Olfaction

Can we experience art with our nose? Can artists express themselves through scent? These are among the questions raised by an increasing number of exhibitions dedicated to interdisciplinary artworks which use odours, and sometimes perfume, as an integral element. To sniff  out the answers, Nez takes a plunge into the modern history and development of what is now often called “olfactory art”.

The judgment of pleasantness/unpleasantness is the prominent reaction to the olfactory world. In human adults, the hedonic valence of odor perception is affected by various factors, among which is an individual's lexical knowledge about smells. The present study examined whether such top-down effects of lexical knowledge on hedonic judgment of olfactory input are similar in children (5-6 years) and adults (20-25 years). In both groups, the lexical knowledge was found to influence the perception of the least emotional (or most neutral) odors: the pleasantness of the smells of banana and mint was enhanced when participants were given the corresponding odor label before olfactory sensation. These results lend support to the notion that, during childhood, smells are not only encoded perceptually but that verbal encoding also steers contextual effects that may be prominent factors in the early memorization and categorization of odors.

Humans are gifted at detecting and discriminating odors, yet we have difficulty identifying even the most prevalent everyday odors by name. This paper offers a new explanation for the puzzling discrepancy between our olfactory capacities for discrimination and identification by weaving together recent neuroscientific findings regarding the cortical connectivity of the olfactory system, the olfactory system's proprietary semantic integration center, and recent philosophical research on the olfactory system's compositional format of representation. The paper combines these areas of research to develop the comprehensive explanation that we cannot readily deploy conceptual resources in naming odorants, because of an incompatibility of compositional formats employed by our conceptual semantic resources and the olfactory system.

Mental Imagery, whereby we experience aspect of a perceptual scene or perceptual object in the absence of direct sensory stimulation is ubiquitous. Often the existence of mental imagery is demonstrated by asking one’s reader to volitionally generate a visual object, such as closing ones eyes and imagining an apple. However, mental imagery also arises in auditory, tactile, interoceptive, and olfactory cases. A number of influential philosophical theories have attempted to explain mental imagery in terms of belief-based forms of representation using the Dependence Thesis, dependence upon means of access, such as enactivisim, or in terms of the similarity ofcontent with perceptual processing. The focus ofthis paper concerns the later approach and in particular assessing if Nanay’s promissory note that his theory is applicable to modalities other than vision, such as smell, seems likely to be of theoretical tender. The thesis argued for in this paper is that olfactory imagery exists and is best accounted for by considering it as a type of perceptual processing with a unique representational format relative to the olfactory perceptual modality. The paper concludes by summarizing the applicability of Nanay’s theory of mental imagery for olfaction and suggests some further issues that arise when transitioning to multi-modal mental imagery.

Is the sense of smell a source of aesthetic perception? Traditional philosophical aesthetics has centered on vision and audition but eliminated smell for its subjective and inherently affective character. This article dismantles the myth that olfaction is an unsophisticated sense. It makes a case for olfactory aesthetics by integrating recent insights in neuroscience with traditional expertise about flavor and fragrance assessment in perfumery and wine tasting. My analysis concerns the importance of observational refinement in aesthetic experience. I argue that the active engagement with stimulus features in perceptual processing shapes the phenomenological content, so much so that the perceptual structure of trained smelling varies significantly from naive smelling. In a second step, I interpret the processes that determine such perceptual refinement in the context of neural decision-making processes, and I end with a positive outlook on how research in neuroscience can be used to benefit philosophical aesthetics.

How much does stimulus input shape perception? The common-sense view is that our
perceptions are representations of objects and their features and that the stimulus structures the perceptual object. The problem for this view concerns perceptual biases as responsible for distortions and the subjectivity of perceptual experience. These biases are increasingly studied as constitutive factors of brain processes in recent neuroscience. In neural network models the brain is said to cope with the plethora of sensory information by predicting stimulus regularities on the basis of previous experiences. Drawing on this development, this chapter analyses perceptions as processes. Looking at olfaction as a model system, it argues for the need to abandon a stimulus- centred perspective, where smells are thought of as stable percepts, computationally linked to external objects such as odorous molecules. Perception here is presented as a measure of changing signal ratios in an environment informed by expectancy effects from top-down processes.

