A long time ago,people found a way to create a nice smell. They put nice-smelling wood or leaves into a fire. A nice smell came through the smoke. That is how we got the word perfume. In latin,per means"through,"and fumes means "smoke."
In ancient time,people used a lot of perfume. The Greeks used different perfumes for different parts of the body. Everybody used perfume,both men and women. When guests came for a special dinner, the host gave them more perfume to put on themselves. The Romans did the same as the Greeks. But they did not just perfume themselves one a day. They perfumed themselves three times aday! They also perfumed their dogs and horses. They perfumed their flag and things around the house such as drapes and cushions . Perfume was as important as food.