Posted on 03/17/2007 11:13:20 AM PDT by blam
Published: March 16, 2007 at 2:24 PM
Ancient perfume found on Venus' island
ROME, March 16 (UPI) -- Archaeologists exploring Cyprus, said to be home to Venus, the goddess of love, have stumbled upon the world's oldest known perfume factory.
A display of the prehistoric scents and 60 objects from the Cyprus discovery can be seen at Rome's Capitoline Museums, ANSA reported. The distilling equipment is believed to be 4,000 years old.
"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," said National Research Council archaeologist Maria Rosa Belgiorno, using the Greek name for Venus, ANSA reported.
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.
GGG Ping.
allergy alert ping, babe :)
4,000 years of helping men make amneds for their screwups.
"bitter almonds"? Eau de Hillary?
A BIG Snarfffffff to the ancient art of perfumery. A sniff is as good as break.
I often wonder why Freud settled on anal and oral fixation stereotypes. Olfactory fixation is much more interesting, as any dog will tell you.
And many perfume technicians do earn their living by sniff alone, as do many wine and whiskey blenders.
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Channel No. 1
A perfume with the scent of parsley.....ugh. (Parsley is for seasoning food, not humans).
Timeless.
With a distinctive odeur.
Sometimes even tasteful.
Could be. Isn't bitter almonds a scent associated with cyanide?
LOL!!! I want you on my side for the next debate...you're definitely a step ahead of me...hadn't thought about the connection to cyanide.
Now marketed as Old Pants Suit.
LOL! Since I've retired, I've got more time to watch old mystery movies on Turner Classics. It's amazing what you can learn from them :-)
Even after 4000 years these fragrances must smell better than Helen Thomas......
Better stay the hell away from the bitter almonds! It could kill you!
If someone would recreate this fragrance, especially in a replica of the original vial , I'd buy it, if only for the novelty value. I hope some capitalist sees the opportunity.
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Thanks for the ping, Civ!
Cyprus is a wonderful place, and the people there are just marvelous.
And the Turkish armed occupation is now in its 33rd year. Where are the protests? Where is the UN?
It's not the first time, either. If you want to know what expansionary Islam has in store for us, just ask a Cypriot.
LOL!
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