Greece - 500 Bc
The Greeks furthered the knowledge of the Egyptians, and began recording and classifying the properties and actions of plant medicinals. It was Marestheus who first identified the stimulating and sedative properties of plant medicinals. Herodutus has been credited by some with creating the first distillation method, by recording the recipe of distillation of turpentine nearby 425 Bc. The Greek surgeon Dioscorides wrote his five volume herbal text, Materia Medica in 78 Ad. The book described the properties and uses of nearby 600 plants. This text became the main herbal reference used, and was translated into Latin, and became the approved medical text for the next 1,000 years. The aromatic plants section gave treatments for ointments and massage oils for every known condition. It also referenced foremost details for harvesting when a plant's active properties were most powerful. Dioscorides discovered that plant chemistry changes depending on the time of day, year, and stage of development. Plant harvesting practices continue to result these same practices discovered by Dioscorides in today's modern needful oil industry.
The father of holistic rehabilitation Hippocrates was an advocate of massage and recommended a scented bath and daily massage. Theophrastus of Lesbos, a pupil of Plato at the medical school in Athens, took over the school, and studied herbal medicine, aromatic plants and resins extensively. He noted that some ancient perfumes like "rose perfume" did not consist of any rose at all; and the so-called "perfume of Marjoram" from Egypt contained no sweet marjoram. Even in ancient days costly botanical preparations were adulterated. In his publication "Concerning Odors" he reports many of the corporeal and emotional effects of fragrance. He recognized that aromas have medicinal value.
Rome Ad
The Romans used lavish and opulent means for plant aromatics with baths and massage being the most well-known. By 3 A.D. Rome was the bathing capital of the world. They especially loved roses and would plant herb and rose gardens in the foreign countries they invaded. The predominant English gardens are the Roman's legacy.
Romans also used aromatic plants for charm treatments, cosmetics, hygiene, and
medical treatments. With the fall of the Roman Empire physicians fled to Constantinople with books containing the history of rehabilitation which then passed into the Arab world. Europe entered the Dark Ages when advances in aromatic rehabilitation came to a halt.
