MARKOS
Ah, my friend!
I see you've followed your nose to this lovely...
perfumery?
Perfume-yard?
Perfactory?
MARKOS
Yes, let's go with perfactory.
MARKOS
Why, I'm Markos, of course!
One of the most successful merchants in all
of Greece.
You really haven't heard of me?
MARKOS
My name is known from Kephallonia to Kos!
If you've ever paid money for something, I
probably received a percentage.
MARKOS
But enough about me.
Let's go back to what you're doing here.
MARKOS
A word of advice from a former perfume peddler:
MARKOS
Never start your sales pitch with: "You smell
like you could use some perfume".
MARKOS
It has a surprisingly low success-rate.
MARKOS
This scent-uous little island is where perfume
was produced.
MARKOS
Your nostrils are in for a treat!
Unless you're allergic, in which case I could
sell you a wonderful remedy for a very reasonable
price.
No?
OK then!
MARKOS
I'll check in on you at the end of your visit.
See you soon, my friend!
NARRATOR
Perfume-making techniques were invented and
perfected in Mesopotamia and Egypt beginning
in the 4th millennium BCE.
NARRATOR
By the time of the Mycenaean era, perfume
played an important role in the Greek economy.
NARRATOR
Mostly reserved for kings, priests, and aristocrats
in the beginning, it later became more widely
available during the Classical and Hellenistic
periods.
NARRATOR
Greeks used perfume for more than just personal
cosmetics.
It also had sacred uses.
NARRATOR
For example, cults would sometimes anoint
their god's statue with perfume, and it was
also used during rituals like weddings and
funerals.
NARRATOR
Food and wine could also be scented with perfume
to add to a meal's presentation.
NARRATOR
The art of making perfume was part of medicine
and pharmacology, and physicians devoted entire
books listing the best perfume recipes.
NARRATOR
Perfume is made up of two main components:
NARRATOR
A greasy substance - called an excipient - like
vegetable oil or animal fat, -
NARRATOR
- and an odorous substance, such as flowers
and plants.
NARRATOR
For Ancient Greeks, the most common excipient
was olive oil.
NARRATOR
According to Theophrastos, however, the most
valuable oils were those extracted from nuts
in the Syrian and Egyptian deserts.
NARRATOR
The odorous ingredient could be taken from
a variety of sources.
NARRATOR
These include flowers like roses or lilies,
herbs like oregano, spices like saffron, resins
like amber, and leaves from plants.
NARRATOR
Some fragrances were also imported from outside
of Greece, like Indian cinnamon, and Syrian
frankincense.
NARRATOR
These exotic scents were considered exceptionally
precious.
NARRATOR
Mixing scent into the fatty excipient was
called enfleurage, of which there were two
methods.
NARRATOR
If the flower being used for the scent was
fragile, the preferred method of extraction
was cold enfleurage, which required an oil
soaked cloth.
NARRATOR
First, the cloth was rubbed against the flower's
petals, saturating the oil with the scent.
NARRATOR
Then, the cloth was pressed to wring out the
scented oil.
NARRATOR
Hot enfleurage involved heating the excipient
before mixing in the scented substance.
NARRATOR
The hot enfleurage process consisted of heating
and distillation.
NARRATOR
After the scented ingredients were dipped
into heated oil, the mixture was then filtered
before being pressed and decanted.
NARRATOR
Once the mixture was complete, spices, coloring
agents, and fixatives were added, along with
preservatives to prevent the perfume from
spoiling.
NARRATOR
Finally, the liquid was hermetically sealed
in bottles, ready to be shipped to market.
NARRATOR
Perfume was usually bottled in ceramic or
glass flasks, but more luxurious fragrances
were contained in ornamented and painted flasks.
NARRATOR
Lekythioi and alabastra were elegant bottles
designed for women, while aryballoi were used
by athletes.
NARRATOR
It was common for the bottles' craftsmen to
brand them to prevent frauds and knock-offs.
NARRATOR
Perfume shops were usually located in city
centers, befitting of their importance.
NARRATOR
In addition to selling perfume, they were
also sometimes used as meeting places.
NARRATOR
For example, the perfume shops near Athens's
agora were frequented every morning by the
city's youth.
NARRATOR
The main purpose of perfume was to attract
members of both the opposite and the same
sex.
NARRATOR
We can trace this practice back to a scene
in "The Iliad", where Hera used perfume to
seduce Zeus.
NARRATOR
Similarly, hymns about goddesses like Demeter
and Aphrodite always mentioned their pleasant
smell, -
NARRATOR
- further solidifying the belief that scent
and seduction went hand in hand.
NARRATOR
However, perfume was also a mark of social
status.
NARRATOR
Athletes covered themselves in perfumed oils
during their training and at symposia, -
NARRATOR
- and citizens were judged based on how anointed,
shiny, and perfumed their bodies were.
MARKOS
Hello again, my friend!
MARKOS
I hope you see now how important perfume was
not only for aesthetic purposes, but for Greek
social hierarchy.
MARKOS
I wouldn't charge so much for my own bottles
if I didn't know the value of what I was selling.
MARKOS
What else can Markos do for you?
MARKOS
Good idea!
Let's start with an easy question.
MARKOS
Which of the following is an example of an
excipient?
MARKOS
Flower petals can add a lovely smell to the
perfume, but they aren't excipients.
Try again.
MARKOS
Plant leaves make great perfume ingredients,
but they aren't excipients.
Try a different answer.
MARKOS
I'm afraid water works better as a drink than
as an excipient.
Keep trying.
MARKOS
Yes!
Olive oil makes a great excipient.
And dressing.
And medicine.
Honestly, we pour that stuff on everything.
Including ourselves!
MARKOS
On to question two.
MARKOS
What is enfleurage?
MARKOS
It does sound like a lovely dance, doesn't
it?
Unfortunately, it isn't.
Try again.
MARKOS
Doesn't sound like any sport I've ever heard
of.
Keep trying.
MARKOS
I don't think so, my friend.
Try a different answer.
MARKOS
Correct!
Enfleurage involved mixing the perfume's scent
into an excipient.
MARKOS
We're almost done.
Just one more question.
MARKOS
In "The Iliad", which goddess used perfume
to seduce Zeus?
MARKOS
A fair guess, but in this case, an incorrect
one.
Try another answer.
MARKOS
That's not the version of "The Iliad" I heard,
but wouldn't that be interesting.
MARKOS
I don't think so, as funny as it is to imagine
the god of the underworld batting his eyelashes
at Zeus.
MARKOS
Try again.
MARKOS
Yes!
Hera poured a saucy scent on herself to get
her husband's attention.
MARKOS
You did it!
You've completed the test.
MARKOS
If you say so, but I have a feeling we'll
run into each other again soon.
Farewell!
