Athenaeus, The Deipnosophists
C. D. Yonge, B.A., Ed.

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Now, there is a sort of ointment called βάκκαρις by many of the comic poets; and Hipponax uses this name in the following line:—

I then my nose with baccaris anointed,
Redolent of crocus.

And Acheus, in his Aethon, a satyric drama, says—

Anointed o'er with baccaris, and dressing
All his front hair with cooling fans of feathers.

But Ion, in his Omphale, says—

'Tis better far to know the use of μύρα,
And βάκκαρις, and Sardian ornaments,
Than all the fashions in the Peloponnesus.

And when he speaks of Sardian ornaments, he means to include perfumes; since the Lydians were very notorious for their luxury. And so Anacreon uses the word λυδοπαθὴς (Lydian-like) as equivalent to ἡδυπαθὴς (luxurious). Sophocles also uses the word βάκκαρις; and Magnes, in his Lydians, says—

A man should bathe, and then with baccaris
Anoint himself.

Perhaps, however, μύρον and βάκκαρις were not exactly the same thing; for Aeschylus, in his Amymone, makes a distinction between them, and says—

Your βακκάρεις and your μύρα.

And Simonides says—

And then with μύρον,, and rich spices too,
And βάκκαρις, did I anoint myself.

And Aristophanes, in his Thesmophoriazusæ, says— [p. 1103]

O venerable Jove! with what a scent
Did that vile bag, the moment it was open'd,
O'erwhelm me, full of βάκκαρις and μύρον.!¹