RATIONES RERUM 23: Articolo Giuseppe Squillace

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Rationes Rerum 23

GIUSEPPE SQUILLACE
Quali donne in profumeria? Nota a Teofrasto, De odoribus 42

In the treatise De odoribus (§ 42), Theophrastus, reporting information taken from Athenian myrepsoi and myropolai, lists the perfumes for men and those for women. Among the latter, preferred for their strength and persistence, he includes the myrrh stakte, the Megaleion, the Aigyption, the amarakinon, and the nardinon – refined and very expensive fragrances within the reach of rich buyers only. Starting from Theophrastus’ passage, this article questions how perfumes were chosen and purchased by free, married, and wealthy Athenian women who, according to our sources, spent their days in the gynaeceum, showing themselves in public only on the occasion of religious festivals and funerals.