Katrina Rosales
Burning incense was an integral part of ancient Egyptian culture and religious practices. The ancient Egyptians burned incense to worship their gods, believing it to be the fragrance of the gods. They also used incense in funerary rites, where incense was burned to prepare the deceased to meet the gods in the afterlife. The ancient Egyptians had a rich variety of incense fragrances, with some of the most common being frankincense, myrrh, and kyphi (kapet).
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Communicating with the gods, reverence and prayer, worship, funerary rites |
| Timing | Morning, midday, evening |
| Types of incense | Frankincense, myrrh, kyphi (kapet), jb, galbanum, cassia, cinnamon, lotus, papyrus |
| Ingredients | Herbs, honey, wine, raisins, resins, musk, ginger, juniper berries, vetiver, sandalwood, aloes |
| Gods associated with incense | Isis, Osiris, Horus, Hathor, Nefertum, Amun-Re |
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What You'll Learn
Communicating with deities
Burning incense was an integral part of the worship of the gods and goddesses in ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians believed that incense was the “embodiment of life” and an “aromatic manifestation of the gods”, or the “fragrance of the gods”. The pleasant smell of incense was thought to attract the gods and repel demons.
The ancient Egyptians used incense in enormous quantities. They believed that bad smells were associated with impurity, so temples, shrines, tombs, and people had to smell good. Incense was also used to cover the unpleasant smell that arose from mummification and animal offerings.
The ancient Egyptians worshipped Nefertum, the God of fragrance, who represented the first sunlight and the scent of the Egyptian blue lotus flower. They also carried small statuettes of him as good-luck charms. The priests believed that as they compounded fragrant resins with herbs, honey, wine, and raisins, they were creating the body of the gods.
Incense was also used in funerary rites, where the deceased was made ready to meet the gods. A funerary priest or a relative of the deceased would come to the tomb at night, light a candle, burn incense, and present a jar of unguent while reciting a prayer asking for the Eye of Horus to guide the deceased to the afterlife.
The burning of incense was also used to offer prayers to the gods. A 19th-dynasty relief from the temple of Seti I at Abydos depicts Seti pouring water over a bouquet of lotus flowers while wafting smoke from an arm-shaped incense stick towards Amun-Re, signifying reverence and prayer.
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Repelling demons and treating disease
The ancient Egyptians believed that burning incense was a way of communicating with the deities and was therefore crucial in treating diseases. They believed that good smells attracted the gods and simultaneously repelled the demons causing illnesses.
Incense was considered the "Fragrance of the Gods", and the most common depictions of incense in ancient Egypt come from tombs and temples, where scenes present a pharaoh or priest offering incense to a mummy or the statue of a god or goddess. The incense signified reverence and prayer, and on a deeper level, it evoked the actual presence of the deity by creating the "fragrance of the gods". The ancient Egyptians also burned incense to ready the deceased to meet the gods in the afterlife.
The ancient Egyptians burned incense daily, with frankincense in the morning, myrrh during the day, and Kyphi (Kapet) in the evening. The ritualized burning of incense was a daily celebration of fragrance, and their most treasured incense was Kyphi. According to Egyptologists, Kyphi played an important role as a sacred fragrance in many ceremonies.
The ancient Egyptians also believed in the God of Fragrance, Nefertum, who represented the first sunlight and the scent of the Egyptian blue lotus flower.
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Funerary rites
The ancient Egyptians used incense in enormous quantities as part of their religious practices. The burning of incense was believed to evoke the presence of a deity, creating the "fragrance of the gods". Priests believed that as they compounded fragrant resins with herbs, honey, wine, and raisins, they were creating the body of the gods.
Incense was also used in funerary rites to mask the scent of decay. The ancient Egyptians mummified their dead, a process that would have resulted in unpleasant odours. Incense was used to cover these smells, with specific types of incense associated with different gods and goddesses. For example, Hathor was strongly associated with myrrh.
The ancient Egyptians also burned incense at different times of the day. According to Plutarch, they burned frankincense in the morning, myrrh at midday, and Kyphi (Kapet) in the evening.
