Aphrodite’s Perfume
For those wondering what the goddess Aphrodite (Venus to the Romans) smelled like, wonder no longer. Archaeologists in Cyprus claim to have found the oldest perfume factory in the world with scents dedicated to the goddess of love (among others).
“The prehistoric scents and 60 objects from the site in Cyprus have been placed on display at the Capitoline Museums in Rome, having been found in 2003. Perfumes named after Greek goddesses and made from pine, coriander, olive oil, parsley, bergamot, bitter almonds and laurel were discovered in alabaster vials. Research Council archaeologist, Maria Rosa Belgiorno, told ANSA: ‘We were astonished at how big the place was … Perfumes must have been produced on an industrial scale. No wonder the island got its reputation for possessing the skills of Aphrodite.’”
Science Daily lets us in on which goddesses had perfumes named after them.
“Perfumes are displayed in alabaster vials found in 2003 and are made of olive oil, pine, coriander, laurel, bergamot, parsley and bitter almonds, ANSA said. The scents are named after the Greek goddesses Aphrodite, Hera, Athena and Artemis.”
So how long before some enterprising perfume-makers try to crack the formula for these perfumes and offer them for sale?
2 responses so far
Dogfish Head, a microbrewery in Delaware, recreated a recipe for beer that was found in a 9000-year old ceramic jar in China. Alas, the beer they made was a limited edition thing and is no longer available. I had some – it was really good.
So, I have no doubt that someone will be recreating Aphrodite’s perfume very soon.
Wow, this is great news! It is a much bigger story than finding another uninformative temple or something like that. And I got it from The Wild Hunt.