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Anointing
was practiced historically in Egypt and throughout the Middle East by women as well as men
as a sign of respect, to cure illnesses and to prepare bodies for burial. The myrrh used in Egypt and other areas in
ceremonial rituals for burials, was also used as a medicine for healing abrasions,
toothaches, bruises, sprains and minor skin ailments.
According
to Pedanius Dioscorides, a first century physician and botanist, myrrh was a
species of mimosa similar in appearance to the Egyptian thorn with a
pinnate-winged leaf structure and the region of Abyssinia produced the best quality. Fluid
myrrh that flows from a fresh cut made in the tree yields a purer substance
than subsequent flows as the tree ages.
Pure myrrh was a highly valued commodity in all parts of the Middle East in ancient times and was exported regularly via
camel caravan trade routes from southern Arabia.
