OXFORD, England – Previous research into the art of antiquity has already discovered that sculptures from ancient Greece and Rome were often painted in warm colors, debunking the assumptions of Neoclassical artists and scholars, such as Johann Winckelmann, who reinforced the false belief that the Greeks and Romans preferred unpainted marble. However, modern scientific research has confirmed that these statues were vividly painted and adorned in ways that enhanced their realism and significance.
For context, Western scholars have mistakenly assumed that ancient Greek and Roman statues were pristine white marble, embodying an idealized, unadorned aesthetic. Scientific techniques such as ultraviolet (UV) light analysis, infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) have revealed traces of pigments on many ancient sculptures, proving their original colorful appearance.
Statue of Poseidon with Parian marble. Found on Milos, a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete. Photo Credit: Photo taken by www.PinterPandai.com in National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece. CCA-SA 3.0
But there were other adornments beyond color. Ancient Greek and Roman statues were modified to enhance their visual appeal, durability, and symbolic meaning. Some statues had separately attached metal diadems, crowns, or wreaths. Eyebrows, eyelashes, and pupils were often carved or painted to increase realism. Bronze and marble statues sometimes featured detachable, cast-bronze elements such as weapons, scepters, or laurel wreaths.
New research now shows that some statues had more than just color and adornments—they also had olfactory elements.
A Danish study published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology has uncovered a new sensory dimension to ancient statues: some were anointed with perfume. From a Pagan perspective, this aligns with historical rituals and many modern practices. As they say, it tracks.
The research, led by classical archaeologist Cecilie Brøns, Ph.D., challenges the traditional perception of classical art as purely visual, proposing a more immersive sensory experience.
“A white marble statue was not intended to be perceived as a statue in stone. It was supposed to resemble a real god or goddess,” Brøns told the Danish scientific website Videnskab.
This practice, documented in literary and epigraphic texts, suggests that the sensory experience of ancient viewers was far richer than previously believed. The research is based on classical texts describing how statues of gods and distinguished figures were perfumed.
For example, the Roman orator Cicero described a ritual in Segesta, Sicily, where a statue of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, forests, and animals, was anointed with ointment and fragrant oils. In Delos, temple inscriptions reveal that some statues were maintained by rubbing them with rose-scented perfume.
Similarly, the poet Callimachus describes how the statue of Berenice II, queen of Egypt, was moist with fragrance.
Statue of Greek god Hermes, so-called “Hermes Ingenui”, carrying a winged caduceus upright in his left hand. Roman copy after a Greek original of the 5th century BCE. Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican Museums, Rome [public domain
Perfumes were not merely decorative; they had ritual significance. In ancient Greece and Rome, gods were honored with exotic fragrances and scented oils. In the sanctuary of Delos, inscriptions detail the costs and composition of the perfumes used for the kosmesis (adornment) of statues of Artemis and Hera. These included olive oils, beeswax, natron (sodium carbonate), and rose perfumes.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the study is the connection between perfume workshops discovered in Delos and the practice of perfuming statues. Archaeologists have found evidence of local fragrance production, confirming that the scented oils used in rituals could have been made on the same island.
Although time has erased most of the scents applied in antiquity, some traces remain. A notable case is the portrait of Queen Berenice II, a Ptolemaic sculpture from the 3rd century BCE, where beeswax residues have been identified on its surface. This suggests that the sculpture may have been treated with a perfumed bath.
Brøns, who is also a curator at the Copenhagen museum Glyptotek, made the discovery after studying ancient texts by those Roman writers and the inscriptions on Greek temples.
“Perfume and perfumed oils are often mentioned as part of the ‘decoration’ that was applied to religious cult statues in antiquity,” she said.
This study emphasizes the significance of multi-sensory experiences, particularly scent, in religious and artistic expression in the ancient world. By exploring these traditions, scholars and practitioners might deepen their understanding of how past civilizations honored their deities through sight, touch, and fragrance.
Many modern Pagan practices reflect ancient traditions by venerating objects believed to hold magical or divine energy. They are often anointed as scents and perfumes are integral to ritual, enhancing the experience through multiple senses.
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