In ancient Egypt, fragrance was part of religion, the body and death. Resins such as frankincense and myrrh were burned in temples; scented oils and ointments — aromatic materials steeped in fats and oils — were used for anointing, grooming, medicine and the preparation of the dead. The best-documented Egyptian fragrance is kyphi, a temple incense whose recipes, with sixteen ingredients, are carved on the walls of the temples at Edfu and Philae. These were not perfumes as we know them: there was no alcohol-based perfume and no distillation of the modern kind. But the materials, the craft of blending and the belief that scent connects people with the divine run through perfume’s history.

Incense for the gods

Egyptian temples burned incense daily. Resins were imported from the lands to the south and east — the Egyptians called one source Punt, probably in the Horn of Africa or elsewhere on the southern Red Sea coast. Reliefs in Queen Hatshepsut’s temple at Deir el-Bahari show an expedition to Punt returning with incense trees and resin. Frankincense and myrrh were among the most valued. See What Does Frankincense Smell Like in Perfume?.

Kyphi

Kyphi was a compound incense, burned in temples and also, according to later writers, drunk as a remedy. Two Ptolemaic-period temples, at Edfu and Philae, preserve recipes carved in their walls: each lists sixteen ingredients, mixed in a set order over many days. The Greek writer Plutarch, in his essay On Isis and Osiris, also lists sixteen ingredients and says they were compounded while sacred texts were read aloud.

The ingredients that can be identified include wine, honey and raisins, aromatic resins such as myrrh and mastic, juniper, cinnamon or cassia, and aromatic roots and grasses. Some names cannot be identified with certainty, which is one reason modern "kyphi" recreations differ.

Kyphi was a perfume for the gods, written in stone so the priests would make it the same way every time.

Oils for the body

Egyptians used scented oils and ointments widely: to protect skin in a dry climate, to perfume the body and hair, and in ritual. Aromatic materials — flowers such as the blue lotus, resins, spices — were steeped in oils and fats. Ointment jars of stone, calcite and faience, some found in tombs, held them. See A History of Perfume Bottles.

Greek and Roman writers later admired Egyptian perfumes. The most famous, called Mendesian after the city of Mendes in the Nile Delta, is described by authors such as Theophrastus; the surviving accounts list myrrh, cassia, resin and an oil called balanos, though whether they match the Egyptian recipe exactly is uncertain. Excavations at Tell Timai, the ancient city of Thmuis near Mendes, have uncovered remains associated with perfume making.

Scent and the dead

Aromatic resins and oils were part of mummification and burial, and perfume containers were placed in tombs. Tomb paintings show guests at banquets with cone shapes on their heads, long interpreted as scented fat that melted in the heat; for many years this was debated, until archaeologists reported finding actual cones, made of wax, in burials at Amarna in 2019. What they were for is still discussed.

Legend and evidence

Ancient Egypt attracts myths. Stories about Cleopatra’s perfumed sails, or a single "perfume of the pharaohs", are later retellings, not records. The firmest evidence is in temple inscriptions, objects and residues, and the descriptions of Greek and Roman writers — and even those leave much uncertain. The long view of how these traditions led to modern perfumery is in A Short History of Perfume.

What survives in perfume today

  • The materials. Frankincense, myrrh, cinnamon and other resins and spices used in Egypt remain important in perfumery, especially in amber and incense perfumes. See Amber Fragrances.
  • Oils as carriers. Perfume oils and solid perfumes continue the ancient practice of carrying scent in oil and fat. See Perfume Oil vs Spray and What Is Solid Perfume?.
  • Incense. Burning fragrant resins is still part of religious and domestic life in many cultures. See Perfume Culture in the Middle East.

Common questions

Did ancient Egyptians wear perfume?

They used scented oils and ointments on the body, which served many of the purposes perfume does today.

What was kyphi made of?

Sixteen ingredients, including wine, honey, raisins, resins such as myrrh, spices and aromatic roots. Some ingredients have not been identified with certainty.

Did Egyptians invent perfume?

No single culture invented perfume. Egypt was one of several ancient civilisations — with Mesopotamia and others — where scented materials were prepared and traded.

What were the cones on Egyptian heads?

Shapes shown in tomb paintings, long thought to be scented fat; wax cones found in burials at Amarna were reported in 2019, but their purpose is still debated.

Sources

The kyphi recipes in the temples of Edfu and Philae (Ptolemaic period). Plutarch, On Isis and Osiris, § 80. Theophrastus, On Odours, on Egyptian (Mendesian) perfume. A. Stevens et al., "From representation to reality: ancient Egyptian wax head cones from Amarna", Antiquity (2019). Reliefs of the expedition to Punt in the temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari.