Preserved on the walls of caves in Lascaux, France,
paintings illustrate the use of medicinal
plants dating back 18,000 years.
Hippocrates (460 BC - 370 BC),
who is referred to as the Father of Medicine,
recommended an essential oil massage
as part of the daily regimen for healthy living.
The first commercial perfume was produced
by the Greeks and Romans and is based
on an Egyptian recipe called Kyphi (1500 BC).
After the decline of the Roman Empire,
much of the distillation process
was lost until the end of the 10th century.
The Arabian physician and philosopher,
Avicenna (980 AD - 1037 AD)
is credited with the discovery
of modern distillation.
The art of extracting precious oils
spread to Europe during the Crusades,
and until the early 1900's some of the most
potent medicines available were essential oils.
The term "aromatherapy"
was coined in the late 1930's
by the French chemist
Dr. Rene'- Maurice Gattefoss,
but the origins of aromatherapy were
lost long before records of any kind were kept.
Pharmacological studies are now supporting
what ancient science has known all along.
