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Spices have been around in conjunction with human use for millennium, many civilizations in antiquity used a variety of spices for their common qualities. The variety of spices were used for common purposes among the ancient world, and they were also used to create a variety of products designed to enhance or suppress certain sensations. Spices were also associated with certain rituals to perpetuate a superstition, or fulfill a religious obligation, among other things.
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Ancient Egypt
Spices classified as coriander, fennel, juniper, cumin, garlic and thyme are named in 1550 BCE Egyptian papyri for their specific health effects.
Chinese Influence
The early Chinese publication of "The Classic Herbal" dating from around 2700 BCE listed more than a hundred medicinal plants.
Ancient Mesopotamia
Sumerian clay tablets dating from the 3rd millennium BCE mention various plants, including thyme. King Merodach-baladan II (721-710 BC) of Babylonia grew many spices and herbs (Ex: cardamom, coriander, garlic, thyme, saffron, and turmeric). The Babylonian moon god was thought to control medicinal plants.
Indian Origins
Spices and herbs such as black pepper, cinnamon, turmeric, and cardamom have been used by Indians for thousands of years for culinary and health purposes. A poultice of sesame was used by surgeons as early as the 4th century BCE for its antiseptic purposes on post operative wounds.
Greece and Rome
Largely due to Alexander the Great's conquest, of Asia Minor and the Hellenic World, was he able to gain access to many Eastern spices. Many Eastern spices like pepper, cassia, cinnamon, and ginger were imported by the ancient Greeks. Hippocrates, often called the "Father of Medicine,"wrote many treatises on medicinal plants including saffron, cinnamon, thyme, coriander, mint, and marjoram. One of the most important Greek medicinal spices was used as early as the 7th century BCE and was known as Silphium, a plant that went extinct in the 1st century CE.
Common Spices by Region
Many spices originated from particular regions in the classical world, however they made their way invariably from one region to another across the ancient world through trade.
Mediterranean
Central and Northern Europe
South Asia
West and Central Asia
Africa
Cultivation
The main reason saffron is considered one of the most expensive spices in the world is due to the cultivation process coupled with the amount of produced saffron per Crocus (Crocus sativus) cultivated. The process of cultivating saffron is so laborious a process because only three red stigma (saffron) are produced from one crocus flower. It takes about 4,000 stigma to produce one ounce of saffron.
Coriander is an annual shrub cultivated for its aromatic seeds which was used as a condiment or for medicinal use as a carminative and stimulant. It was cultivated in Greece as early as the 2nd millennium BCE, even though it originally came from the West Asia/North Africa region. Linear B tablets talk of its use in perfumes as well as use of spice from the seed and herb from its leaves. Coriander seeds were planted in the month of July but only germinates when its moistened. The species is particularly opposed to hot weather which mildews the coriander leaf. It was also cultivated for medicinal cooling effects, when applied with bread, to an ulcer and for expelling worms when mixed with wine.
Caper is a biennial spiny shrub that bears round fleshy leaves and big pinkish-white flowers. This spice is native to the Greek Islands growing in rocky coastal areas. There were very few preservatives in ancient times, so capers were cultivated for their pickling qualities. The spice from capers comes from the unopened flower buds. The earliest found reference and use comes from Greece in the 7th century BCE. However the beginning of the intentional cultivation of capers is unclear, dated to anytime between the 4th century BCE and 1st century CE.
Opium poppy is an annual plant with white spotted petals and a large ovoid capsule native to the Iberian Peninsula, the spice comes from the oil released by the poppy seed during a cold press. The seeds are steeped in warm water to make a tea for the medicinal purpose of calming a cough.
Celery is a biennial plant, native to the mediterranean region where it grows close to the sea or in moist places. Celery is harvested for its vegetative body which can be eaten raw, and for its seed which are used for flavorings and its medicinal use as a remedy for kidney stones. Earliest known Greek use of Celery was in the 9th century BCE. Other medicinal uses of celery include its good regulatory effects and as a soporific drug.
Perfumes
Greek inclination towards bathing which started in the 1st millennium BCE spread the use of oils and perfumed oils. Many Greek cities and scholars fought against the use of perfumed oils making them illegal for men to purchase. Baths continued to gain popularity when in the 1st century BCE, following the fall of the Greek city states to Roman Rule, the Romans began building public bathhouses. Use of cinnamon by soaking cinnamon leaves produced a product that sweetened the breath and scented clothing.
Frankincense was also used as a sacred perfume to fumigate houses due to its known medicinal uses for bronchitis and coughs, swellings, and dental problems.
It was said that the Gods wished to be perfumed, whereupon their sacred spaces would be filled with the smell of burning incense or their occult symbols were anointed with oils.
An example of how an ancient Jasmine Perfume was created:
"Jasmine flowers (50 g) were placed in 500 ml sesame oil and the mixture was stirred with hands previously rubbed with honey. After 24 [hours] the mixture was filtered and jasmine flowers were pressed (with hands rubbed with honey) to recover the fragrant oil. Sodium chloride was added and after a few minutes it was filtered; 50 g new jasmine flowers and 4.5 g cardamom were added to the oil and the mixture was stirred with hands rubbed with honey. After 24 [hours], the steps were repeated to six cold digestions to obtain about 125 ml oil. Then 14.4 g myrrh, 7.5 g cinnamon and 1.7 g saffron were added to the oil. Finally, after 2 [hours], the mixture was filtered into a glass bottle coated with honey."
The spice Saffron has been considered one the most expensive spices in the course of human history, one of its many primary uses come from the oil extracted from the plant which is a necessary ingredient in many perfumes.
Medicine
Spices have been used for their medicinal qualities as far back as traceable history and even now with current archaeological discoveries, pre-history. There are many specific groups under which certain spices fall.
Spices offer a variety of qualities, the medicinal quality of spices such as horseradish with its strong and bitter taste were believed by the Greeks to alleviate back pain, and its use for treatment of scurvy led to its being worth its weight in gold. Other such characteristics of horseradish that is indicative of many other kinds of spices such as its use as a diuretic.
Common Medicinal Spices by Genre:
Ritual Use
The ritual use of spices was common in the classical era, in many instances spices were used in oils by soaking them or creating fragrances by burning them. However many of the spices that became common place in the late classical period were spices that were originally from countries outside of Roman territory and acquired through trade.
For example, an excerpt from the Eight Book of Moses states the correct incense according to the god:
The Jews in Jerusalem had access to spices that originated from India and came by way of the Spice Trade, whether it was due to their position on the Spice Trade route or through access given to them by their connection with the Roman Empire. It was said that Jesus was anointed in an oil of exotic spice from Indian origins called Spikenard, which was proof that the Roman Empire's Spice Trade established exotic spices as necessary for certain Mediterranean culture's religious practices.