1 Laboratory of Comparative Psychology and Behavioral Biology, Departments of Psychology and Zoology, Oklahoma State University, 215 N. Murray, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA 2 Uludag Universitesi, M. Kemalpasa MYO, M. Kemalpasa, Bursa 16500, Turkey 3 Northwestern ...

Objective > To assess the risk of home accidents related to severe hyposmia. Methods > A questionnaire, completed by 57 hyposmic patients and 49 control subjects with a normal sense of smell, asked about four specific types of olfactory-related home accidents: undetected fires, undetected gas leaks, consumption of spoiled food, and incidents of food burning. Level of olfactory function was determined by olfactory testing (Biolfa W ). Results > Olfactory testing revealed that 60% of the patients were anosmic and 40% had severe hyposmia. They reported cookingrelated accidents most often (63%), followed by eating spoiled food (51%), inability to detect a gas leak (47%) and inability to smell a fire (26%). All these accidents were significantly more frequent than in the control population (p < 10 À4 ). Discussion and conclusion > This paper, the first in the European literature and the second in the international literature, shows that patients with severely impaired olfaction are more likely to experience related accidents than those with normal olfactory function.

The dynamic responses of honey bee workers (A@ melftjico ligurtica) to 59 odourants were recorded at six different concentrations. About two-thirds of the odourants elicited the commonly observed negative electroantennograms, though two gave positive results. The other odourants elicited both positive and negative phases. The electroantennogram measurement defined by the absolute sum of the positive and negative amplitudes was a power function of the stimulus concentration, described by the Hill equation. In addition, the electrophysiological threshold, defined as the concentration yielding an electroantennogram of 0.1 mV, was correlated with the exponent of the power function, as found in human psychophysics. A highly significant correlation, also observed between the three parameters of the Hill equation, strongly suggests that two independent parameters are sufficient to reflect the diversity of the experimental curves. Finally, both correlations were improved by expressing odourant concentrations in terms of partial saturated vapour pressure. These results make it possible to further develop a theoretical model of olfactory stimulus-response relationships based on their underlying neurophysiological mechanisms. This work was presented in condensed form by Patte ef 01.

We report the case of a 27-year-old female who presented with a peculiar story of anosmia fluctuating in a circadian manner. Olfactory function appeared an hour after breakfast, was normal during daytime, and disappeared in the early evening. Imaging confirmed chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Initial systemic, followed by topical steroid treatment, rapidly and sustainably reversed this condition. The olfactory fluctuation paralleled the endogenous steroid production. This suggests that slight congestion changes in a chronically inflamed nasal mucosa may have been sufficient to induce this circadian anosmia. The importance of identifying fluctuation of olfactory function as a sign of CRS is emphasized and discussed.

The aim of this study was to investigate in humans whether brain regions activated by the affective aspects of touch could be found. It is known that after the primary somatosensory cortical area (SI), the somatosensory pathways continue to the insula and orbitofrontal cortex, and via both these struc-tures to the amygdala [1卤4]. It is not known where in this

The sensory brain areas of a sample of < 100 deep-sea fish species were studied, and the relative volumes of the olfactory bulb, optic tectum, octavolateral area and gustatory area were determined. In the absence of direct observations on the behaviour of this ichthyofauna these data allow deductions to be made about the kinds of sensory modalities used preferentially in the deep-sea environment. Here, members of three families are compared that have representatives living on or near the sea floor ("demersal") and in the open water between 200 and 1,000 m (mesopelagic). The findings indicate that both regions present fish with rich and diverse sensory environments. While vision emerges as the dominant sense of the mesopelagic realm, olfaction seems more important on or near the bottom of the sea. However, other sensory modalities supplement these senses in species-specific patterns. Considerations of the phyletic relationships indicate different degrees of pervasiveness. Whilst in slickheads the dominance of vision appears to be a family-related trait, a similar relationship is not found in either eels or grenadiers. By contrast, the common trait in these two families seems to be the greater adaptability to the environment.

