Let him smell the rose...

Since ancient times, the wealthy and powerful have been able to drown themselves in fragrance. In fact, one unfortunate Roman literally did. He was asphyxiated when the carved ivory ceiling panels in Emperor Nero's dining room slid aside to shower guests, who reclined on floor pillows, with hundreds of pounds of fresh rose petals. In general, wealthy Romans so over-indulged themselves in fragrance that the ruler Leptadeni, in 188 B.C.E, issued an edict forbidding such foolish access.

The Roman population paid little heed to the fragrance prohibition, and demand for incense only increased. By the first century C.E., Romans were burning 2,800 tons of imported frankincense and 550 tons of myrrh-both herbs more costly than gold-each year. As a result, Emperor Augustus increased the number of trade ships sailing between Egypt and India fivefold, from twenty to a hundred.

Islamic culture was also rich in fragrance, using it extensively in medicine, cosmetics and confections. Rose water was mixed into the mortar used to build mosques and even the ground in paradise was said to emit the scent of musk and saffron. Mohammed himself was once a spice and aromatics merchant who traveled on camel caravans. He loved fragrance, especially rose, mentioning it frequently in his teachings: "Whoever would smell my scent, let him smell the rose."