Antonio Mcgowan
Incense has a rich history in ancient Egypt, where it was used in religious and medical contexts. The ancient Egyptians burned incense daily as a celebration of fragrance, with different types of incense associated with various Egyptian gods and specific ceremonies. Incense was also used to scent bodies, purify homes, and cure the sick. The most popular variety of incense was Kyphi (also known as Kapet or Kaphi), which was made from a blend of ingredients including wine, honey, ginger, juniper berries, and exotic woods. Organic remains of incense found in Egypt indicate that the ancient Egyptians particularly favoured the scents of myrrh and frankincense.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Religious ceremonies, medical purposes, and purification |
| Timing | Frankincense in the morning, myrrh at midday, and Kyphi in the evening |
| Ingredients | Myrrh, frankincense, wood bark, ground herbs, honey, wine, raisins, dates, saffron, ginger, juniper berries, vetiver, sandalwood, aloeswood, agarwood, amber, musk, balsam, resins, gums, flowers, oils, pistachio resin, and more |
| Gods associated | Isis, Osiris, Nefertum, Ptah, Bastet, Hathor |
| Recipes | Secret recipes were carved on the walls of the temple of Horus at Edfu and the temples of Edfu and Philae |
| Manufacture | Ingredients were blended and boiled in sequence, ground and thrown on hot coals, or mixed with dried fruit and formed into pellets |
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What You'll Learn
Incense as the ''Fragrance of the Gods'
Incense was integral to the worship of the gods and goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Large quantities of incense were burned daily in temples across Egypt, with specific types of incense associated with certain gods and ceremonies. For example, Hathor was strongly associated with myrrh.
The ancient Egyptians believed that incense was the "'embodiment of life' and an 'aromatic manifestation of the gods'. It was considered the "Fragrance of the Gods" and was used as an offering to the gods, with many scenes in tombs and temples depicting a pharaoh or priest offering incense to a mummy or the statue of a god or goddess.
The burning of incense was a daily celebration of fragrance for the ancient Egyptians, with Kyphi (also known as Kapet) being their favourite. Kyphi is a compound incense with a rich, deep, sweet fragrance. It was used for religious and medical purposes, with recipes for its preparation inscribed on the temple walls of Edfu and Philae. Other popular incense varieties included Ihmut and Sonter incense, obtained from Punt, and green incense, thought to be based on galbanum from Persia.
The ancient Egyptians carefully bought, transported, and stored their incense, treating the pieces of resin like emblems of their gods' bodies. They also cultivated incense trees and imported expensive resins to meet the demands of their temples and tombs. Incense ingredients were either ground and thrown on hot coals or mixed with dried fruit and formed into small pellets to be burned.
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Incense ingredients and recipes
Incense was an integral part of the worship of the Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Large quantities of incense were burned daily in the temples throughout Egypt. The ancient Egyptians also burned incense to perfume their homes and clothes.
Kyphi
Kyphi, also known as Kapet, was one of the most popular incense varieties in Ancient Egypt. It was used for religious and medical purposes. It was believed to heal snake bites and cure bad breath and asthma. The manufacture of kyphi involves blending and boiling the ingredients in sequence. It is a soft incense dense with natural resins.
Three Egyptian Kyphi recipes from Ptolemaic times are inscribed on the temple walls of Edfu and Philae. The seventh-century physician Paul of Aegina records a "lunar" kyphi of 28 ingredients and a "solar" kyphi of 36. The Egyptian recipes have 16 ingredients each, while Dioscorides has 10 ingredients, Plutarch gives 16, and Galen 15. The ingredients include:
- Raisins
- Red wine
- Oasis wine (aka date wine)
- Raw unfiltered honey
- Ginger
- Juniper berries
- Vetiver
- Sandalwood
- Precious aloes
- Cyperus grass rhizomes (aka nut sedge)
- Pine kernels
- Peker (likely ground wood from a sycamore fig)
- Henna
- Myrrh
- Frankincense
- Aspalathus (a thorny shrub)
Other incense ingredients
Other incense ingredients mentioned in ancient Egyptian sources include:
- Wood
- Cedar wood
- Papyrus rind
- Balsamon
- Iris
- Lotus (water lily)
- Lemongrass
- Rose
- Cinnamon
- Cassia
- Galbanum
- Ground herbs
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Incense offerings to the Gods
The burning of incense was central to the worship of the gods of Ancient Egypt. Large quantities of incense were burned daily in temples throughout Egypt. Incense was considered the "Fragrance of the Gods" and was believed to embody life and serve as an aromatic manifestation of the gods.
The most common depictions of incense in ancient Egypt come from tombs and temples, where scenes often present a pharaoh or priest offering incense to a mummy or the statue of a god or goddess. The burning of incense sticks and ceremonies were also depicted in numerous reliefs and papyri.
The Ancient Egyptians carefully bought, transported, and stored their frankincense and myrrh, treating the pieces of resin like emblems of their gods' bodies. They also cultivated incense trees and imported expensive resins to meet the demands of their temples and tombs. The Egyptians gathered the resinous "tears" and "sweat" of the gods from the myrrh and frankincense trees for use in their incense.