Clinical experience shows that the individual significance of olfactory function varies between subjects. In order to estimate these individual differences we developed a questionnaire to study the subjective importance of the sense of smell. Questions were arranged within three subscales: association with olfactory sensations, application of the sense of smell, and the readiness to draw consequences from the olfactory perception. The questionnaire was shown to be time efficient, suitable for normosmic subjects and patients with hyposmia or anosmia. It exhibited a good internal reliability (Cronbach's Alpha = 0.77). First results in 123 subjects indicate that the subjective importance of the sense of smell stays at the same level throughout life-span despite of a decreased olfactory sensitivity. Furthermore, women reported a higher importance of olfaction. It is hoped that this questionnaire will contribute to clarify, for example, crosscultural differences in the perception of odours.

En este trabajo se ha comparado la organización de los lóbulos antenales (LAs) y su representación topográfica en los cuerpos fungiformes (CFs) en soldados de dos especies de hormigas, Atta mexicana y Camponotus ocreatus. La comparación morfológica sugiere que los LAs de A. mexicana podrían ser más especializados que los de C. ocreatus a expensas de capacidades más generales. En ambas especies, el LA está organizado en seis grupos de glomérulos, cada uno inervado por su propio tracto. La inervación de las neuronas de proyección (NP), las cuales conectan los LAs con los CFs a través de los tractos antenoprotocerebrales (TAP), divide el LA en dos regiones, anterior y posterior. Los cálices de los CFs tienen varias capas que reciben información olfativa segregada: NP que inervan los grupos anteriores de glomérulos envían axones a través del TAP-lateral hacia el cuerno lateral (CL) y después hacia la capa interna del cáliz, mientras que las NP que inervan los grupos posteriores de glomérulos envían axones a través del TAP-medial a la capa externa del cáliz y después al CL. Estos resultados muestran que la organización del LA está representada topográficamente en los CFs formando un mapa odotópico. Las dos vías que conectan los LAs con los CFs podrían representar dos canales para el procesamiento de diferentes clases de olores o diferentes propiedades de los estímulos olfativos. Los resultados neuroanatómicos sugieren una organización funcional conservada en los himenópteros sociales.

The function of olfactory signalling in social species is less well understood than in asocial species. Consequently, we examined olfactory communication in the ringtailed lemur, a socially complex primate that retains a functional vomeronasal organ, has well-developed scent glands and shows a suite of scentmarking behaviour. To assess the information content of different types of scent gland secretions, we decoupled olfactory cues from the visual and behavioural modalities with which scent marking is normally associated. We presented male and female subjects (signal receivers) with a series of choice tests between odours derived from conspecific donors (signal senders) varying by sex, age, social status and reproductive condition. We additionally examined the influence of the receivers' reproductive state and familiarity with the signaller. The reproductive condition, social status and familiarity of senders and receivers affected signal transmission; specifically, male receivers attended most to the odours of conspecifics in breeding condition and to the odours of familiar, dominant animals. By contrast, females varied their responses according to both their own reproductive state and that of the sender. Based on male and female patterns of countermarking, we suggest that scent marking serves a function in intergroup spacing and intrasexual competition for both sexes, as might be expected in a female-dominant species. By contrast, minimal female interest in male odours counters a female mate choice function for scent marking in this species. Nevertheless, scent marks are critical to maleemale competition and, therefore, may be subject to sexual selection.

This work shows the influence of odour condition in a hedonic evaluation task of colour. Perceptive effects of colours on the perception of odours are already known. This research is focused on the opposite cross-modal effect of the olfactory system on the visual system. During two pre experiments six colours (three pleasant/three unpleasant) and two odours (one pleasant/one unpleasant) were selected. In the main experiment * Correspondance : Ferrier Laurent ou Jiménez Manuel, L'année psychologique, 2009, 109, 361-381 Ferrier r Streff r Martin r Brouillet r Barkat-Defradas r Jiménez 60 participants evaluate the six colours. In this experiment colour was coupled to three olfactory conditions (match/without odour/mismatch). The results show significant effects of colour and of interaction between colour and the coupled olfactory condition. The results are discussed with theories of the perception that include a cross-modal simulator in their fundamental processes.

Throughout this workshop, you will learn about the smells that defined the mummification chambers and tombs, and the scents that the ancient Egyptians themselves wished to be surrounded by in their life after death. In the first hour, Dora will teach you about the olfactory motivation for mummification and the substances employed during the process. In the second hour, she will give you a detailed insight into the materials. You will be able to smell each ingredient and you will learn about their significance for the Egyptians and the reasons behind their use. In the third and last hour, you will recreate the essence of mummification in a bottle by using the very same ingredients the ancient Egyptians employed for embalming their dead. Don’t worry, you will end up with an exceedingly pleasant smell.

