Spice use in Antiquity

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.

Spices classified as coriander, fennel, juniper, cumin, garlic and thyme are named in 1550 BCE Egyptian papyri for their specific health effects.

The early Chinese publication of "The Classic Herbal" dating from around 2700 BCE listed more than a hundred medicinal plants.

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.

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.

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.

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