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History Of Aromatherapy

It is thought that the Chinese were the first civilization to use aromatic plants for health related reasons, such as burning incense for harmony. However it was the Egyptians who invented the first distillation techniques, thus allowing the extraction of essential oils. Their distillation methods were crude, but allowed them to use the oils of cedarwood, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg and myrrh to embalm their dead. Tombs opened by archaeologists in the early twentieth century revealed traces of herbs and a faint herbal scent.

The Egyptians also used essential oils and infused oils for spiritual, medicinal and cosmetic purposes. They started creating aromatic infusions over 5,000 years ago. Many believe they developed the term perfume, originating from the Latin ‘per fumum’, meaning through the smoke. Perfumery was closely linked to ancient Greek religion, and each deity was allotted a fragrance.

Aromatic scents were the focus of Greek aromatherapy, used medically, in food preservation, cosmetics, cooking as well as religion. Aromatherapeutic ideas also played a part in the design and layout of towns, with large spaces allocated to the burning of herbs to keep the air germ free.

Ancient Egyptian rulers imported exotic scents from countries they had conquered as a symbol of their power, both economically and politically.

The Greeks learnt a lot from the Egyptians. After visiting the Nile Valley in 500 B.C. they set up a medical school on the Island of Cos, of which the most famous graduate was Hippocrates, ‘the father of medicine’. He recommended a daily bath and massage with essential oils for a healthy life.

The Romans furthered the knowledge they obtained from the Egyptians and Greeks. Discordes wrote a treatus called De Materia Medica, which referenced more than 500 medicinal plants. Roman herbalist Galen was influenced by this treatus and wrote what became the world’s medical reference for over 1,500 years.

The Romans really took the use of aromatic scents to a new level. Spice filled pipes perfumed Nero’s guests in his palace, perfumed cups were very popular, and there were fragrant watering spots around the city. Aromatic perfumes remained popular when the focus of learning moved from Rome to Constantinople (now known as Istanbul).

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