The use of incense in ancient Egypt was not limited to religious or funerary practices. The ancient Egyptians also valued incense for its medicinal properties and as a deodorant or insect repellent. They carefully bought, transported, and stored their incense resins, treating them as emblems of their gods' bodies.
The ancient Egyptians' reverence for incense is evident in the way they procured and stored their resins, as well as in the secret recipes and rituals surrounding its creation and use.
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Daily ritual
Burning incense was an integral part of the daily lives of ancient Egyptians. They believed that incense was the "embodiment of life" and the ""fragrance of the Gods", and was used to communicate with deities and present offerings to statues and pharaohs.
The ancient Egyptians burned incense in enormous quantities as part of their daily rituals. They burned frankincense in the morning, myrrh at midday, and Kyphi (Kapet in Egyptian, and often referred to by its Greek name) in the evening. The burning of incense was a daily celebration of fragrance, with Kyphi being the most treasured for its beautiful, rich, multi-layered aroma. It was also used for medicinal purposes, such as healing snake bites, treating asthma, and curing bad breath.
The preparation and creation of incense were shrouded in secrecy, with priests believing that they were creating the body of the gods. The process involved grinding ingredients and throwing them on hot coals, or mixing them with dried fruit to form small pellets. Many of the ingredients were imported, such as aromatic woods, spices, and resins like myrrh and frankincense. However, some ingredients were homegrown, including iris, lotus, lemongrass, and rose.
The act of burning incense was also a significant part of funerary rites, where incense was burned in tombs to prepare the deceased to meet the gods in the afterlife. This ritual was often performed by a funerary priest or a relative of the deceased, who would light a candle, burn incense, present a jar of unguent, and recite a prayer asking for guidance and protection for the deceased's path to the afterlife.
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Medicinal purposes
Burning incense was an important part of ancient Egyptian culture, with various types of incense being used for different purposes. One of the most well-known types of incense used in ancient Egypt was Kyphi, also known as Kapet in Egyptian and Kyphi in Greek. Kyphi was considered a sacred fragrance and was burned in the evenings as part of daily rituals. It was believed to have medicinal properties and was used to treat a variety of ailments.
Kyphi was made from a variety of ingredients, with some recipes calling for as many as fifty different components. While the exact ingredients used in ancient Egypt remain unknown, it is believed that they included a mix of herbs, gums, flowers, and oils. The manufacture of Kyphi involved blending and boiling the ingredients in a specific sequence, and the final product was rolled into balls and placed on hot coals to release a perfumed smoke. It was also sometimes drunk as a medicine for liver and lung ailments.
The use of Kyphi for medicinal purposes was recorded in ancient manuscripts, with one recipe outlining its use for healing snake bites, treating asthma, and curing bad breath. Other types of incense were also used for medicinal purposes, such as Ihmut and Center, which were obtained from Punt, a place in the southern part of Africa. Additionally, incense was used to scent the bodies of the living and the dead, as well as to purify homes and get rid of negative energy.
The ancient Egyptians also valued the incense trees brought back by Hatshepsut from Punt, as well as various aromatic items imported from the Mediterranean region. These included aromatic woods, spices, and resins such as myrrh, frankincense, cinnamon, cassia, and Galbanum. The Egyptians tried to establish their own frankincense trees, but this does not seem to have been successful. They also used papyrus rind, cedar wood, and pistachio resin to create incense.
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Frequently asked questions
The ancient Egyptians burned incense as an offering to their gods and to communicate with them. They believed that the incense smoke created the "fragrance of the gods", evoking their actual presence.
The ancient Egyptians burned frankincense in the morning, myrrh during the day, and kapet (kyphi) in the evening. Other types of incense include jb, ihmut, and center.
Kyphi was a treasured incense in ancient Egypt, known for its rich, multi-layered aroma. It played a significant role in sacred ceremonies and was believed to induce a magical state of consciousness.
The ancient Egyptians used a variety of ingredients for their incense, including imported fragrances like myrrh, frankincense, cinnamon, cassia, and galbanum. They also used homegrown ingredients such as iris, lotus, lemongrass, and rose.
