 |
|
 |
Left: The author many years ago at the Karnak Temple, Luxor, Egypt (author's photo). With Alexander the Great's invasion of Egypt in the 3rd century BC, the use of perfume and incense became even more widespread in Greece. In fact, it was a classmate of Alexander's, Theophrastus of Athens, who wrote the first treatise on scent in his essay, "Concerning Odors." In this essay, he compiled an elaborate list of all of the aromatics of Greece and those imported from other lands of which he was aware... |
|
...He also discussed the various carriers of scent, the essential oils and their plant origins, and even the effect of various scents on our moods and thinking processes. He also researched how we perceive scent, and noted the connection between the perception of odors and taste (for a discussion of smell and the effect of scent on mood, see A Sniff at Smell). Alexander was such an aromatic advocate, that at his death was burned on a pyre of aromatic resins. But perhaps the most famous ruler of Egypt was Cleopatra (69 to 30 B.C.), a Greek export whose sly, scented subterfuges seduced even Mark Antony. After the assassination of Julius Caesar, she left Rome to become the queen of Egypt. There she greeted Mark Antony, a Roman politician, on a ship with perfumed sails. When love and perfume mix, however, the consequences can sometimes be tragic. Antony fell under her spell and in fact was so in love with her, that he killed himself upon hearing a false report that she was dead. (He was away on travel at the time.) Likewise, on hearing of Anthony's death, Cleopatra killed herself by provoking an asp to bite her. Ah, if only they had cellphones... Bibliography: -Ackerman, Diane. A Natural History
of the Senses. New York: Vintage Books, 1991. |
|
