Yes, extensively — burning aromatic resins as temple offerings, and anointing priests, statues or the dead with scented oils, was common practice across Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Greek and Roman religious life, with fragrance widely seen as a way of honouring and communicating with the divine.

Why scent held such spiritual weight

Aromatic smoke rising toward the sky was often interpreted quite literally as a way of carrying prayers or offerings upward, which is part of why frankincense and myrrh in particular became so central to religious ritual across multiple ancient cultures independently. Anointing was also a common religious and ceremonial act, marking priests, rulers or the deceased as set apart or blessed, a practice that echoes even in some religious traditions and language used today.

  • Burning resins like frankincense and myrrh as offerings
  • Anointing priests, rulers and the dead with scented oils
  • Fragrance seen as a way of honouring or communicating with the divine

This connection between scent and the sacred persists in many religious traditions today, from incense used in various forms of worship to the continued practice of anointing in certain ceremonies.

Even everyday household use of scented oils in the ancient world often carried a spiritual dimension that’s quite different from how we tend to think about fragrance purely as personal grooming today.

Our guide to the history of perfume and our complete guide to perfume cover this connection between scent and religion in more detail.