In the ancient world of prehistory, aromatic plants and herbs were most probably used as food or added to food as well as being burnt during fire rituals to gain favours with the local spirits.
As civilizations developed and forms of religion evolved, it seemed common practice to use specially made incense to communicate with god to gain favour in this world and in the after- World.
People also used aromatic plants' scents for medicine to cure the sick and purify the mind, body or soul. In ancient Egypt and in Persia personal perfumes were used as aphrodisiacs, to increase personal attraction and cover up body odours.
Incense and herbs were used to cleanse the air, to prevent the spread of infectious diseases (specially where sanitation and hygiene were limited) and to cover up bad smells that floated around.
Prehistory
Pre-historic Man already made use of Aromatic plants and this was verified when Archaeologists dug into sacred burial mounds in Eastern Europe and Iraq. The discovery of bodies covered with earth with dried aromatic plants and seeds placed alongside them indicated that these inclusions in the burial ground was designed to help the souls of the deceased on their journey into the next world.
Such tribal rituals and shamanistic practices were common in ancient times as people made use of the scented smoke from burning aromatic woods or other similar materials to reach the spirits and bring favour to the departed.
The Ancient Worlds
The Sumerians (4000 BC) use aromatic plants such as Fennel, Galbanum and Pine and this was found written on clay tablets discovered In Syria (in 1973), which also held the first written formula for plant remedies.
In China, the use of medicinal plants and acupuncture was recorded in 2800 BC, some of the plants named as remedies were: Aniseed, Cinnamon and Ginger.
In India, Ayurveda (Brahma's sacred book on plants) names aromatic plants as part of the secret for eternal youth. It also quotes how it is possible to anaesthetise with the help of some of these plants and gives advice on how to maintain good hygiene and health, using aromatic plants.
Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, around 3000 BC, it was common practice to treat Body, Mind and Soul with aromatic plants.Ancient Egyptians are best known for embalming mummies and large amount of aromatic material and complicated procedures were involved in preserving the body of the dead.
Some of the many aromatic plants used in Ancient Egypt were: Ferula (Galbanum), Terebenth, Aniseed, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Cumin, Frankincense, Mastic, Bay, Mint and Myrrh.
The Hebrews whom also had their own traditional knowledge of use of aromatic plants for health and cleansing rituals inherited some of the Ancient Egyptian practices whilst living there and gave a lot of importance to the hygiene of the body.
Moses ordered his people, while fleeing from Egypt, to burn aromatic substances such as Myrrh, Cinnamon, etc., in order to prevent the plague from spreading amongst the living. Some of the ingredients composing Moses’ favourite incense were galbanum, coriander, angelica, fennel and olibanum.
King Solomon received from the Queen of Sheba, some seven tons of gold and vast quantities of aromatic plants and incense. The practice of anointment made used of macerated oils.
Ancient Greece
The Greeks of course also made their own contributions and rationalised medicine, the great physcian Hippocrates was very keen to eradicate superstitious practices from medicine.Hippocrates is remembered today as the physician who develop a strict code of conduct for other physician and the 'hyppocratic oath' is still applicable to physicians of today and he is often called the' Father of Medicine'
He is also remembered for saving Athens from the plague by ordering the inhabitants of the city to burn large urns of aromatic plants throughout the streets, effectively fumigating the whole city.
Pline, the elder in his Natural history, mention 22 different types of perfume oils concocted with, Marjoram, Cypress, Cystus, Iris, Nard, Myrtle, Laurel, Lemon and Rose. A century later, another very famous physician, Galen, made a definite advance by establishing certain rules in regard to preparing remedies.
Aristotle was the first physician to approach scented vapours and perfumes in a scientific manner he attempted to describe evaporation and volatility and suggest a method of extraction to obtain essential oils. Following on his track Theophratus wrote a traitise on odours. He is said to be the 'father of Botany'.
Dioscorides classified and described many plants and remedies and is said to be the 'Father of Pharmacy'
Cleopatra holds a special place in the history of perfumes, as she is famous for her great beauty and her own vast use of aromatic plants. She is said to have bathed in special aromatic milk everyday to preserve her skin from ageing. In her era people also made use of aromatic perfumes as aphrodisiacs, in fumigations to induce clairvoyance and enter the dream world to obtain divine guidance and for magical powers.
Ancient Rome & the Romans
As the Greek Empire began to decline many of the famous Greek physicians settled down in Rome where their services were very appreciated and well rewarded.
The Ancient Romans were also very very hungry for herbs and fragrance and used vast amount of aromatic incense and plants. Nero the notorious Roman Emperor, burned incredible amounts of incense a the funeral of his wife and had every house in his city oozing out fragrant fumigations.
The Christian World
When Jesus was born, the Magi (three wise men) came to visit him and when they saw him and as they felt his holy presence they fell in awe and gave him gifts of Frankincense (burned to honour God), Myrrh ( to honour humankind) and Gold to honour his greatness and his direct connection to God.
The Bible quotes Jesus as having instructed people to make special healing unguents with aromatic substances in order to cure various ills and requested the same when he was about to restore the life of Lazarus.
When Jesus was on the cross he was offered a wine containing Myrrh to ease his pain which he declined (Myrrh is known to have antiseptic and anaesthetic properties and has been and is still used in dentistry).
This began the Christian tradition of 'laying on of hands' to heal the sick while using scented ointments made of perfumes plants.
Middle Ages
One has to wait until nearer to the middle ages to see any further progress in Medical advances in Western Europe, as it had regressed into the obscurity of the Dark Ages. Violence appears to have been the norm and culture particularly the written word, practically disappeared.
This does not mean that there was no knowledge of medicine and plants on the contrary, this was now the almost exclusive task and privilege of friars and monks of the Christian Church and was usually safegarded in texts written in Latin.
Crusades & Pre-renaissance period
It is more than probable that oral initiation of folk remedies still went on and the first millenium onwards, Europe finally saw a renaissance in the philosophy of life and with it medicine and a new era of learning began.
The renaissance period cames the results of the crusades in the MIddle East where culture and medicine flourished. Ssoldiers and knights returned fromt the crusades and brought back many treasures of knowledge that helped Western Europe move forwards in matters of the written word and medicine.
Arabic Medicine & Avicenna
Avicenna (Ib’n Sina 11th century), famous Physician, Philosopher, Astrologer and Alchemist, contributed much to medicine by writing his famous 'Cannon of Medicine'. He established himself as an authority on medical matters at the age of 18 and his work was to be treated like the Bible up until near the 18th century. He is attributed the invention of the the still, making it possible to obtain purer forms of essential oils (11/12century).
By then the quest for turning 'lead into gold' was raging and alchemists were busy everwhere purifying and distilling the essence of `everything' to obtain the secret of eternity. This actually helped turn the focus of medicine and remedies on chemistry and physicians of the days renewed their effort to try understand active constituents used in medicinal remedies.
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