Above: Hieroglyphics from the Karnak Temple in Luxor (author's photo).

Ancient Egyptians loved gardens, and a flower that was ubiquitous in many was the fragrant blue water lily. The blue water lily (it is often incorrectly referred to as the "lotus") has an intense scent, and its yellow center, against its blue petals, became the symbol for Ra, their sun god. The lilies were often picked and used as nosegays during banquets and celebrations. It's now known that several narcotic and hallucinogenic substances are associated with this plant. Wine steeped in the lily flower was a favorite drink of Egyptians, no doubt due in part to its hallucinogenic properties. With the discovery of the lily came the association of perfumes with hallucinogenic benefits. In fact, it's possible that marijuana's and tobacco's first use was as an incense, not an inhalant. (Their hallucinogenic powers were probably discovered by accident.)

Favorable climate conditions allowed Egypt to import many spices and aromatics from India, such as ginger, pepper and sandalwood. Monsoons off the coast of Egypt gave explorers the push they needed—like an aromatic magic carpet—to lead them to India in warm weather, and away from India in cooler weather. Another factor in the increase in trade was the Egyptian domestication of the camel. By the fifth century A.D., the camel was the favored mode of transportation, able to withstand the scorching heat of the desert much better than the donkey. (Although camels have now been replaced by Mack trucks, Egypt still holds a prominent place in perfume essential oil production, responsible for a significant portion of the world's jasmine production.)

Crete, an island off the coast of Greece, enjoyed prosperous times as well. Trade between Crete and Egypt was healthy and symbiotic. Like the Egyptians, the most highly regarded flower of Cretans was the lily. The rose was also popular, as frescos from the Palace of Minos at Knossos (dating to around 1719 BC) indicate. Greek culture took a while to develop after that of the Cretans. The Doric (from Doris, an area of ancient Greece in what is now west central Greece) tribes had little use for perfumes and finery. But by the 7th century BC, both Athens and Corinth had caught the perfume bug. Using a variety of fragrance carriers made from vegetable oils, such as olive oil and almond oil, they added essential oils made from lilies, roses, anise and orris root. Despite an earlier ban in the 6th century prohibiting the use of perfumes, men and women alike applied them lavishly, before and after baths, during the day and on all parts of the body. Perfume was a sybaritic sensation that no law could curtail.

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