Certain gods and goddesses were associated with specific types of incense. For example, Hathor was strongly associated with myrrh. According to Plutarch, the Ancient Egyptians burned frankincense in the morning, myrrh at midday, and Kyphi (Kapet) in the evening. Some ingredients were homegrown, while others were imported. Hatshepsut, for instance, recorded a successful trading expedition to Punt on the walls of her mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri, which brought back aromatic woods and spices for incense and perfume.
Kapet, or Kyphi, was one of the most popular varieties of incense and was used for its pleasing scent and medicinal properties. It was believed to heal snake bites and cure bad breath and asthma. Recipes for this incense were recorded in the Ebers Papyrus (c. 1500 BCE) and on the temple walls of Edfu and Philae.
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Medicinal uses of incense
Incense played a significant role in the daily lives of ancient Egyptians, with its use extending beyond religious rituals and ceremonies. One of the most popular varieties of incense, known as Kapet or Kyphi (from its Greek name), was valued not only for its pleasing fragrance but also for its medicinal properties.
Kyphi was believed to possess healing powers, including the ability to cure snake bites, bad breath, and asthma. The recipe for this incense was carefully guarded, and it was created using a blend of various ingredients, with some recipes containing over fifty components. The process involved mixing and boiling the ingredients, rolling them into balls, and placing them on hot coals to release a fragrant smoke. Interestingly, Kyphi was also consumed as a medicine for treating liver and lung ailments.
The Papyrus Ebers, dating back to around 1500 BCE, provides valuable insight into the ancient Egyptians' use of incense for medicinal purposes. It includes a recipe for incense that serves to "sweeten the smell of the house or the clothes". This recipe combines myrrh, frankincense, wood bark, ground herbs, and liquids such as honey or wine, which are then placed over a fire. The smoke produced was believed to purify the air and drive away negative influences.
In addition to Kyphi and the recipe mentioned in the Papyrus Ebers, other types of incense were also used for their medicinal properties. For example, Ihmut and Sonter incense, obtained from Punt, and green incense, believed to originate from Persia, were recorded during the reign of Thutmose III. White incense, possibly made from frankincense, and "inflammable incense" were also listed in offerings during the reign of Ramesses III.
The ancient Egyptians' belief in the healing power of incense extended beyond physical ailments. They also considered incense to be the "Fragrance of the Gods," evoking the presence of deities and bringing spiritual purification. This dual role of incense in both medicine and religious practices highlights its integral and multifaceted significance in ancient Egyptian culture.
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Incense in daily life
Incense was an integral part of daily life in ancient Egypt, with a variety of herbs and woods burned in large quantities daily in temples throughout the land. The ancient Egyptians believed that incense was the "'Fragrance of the Gods'", and it played a central role in the worship of their deities. The burning of incense was also used to purify homes and was believed to cure various ailments.
The ancient Egyptians had a strong culture of fragrance, with incense trees and resins imported from far-off lands and traded as highly prized commodities. The Egyptians carefully transported and stored their incense, treating the pieces of resin like emblems of their gods. They also cultivated incense trees and imported expensive resins to meet the demands of their temples and tombs.
The most popular variety of incense was known as "kapet" or "kyphi" in Greek. Kyphi was used in ancient Egypt for religious and medical purposes and is said to have a beautiful, full-bodied, rich, multi-layered bouquet with a warm, relaxing, sweet, spicy, and sensual aroma. It was believed to heal snake bites and cure bad breath and asthma. Kyphi was typically burned in the evenings, with frankincense burned in the mornings and myrrh burned during the day.
The process of making incense was veiled in religious secrecy and involved a set number of days, symbolic ingredients, and magical spells. Priests believed that as they compounded fragrant resins with herbs, honey, wine, and raisins, they were mysteriously creating the body of the gods. Various recipes for kyphi were inscribed on the walls of ancient temples, with some recipes including a dozen ingredients and others featuring over fifty.
Incense was also used in ancient Egypt to scent bodies when people were alive and dead, and it continues to be used in modern times by Egyptians for its rich variety of scents and essential oils, which sweeten the smell of the home and provide comfort, relaxation, and clarity.
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Frequently asked questions
Incense was a compound of resins, herbs, gums, flowers, oils, woods, and other fragrant ingredients that was burned in ancient Egypt. It was used in religious ceremonies and for medicinal purposes.
Incense was considered the "Fragrance of the Gods" and was used in the worship of the Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. It was also used to scent bodies and purify homes.
Some common types of incense used in ancient Egypt include frankincense, myrrh, and kyphi or kapet (its Greek name). Other types include ihmut, sonter, and jb.
The smell of ancient Egyptian incense varied depending on the ingredients used. Kyphi, for example, initially emits sweet notes of wine, honey, and honeycomb, followed by middle notes of ginger, juniper berries, and vetiver, and finishing with notes of exotic woods and aloes.
Incense ingredients were either ground and thrown on hot coals or mixed with dried fruit and formed into small pellets to be burned.
