There are two kinds of cinnamon. Cinnamomum zeylanicum is called true cinnamon and is native to Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon. The other is from the cassia tree, which grows in Vietnam, China, Indonesia and Central America. This is the cinnamon used in North America. It is more bitter than Ceylon cinnamon.
Cinnamon was used in ancient Chinese medicine for the treatment of fever, diarrhea and menstrual problems. It was also used as incense in Chinese temples. When the Egyptians discovered it, cinnamon was included in their embalming process. Its oil was used in ancient Hebrew anointing rituals. In biblical times, cinnamon was used as a perfume, a spice and to treat indigestion.
In the Middle Ages, Arabs brought cinnamon and other spices from Asia to Egypt on caravan trade routes. They concocted stories to hide the source of the cinnamon to justify its scarcity and cost. The mythical cinnamologus bird originated from this practice. The Arabs claimed that the bird made its nests of cinnamon sticks in Arabia, but they didn't know from where the bird brought them. Obtaining the cinnamon required dislodging the birds from their perilous, cliff-hanging nests by various heroic means.
At the start of the Middle Ages, Pliny the Elder wrote that 350 grams of cinnamon were worth 5,000 grams of silver. Only the wealthy and powerful had access to the spice.
In 65 A.D., Roman Emperor Nero is said to have burned a year's supply of cinnamon at his wife's funeral, possibly in remorse for having caused her death.
Cinnamon was once used to help preserve meat, and to mask the odor of its aging.
Cinnamon, along with grape vines and ivy, is a sacred plant of Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstasy. The Phoenix, the bird that rises from its ashes in mythology, uses cinnamon, myrrh and spikenard to build the magic fire in which it is reborn.
Medicinally, cinnamon has been used at one time or another as a remedy for coughs and sore throats; for the common cold and flu; for uterine problems; and for what 12th century German abbess/herbalist Hildegard of Bingen called "inner decay of slime."
The Egyptian queen Cleopatra was famous for her use of seductive oils and scents, and no doubt employed cinnamon oil in her arsenal. It has had its uses in love potions as well.
Cinnamon was used in ancient Chinese medicine for the treatment of fever, diarrhea and menstrual problems. It was also used as incense in Chinese temples. When the Egyptians discovered it, cinnamon was included in their embalming process. Its oil was used in ancient Hebrew anointing rituals. In biblical times, cinnamon was used as a perfume, a spice and to treat indigestion.
In the Middle Ages, Arabs brought cinnamon and other spices from Asia to Egypt on caravan trade routes. They concocted stories to hide the source of the cinnamon to justify its scarcity and cost. The mythical cinnamologus bird originated from this practice. The Arabs claimed that the bird made its nests of cinnamon sticks in Arabia, but they didn't know from where the bird brought them. Obtaining the cinnamon required dislodging the birds from their perilous, cliff-hanging nests by various heroic means.
At the start of the Middle Ages, Pliny the Elder wrote that 350 grams of cinnamon were worth 5,000 grams of silver. Only the wealthy and powerful had access to the spice.
In 65 A.D., Roman Emperor Nero is said to have burned a year's supply of cinnamon at his wife's funeral, possibly in remorse for having caused her death.
Cinnamon was once used to help preserve meat, and to mask the odor of its aging.
Cinnamon, along with grape vines and ivy, is a sacred plant of Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstasy. The Phoenix, the bird that rises from its ashes in mythology, uses cinnamon, myrrh and spikenard to build the magic fire in which it is reborn.
Medicinally, cinnamon has been used at one time or another as a remedy for coughs and sore throats; for the common cold and flu; for uterine problems; and for what 12th century German abbess/herbalist Hildegard of Bingen called "inner decay of slime."
The Egyptian queen Cleopatra was famous for her use of seductive oils and scents, and no doubt employed cinnamon oil in her arsenal. It has had its uses in love potions as well.