Kyphi, cyphi, or Egyptian cyphi is a compound
incense that was used in
ancient Egypt for religious and medical purposes.
Word
Kyphi ( la, cyphi) is romanized from Greek κυ̑φι for
Ancient Egyptian "kap-t", incense, from "kap", to perfume, to cense, to heat, to burn, to ignite. The word root also exists in Indo-European languages, with a similar meaning, like in
Sanskrit कपि (kapi) "incense",
Greek καπνός "smoke", and Latin vapor.
History
According to
Plutarch (De Iside et Osiride) and
Suidas (s. v. Μανήθως), the Egyptian priest
Manetho
Manetho (; grc-koi, Μανέθων ''Manéthōn'', ''gen''.: Μανέθωνος) is believed to have been an Egyptian priest from Sebennytos ( cop, Ϫⲉⲙⲛⲟⲩϯ, translit=Čemnouti) who lived in the Ptolemaic Kingdom in the early third ...
(ca. 300 BCE) is said to have written a treatise called "On the preparation of kyphi" (Περὶ κατασκευη̑ϛ κυφίων), but no copy of this work survives.
Three Egyptian kyphi recipes from Ptolemaic times are inscribed on the temple walls of
Edfu and
Philae.
Greek kyphi recipes are recorded by
Dioscorides (
De materia medica, I, 24),
Plutarch and
Galen (De antidotis, II, 2).
The seventh century physician
Paul of Aegina records a "lunar" kyphi of twenty-eight ingredients and a "solar" kyphi of thirty-six.
Production
The Egyptian recipes have sixteen ingredients each. Dioscorides has ten ingredients, which are common to all recipes. Plutarch gives sixteen, Galen fifteen. Plutarch implies a mathematical significance to the number of sixteen ingredients.
Some ingredients remain obscure. Greek recipes mention
aspalathus, which Roman authors describe as a thorny shrub. Scholars do not agree on the identity of this plant: a species of
Papilionaceae (
Cytisus,
Genista or
Spartium),
,
and
Genista acanthoclada have been suggested. The Egyptian recipes similarly list several ingredients whose botanical identity is uncertain.
The manufacture of kyphi involves blending and boiling the ingredients in sequence. According to Galen, the result was rolled into balls and placed on hot coals to give a perfumed smoke; it was also drunk as a medicine for liver and lung ailments.
Dioscorides (10 ingredients)
*
honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
*
wine
*
raisins
*
myrrh
Myrrh (; from Semitic, but see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus ''Commiphora''. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. Myrrh mi ...
*
juniper
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...
berries
*
cyperus (Greek κύπειρος)
*
turpentine (
pine or
terebinth resin, Greek ῥητίνη)
*
aspalathus (Greek ἀσπάλαθος)
*
calamus
Calamus may refer to:
Botany and zoology
* ''Calamus'' (fish), a genus of fish in the family Sparidae
* ''Calamus'' (palm), a genus of rattan palms
* Calamus, the hollow shaft of a feather, also known as the quill
* '' Acorus calamus'', the swe ...
(Ancient Egyptian "kanen", Hebrew קָנֶה, Greek κάλαμος, Latin culmus)
*
rush
Rush(es) may refer to:
Places
United States
* Rush, Colorado
* Rush, Kentucky
* Rush, New York
* Rush City, Minnesota
* Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois
* Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream
* Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...
(Greek σχοῖνος)
Plutarch (+6 ingredients)
*
seseli
''Seseli'' is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Apiaceae. They are sometimes woody at base with a conic taproot. Leaf blades are 1–3-pinnate or pinnately decompound. Umbels are compound, with bracts few or absent. Petals are w ...
(Greek σέσελι)
*
mastic (Greek σχῖνος)
*
bitumen
Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...
*
sorrel
*
cardamom
* small
juniper
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...
berries (?)
Galen (+5 ingredients)
*
cassia
*
cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...
(
cardamom may substitute)
*
saffron
*
bdellium
*
spikenard
Egyptian (+6 ingredients)
*
cassia
*
cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...
*
mastic
*
mint
*
henna
Henna is a dye prepared from the plant ''Lawsonia inermis'', also known as the henna tree, the mignonette tree, and the Egyptian privet, the sole species of the genus ''Lawsonia''.
''Henna'' can also refer to the temporary body art resulting fr ...
*
mimosa
See also
*
Ketoret
*
Riha (Mandaeism)
References
{{reflist
Ancient Egyptian society
Incense material