Myrrh (Commiphora sp) has a history older than humankind. Deeply connected to death, healing and the divine, myrrh is a smoky, strongly scented gum resin especially from Commiphora myrrha. Myrrh is used in medicine, perfumes, incense and the quest for ecstasy.
As a mild recreational substance in ancient times myrrh is added to wine or later, posca.
Posca is a blend of vinegar, wine, and water, often called vinegar in Greek texts as the Greeks have no word for posca.
It's generally a drink of commoners. Emperor Hadrian (r. 117 to 138 AD), famous for living among the soldiers, drinks posca as part of his regular fare.
Egyptians embalm the dead using myrrh and natron, a type of soda ash salt, as well as a wide range of scents and preservatives such as bitumen and cinnamon. Myrrh grows naturally in today's Somalia, Oman, Yemen, Eritrea, Ethiopia and parts of Saudi Arabia.
The Fifth Dynasty ruler of Egypt, King Sahure (c. 2465 - 2325 BCE), records the earliest known expedition to the land of Punt in southeast Egypt and the Horn of Africa. The land of Punt as it's called at the time is rich in natural resources.
The expedition brings back some people of Punt as well as wild animals such as cheetahs, baboons, a secretary bird, and skins of giraffes. Naturally formed beads of resin are used in local jewelry.
The Egyptians also import ebony, ivory, frankincense and myrrh. In the tomb of Sahure, a depiction of this event shows the King rising up to the heavens bearing a myrrh tree.
Because the myrrh tree grows naturally in the Land of Punt, myrrh resin is an important object of trade. The Egyptians also transplant myrrh trees.
The gummy sap comes from wounds to the branches and trunks. Hardened, it produces a brownish gold chunky resin with a spicy to musky scent.
The syrupy thick resin gum is translucent with emerging. It ranges in color from gold and copper to deeper red. Various Commiphora species produce myrrh. The plant is also called the dindin tree, African myrrh, herabol myrrh, Somali myrrh and common myrrh.
Myrrh is used is rituals as incense. Spiritually, myrrh connects to divinity. It cleanses and purifies a space for magical or creative purposes. Myrrh is associated with death as a beginning, the earth as a place of rebirth, and the divine connection of heavens and earth.
In medieval egg tempera painting, myrrh is used in church panels and murals to impart a scent of divinity as well as cover the odor of egg curing. In natural healing, myrrh flower, gum resin, myrrh oil tea, ointments, aromatherapy and extracts of myrrh are used to treat indigestion, ulcers, colds, cough, asthma, respiratory congestion and arthritis.
In liniments, myrrh has analgesic properties for muscle sprains. With natural painkilling and anti-bacterial qualities myrrh is also used to treat toothache, and as an antiseptic mouthwash.
Myrrh is prominent in the Christmas carol "We Three Kings" written by Pennsylvanian rector John Henry Hopkins Jr in 1857 CE. Three kings or wise men of the Orient visit the stable cradle of newborn baby Jesus.
They bring gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Myrrh inspires the darkest verse of the song:
"Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
breathes a life of gathering gloom.
Sorrowing, sighing
Bleeding, dying
Sealed in a stone-cold tomb."
Like Egyptians, Romans and Christians use myrrh for embalming the dead. When Jesus is buried after his crucifixion he's wrapped in myrrh and aloe.
The plant is now known to help preserve the body as its active compounds destroy bacteria. Myrrh is also an ingredient of the holy anointing oil for consecrating priests, the tabernacle and kings.
In the Monty Python comedy Life of Brian (1979), produced by George Harrison, myrrh causes an issue in the opening scenes, when three wise men mistake baby Brian for the Messiah. It's a brilliant movie.
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