Pot-Pourris and Pomanders

In the highly developed civilizations of ancient Persia and Egypt, the perfume and beauty of flowers and plants was regarded as being of great importance. And in classical Greece fragrance was considered a sign of divinity. Indeed, the word perfume is derived from the Latin per fumum meaning through smoke; a reference to the practice of burning aromatics, such as the Egyptian paste kyphi made with juniper berries, to perfume the air in temples. The burning of incense in churches is still practised.