bathed in goat's milk and rose petals. Visitors were often doused with perfume, which also was sprayed on clothing, furniture, walls, and tableware, a reflection of the Golden Age of Perfume during the time of Cleopatra and the Roman Empire. It was at this time that Grasse, a region of southern France where many flowering plant varieties grow, became a leading producer of perfumes. Back in England, aromatics were contained in lockets and the hollow heads of canes and sniffed by the owner. Across the world in the Americas, the Spanish Conquistadors were astounded at the botanical gardens they found in the *Palace of Montezuma* - the Aztec physicians were well supplied with raw materials for their medicines and aromatic plants played a major role. The European invaders found the Native Americans of North America had a sound traditional *Materia Medica* in which many aromatic herbs were to be found. Perfume Bottles: Just as the art of perfumery progressed through the centuries, so did *the art of the perfume bottle.* Perfume bottles were often as elaborate and exotic as the oils they contained. The earliest specimens date back to about 1000 B.C. In ancient Egypt, newly invented glass bottles held perfumes. The designing of perfume bottles spread into Europe and reached its peak in Venice in the 18th century, when glass containers assumed the shape of small animals or had pastoral scenes painted on them. Today perfume bottles are designed by manufacturers to reflect the character of the fragrance.