From offerings to the gods per fumum, aromatic substances became part of the daily life of ancient peoples.
Incense, myrrh, spikenard, rose, saffron, marjoram, cardamom, cinnamon, cassia were the ingredients of precious fragrances such as Aigyption, Megallion, Panathenaicum created by the art of perfumers and used, depending on the costs, above all by families wealthy. Opening with a preface by the well-known creator of fragrances Lorenzo Villoresi, the volume includes the Italian translation of On Odors by the Greek philosopher and botanist Theophrastus (XNUMXth-XNUMXrd century BC), presented together with a large collection of passages by Greek and Latin authors which, with reference to the theme of perfumery, they recall the myths of metamorphosis into an odorous substance, the name of the ancient perfumers, the list of basic ingredients of fragrances, the methods of extracting essences, the 'secrets of the trade', the ways of spices. A set of fascinating information that takes the reader to countries such as Armenia, Arabia Felix and India, lands rich in aromas and able to fascinate Alexander the Great himself who, precisely in perfume, recognized a characterizing element of be king.
With the Italian translation of On the smells of Theophrastus. New updated edition 2020. Book
The volume contains the translation into Italian with a Greek text opposite Theophrastus' "On Smells", accompanying it with significant passages from the works of ancient authors who have reported curious news and anecdotes on the theme of perfume, mythological events at the origin of some substances aromatics, geographical information on trade routes and the origin of spices, data on the artificial preparation of fragrances and on their cosmetic and medicinal properties.
Joseph Squillace he is Associate Professor of Greek History at the University of Calabria (Rende). Winner of numerous scholarships abroad (Alexander von Humboldt; Gerda Henkel; DAAD), he turned his research interests first towards propaganda employed by Philip II and Alexander the Great, then towards medicine and perfumery in the ancient world. He has published numerous studies on these topics, including Philip the Macedonian (Laterza 2009); Sappho's Gardens. Perfumes and aromas in ancient Greece (Carocci 2014); Myrrh's Tears. Myths and places of perfume in the ancient world (Il Mulino 2015); Philistine of Locri. A physician of the 2017th century BC between Greece, Magna Graecia and Sicily (Georg Olms XNUMX).
Library of the «Archivum Romanicum». Series I: History, Literature, Palaeography, vol. 499.
