In early times the effects of plants’ essential oils were known, but not well understood. Early civilizations discovered the benefits of these herbs, and they imbued them with spiritual significance.

The Egyptians are known to have burned essential woods, herbs and spices. They believed that the smoke went up to the gods in heaven, carrying their prayers with it. Ancient stone tablets up to 6000 years old show how the Egyptians used oils for cosmetic and medicinal purposes. They distilled the oils from plants in similar ways as modern aromatherapy does today.

Parallel to the Egyptians the Ancient Chinese were also used herbal oil remedies. Texts dating from 3000 BC show catalogs of hundreds of plants and their uses. They used these essential oils in a similar way imbued with spirituality by burning them in incense and using them for massage. The Chinese and Egyptian aromatherapy practices are believed to be the oldest in the world, predating the other ancient civilizations, although there are others who have known specific prophylactic properties of aromatic plants.

The Greeks inherited Egyptian aromatherapy practices and combined them with their own. Ancient thinker and pharmacologist Pedanius Dioscorides wrote a book about healing with herbs “De Materia Medica”. This book had been very popular in Europe for 12 centuries. Hypocrites is the father of modern medical science, and he was known to use herbal aromas for medical purposes. This knowledge of plant lore was consolidated and transported by the Romans, and was passed down through the ages in Europe.

During the middle ages, treatments for various illnesses were given by “apothecaries.” These were men who had studied all sorts of shamanism, herbal lore, primitive medicine and ancient knowledge. There are texts surviving from this time, such as “The Leech Book Of Bald,” written around 900 AD, that teach these practices.

Arabic perfumers improved aromatherapy science. They were the first to apply steam distillation to extract essential oil from rose petals. This invention is believed to belong to Avicenna, philosopher and a physician of Middle East who described more than 800 botanical medicines. In his book “The Canon of Medicine” he described coiled pipes and other devices from Persia and the Middle East to extract herbal oils. These were brought back into Europe, along with many Arabic perfumes with soldiers returning from the crusades

The Catholic Church gained total control over Europe from around 1300AD. They believed that illness was the punishment of God. On came the dark ages for medicine. Most medicine was treated by bleeding and prayer. Herbal treatments, as well as other natural treatments, were thought of as heathen, driven underground, and a knowledge of divine power only to be retained by the church.

The science of aromatherapy would have to wait many centuries to be fully explored. In the 17th and 18th centuries, various herbs were used for wigs and other cosmetic purposes. In the 19th century, there was some limited scientific research on certain herbs’ ability to treat illnesses. But, it wasn’t until the early 20th century that aromatherapy was born.

Tags: ancient apothecary practices, ancient arabic perfume, ancient aromatherapy practices, ancient chinese medicine, ancient civilisations, ancient egyptian perfumes, aromatherapy and ancient civilizations, Aromatherapy and Essential Oils, burning essential oils, herblore, plant oil distillation

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