Encyclopedia of World Trade: From Ancient Times to the Present

History of the Perfume Industry in Greco-Roman Egypt

“…Likewise, perfume was not only an expensive luxury, but a valuable export (Ruiz, 2001) and used by the ancient Egyptians for three distinct purposes, offerings to the gods, embalming the dead, and uses in private life (Heuze, 1862), as follows: First, priests offered sweet scents to the gods three times a day (Northrup, Bentley, Jr, Manning, Pomeranz, & Topik, 2004). According to Homer, the Olympian gods taught people the secrets of perfume making and use, and it appeared in many scenes of Greek mythology (Gadea, Vatca, & Vatca, 2017).…”

“…According to Homer, the Olympian gods taught people the secrets of perfume making and use, and it appeared in many scenes of Greek mythology (Gadea, Vatca, & Vatca, 2017). Second, perfume was essential to ensure the rebirth of the deceased and a successful afterlife for him/her (Byl, 2012), therefore perfumes were used in the mummification process as well, with sachets often placed around the neck of the deceased person (Northrup, Bentley, Jr, Manning, Pomeranz, & Topik, 2004). Third, in private life, the ancient Egyptians used perfumes on their hair and bodies (Butler, 2000), and in ritual and celebratory situations, religious sacraments, marriage, funerary ceremonies and festive dinners.…”

“…Also, perfumed substances were used in the preparation of the head of the deceased (Strong, 2018). In other word, the Greeks and Romans adopted the use of perfumes from the Egyptians (Northrup, Bentley, Jr, Manning, Pomeranz, & Topik, 2004) and Egyptian perfume was appreciated in classical Greece, as indicated in Athenian texts (http://www.britishmuseum.org/Naukratis). For instance, The Greeks in general did not enjoy perfume on a wide scale until the fourth century B.C., when the civilization was at its height (Northrup, Bentley, Jr, Manning, Pomeranz, & Topik, 2004).…”

“…Clearly the traditional Roman use of perfumes remained limited up until the expansion of the empire, throughout which Rome then exported perfumes and oils (Northrup, Bentley, Jr, Manning, Pomeranz, & Topik, 2004). In the same way perfumes were used in daily personal rituals in Roman times, such as in makeup, skin care and personal hygiene routines (Rhind, 2014).…”

“…Currently ancient Egypt was the center of production for many exotic and luxury perfumes (Byl, 2012), but the lack of variety of flowers in Greece meant that, like the Egyptians, they had to import ingredients and then manufacture the perfume in their country (Northrup, Bentley, Jr, Manning, Pomeranz, & Topik, 2004). While from the 6 th century onwards, the ancient Greeks imported palm oil, lily, lotus and dill from Egypt (Voudouri & Tesseromatis, 2015).…”