The perfumer’s garden: scent and well-being in some Greek and Roman sources

Abstract

This paper explores the connection between scent and well-being (eudaimonia) in some ancient Greek and Roman sources. Focusing on the metaphor of the ‘perfumer’s garden’ — the blend of scents in ancient perfumes used to evoke faraway lands like Arabia Felix or Egypt — the paper discusses how these aromatic creations communicate more than the fragrance of the gardens they come from. Believed to possess medicinal properties mirroring their plant sources, perfumes offer a unique window into health and social life. While all classes sought well-being through scent, specific perfumes varied based on factors like social status and gender. This work focuses on these variations, examining medical and philosophical texts about the relation of scent and health alongside literary case studies: Herodian’s account of remedies used during the Antonine Plague, where class dictated perfume choice, and the use of Egyptian-inspired scents during the Hellenistic period, which expresses differences between men and women. In exploring these aromatic landscapes, we uncover a complexity where the essence of gardens and their fragrances reveal more than attempts at using scent to secure health; they show themselves to be rich sources of symbolic meaning reflecting the values and aspirations of ancient authors.