Scented Quote of the Day, from Pliny The Elder:
"The perfume of iris, from Corinth, was long held in the highest esteem, till that of Cyzicus came into fashion. It was the same, too, with the perfume of roses, from Phaselis, the repute of which was afterwards eclipsed by those of Neapolis, Capua, and Præneste. Oil of saffron, from Soli in Cilicia, was for a long time held in repute beyond any other, and then that from Rhodes; after which perfume of oenanthe, from Cyprus, came into fashion, and then that of Egypt was preferred. At a later period that of Adramytteum came into vogue, and then was supplanted by unguent of marjoram, from Cos, which in its turn was superseded by quince blossom unguent from the same place. As to perfume of cyprus, that from the island of Cyprus was at first preferred, and then that of Egypt; when all on a sudden the unguents of Mendes and metopium rose into esteem."
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Scented Quote of the Day, From Richard Doherty:
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Chere Marie-Helene,
Love this post. the ancient Greeks / and Egyptians had a good thing going. Amazing what they knew in the old days . Reading about Greece and all the islands - is marvelous.
Posted by: Madelyn E | March 27, 2007
Chère Madelyn,
We can also see how fickle perfumistas of the antiquity were:)
Wouldn't you love to try the quince blossom unguent from Cos?
Posted by: Marie-Helene | March 27, 2007