and powers So herbs and spices became important in the sacrificial fires and incense of religious ceremonies; they were offerings to the gods, a way of evoking their presence and imagining their heaven Perfumes — a word that comes from the Latin for “through fire” — have long been the source of a similarly mysterious appeal The Aromas of Holiness and Paradise In the religions of the ancient world, spices were a means by which spiritual fulfillment could be symbolized and experienced as a form of sensuous delight A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, Spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices: A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out — Song of Solomon, 4:12–15 Allah will deliver them from the evil of that day and make their faces shine with joy He will reward them for their steadfastness with robes of silk and the delights of Paradise… They shall be served with silver dishes, and beakers as large as goblets; silver goblets which they themselves shall measure: and cups brimfull with ginger-flavored water from the Fount of Selsabil — The Koran, “Man,” 76: 11–15 The Evolving World of Taste and Smell We humans are animals, and for all animals, ... of living waters, and streams from Lebanon Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out — Song of Solomon, 4:12–15 Allah will deliver them... will deliver them from the evil of that day and make their faces shine with joy He will reward them for their steadfastness with robes of silk and the delights of Paradise… They shall be served... dishes, and beakers as large as goblets; silver goblets which they themselves shall measure: and cups brimfull with ginger-flavored water from the Fount of Selsabil — The Koran, “Man,” 76: 11–15 The Evolving World of Taste and Smell