The Power of Perfumes

The Power of Perfumes Power of the gods In modern-day India, corpses are still Scents reveal divine presence; the burned on a pyre of sandalwood, gods smell good! Among the even though this millennium-old Egyptians, perfumes are held to be tradition may very well cost the the exudation of , "divine perspi- family of the deceased a small ration." In Greek mythology, each fortune, as it allows the smoke from god possesses his or her own scent. the fire to accompany the de- Hera exudes the scent of ambrosia; ceased‘s soul to the other world. In Adonis, the lover of Aphrodite, the Christianity, the importance of goddess of love and beauty, is born scents still manifests itself in ritual from the bark of a tree that secrets a acts, e.g. in baptism and extreme fragrant resin: Myrrh. Christianity unction. Healing, protective power The roots of today’s aromatherapy – healing through plants – date far back into the antiquity of ancient Egypt. The most famous com- From India to Egypt, from the Greek position used by Egyptian apo- city-states to die Roman Empire - thecaries was kyphi, a blend of Everywhere, fragrances are origi- scents that was mainly used for nally consecrated to the gods. Their fumigations. However the Egyptians powers are sacred and mysterious. - and later the Greek physicians - As peoples meet and conquer one also mixed it into beverages to another, perfumes spread, their uses produce a remedy, a panacea that diversity. Employed for healing and was superior to all other medicines. sometimes as amulets, their increas- This recipe, whose composition ing use lends them magical powers. adopts these olfactory symbols for always differed greatly, included Used by the general public today, numerous saints, who are charac- juniper berries, terebinth resin, they are held to be seductive and to terised by a wonderful scent. cinnamon, cardamom and saffron. lend the wearer his or her own per- There are thousands of scents in the Aromatherapeutic salves: In Greece, sonal note. Today, perfumes exert gardens of the gods. For Buddhist these were the unguent oils that all of their powers... monks, the garden of the gods were used by the athletes at the smells like sandalwood, rose and Olympic games. In the modern-day saffron; among the Greeks, the Islamic world, in Morocco for "River of Perfumes flows" in the example, scents and perfumes are Elysian Fields; for Christians, Eden is an omnipresent aspect of daily and a garden of grasses and flowers rich religious life. in wonderful scents, while only fetid, nauseating and suffocating odors dominate in hell. In Mohammed‘s paradise, there is a small lake, "whose waters are more fragrant than musk." 1 Magical power Seductive power No festival or celebration would be Whether they were courtesans or complete without perfumes: At respectfully married – It was the banquets in ancient Greece, the women of ancient Greece who wines, according to Apicius, were made the most lavish use of perfumed with rose and violet and, perfumes. Wrapped up as they were according to Plinius, with cinnamon, with the rituals of relaxation and beauty, they played the game of seduction to the hilt, coloured their lips, cheeks and eyes, used special products to care for their skin, groomed their hair with perfumed oils and massaged their bodies with fragrant ointments after bathing. It was this intensive usage that bestowed upon perfumes an erotic value. gentian, lavender and wormwood, which is reminiscent of the taste of several of our modern-day apéritifs. The Romans, who also loved their feasts, released doves who would sprinkle the guests with their delicately perfumed wings as they flew away. There is an intimate relationship between witchcraft, perfume and festivals. In the year 1770, for example, the English parliament In Greece, Aphrodite hastened to a decreed that any woman, regardless rendezvous with her lover Adonis, of her age, rank or standing, be she pricked herself on the thorns of a spinster or widow, who does use rose bush, and her blood dropped perfumes or other cosmetics to onto the white roses and infatuate, seduce or induce the transformed them into deep red marriage of a subject of us Gracious blossoms, which became the symbol Majesty shall suffer the legally of love. In Central Europe, prescribed punishments for witch- carnations were considered to be an craft and other fraudulent maneu- aphrodisiac because of their strong vers and such marriage shall be scent, like citronella in Yugoslavia declared null and void." and musk throughout the Western world. So the scent that attracts us is part and parcel of the game of seduction. For Freud, the resulting aesthetic perception is a stimulant. Judge for yourself whether this is the answer to the eternal power of perfumes. 2.

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