Time and Date: September 28, 2019, 11am-2pm
Price: 90€ | Students / Artists / Stadspas: 63€
Location: Mediamatic, Dijksgracht 6, Amsterdam
Tickets available on https://www.mediamatic.net/en/page/374727/recreate-the-essence-of-mummification

Animals use the chemical compounds of plants as a defence mechanism against enemies, and sometimes use olfaction to discriminate and select the chemical plant substances. Some birds bring to the nest plant material that has volatile compounds that protect the host and their offspring against parasitic organisms. Here we show that blue tits on the island of Corsica (Parus caeruleus ogliastrae) adorn their nests with fragments of aromatic plants. These plants have chemical compounds that are used by humans to make aromatic house cleaners and herbal medicines. We also show that individual blue tits maintain an aromatic nest environment when offspring are raised, using odour cues to determine the frequency with which they replenish the nest with fresh plant material. We provide an exceptional example of the ecologically relevant use of olfaction by birds under natural conditions. To our knowledge, we present the first experimental demonstration that a free-ranging animal makes use of smell to maintain an aromatic environment for offspring with plants, supporting predictions of the nest protection hypothesis.

Decades of cognition research have shown that external stimuli “spark” neural patterns in particular regions of the brain. This has fostered a view of the brain as a space that we can map: here the brain responds to faces, there it perceives a sensation in your left hand. But it turns out that the sense of smell—only recently attracting broader attention in neuroscience—doesn’t work this way. A. S. Barwich asks a deceptively simple question: What does the nose tell the brain, and how does the brain understand it?

Barwich interviews experts in neuroscience, psychology, chemistry, and perfumery in an effort to understand the biological mechanics and myriad meanings of odors. She argues that it is time to stop recycling ideas based on the paradigm of vision for the olfactory system. Scents are often fickle and boundless in comparison with visual images, and they do not line up with well-defined neural regions. Although olfaction remains a puzzle, Barwich proposes that what we know suggests the brain acts not only like a map but also as a measuring device, one that senses and processes simple and complex odors.

Accounting for the sense of smell upsets theories of perception philosophers have developed. In their place, Smellosophy articulates a new model for understanding how the brain represents sensory information.

Throughout this workshop, you will learn about the smells that defined the mummification chambers and tombs, and the scents that the ancient Egyptians themselves wished to be surrounded by in their life after death. The event is run by Egyptologist Dora Goldsmith and olfactory artist Klara Ravat.

The workshop will take three hours and is made up of three components. In the first hour, Dora will teach you about the olfactory motivation for mummification and the substances employed during the process. You will be able to smell each ingredient and you will learn about their significance for the Egyptians and the reasons behind their use. In the second hour, Klara will give you an insight to the materials by teaching you about their composition and their use in modern perfumery. In the third and last hour, you will recreate the essence of mummification in a bottle by using the very same ingredients the ancient Egyptians employed for embalming their dead! Don’t worry, you will end up with an exceedingly pleasant smell!

Visit the Smell Lab in Berlin to learn about mummification and to experience a part of ancient Egypt coming back to life through your nose!

Price: 65€ + ticket fee
Time and Date: March 23, 2019, 5pm-8pm
Location: Smell Lab, Berlin
Tickets are available on: https://www.smell-lab.org/egyptianafterlife
For questions, please e-mail: hello@smell-lab.org

The present study was designed to investigate autonomic cued reactivity to olfactory alcohol stimuli in alcoholics. Twenty outpatient alcoholics and 20 social drinkers were exposed to high-and low-potency alcohol and neutral odors. The alcoholics showed greater skin conductance responses and increased heart rate acceleration responses to the high-potency alcohol odor than social drinkers, while there was no difference between the groups' responses to the low-potency alcohol odor. Alcoholics also reported greater difficulties in resisting a potential offer for a drink after relative to before the experiment, while there was no change in the desire to drink. The results indicate that alcohol cues are perceived as emotionally aversive and elicit a defensive response to avoid further processing of these stimuli. The increased autonomic reactivity may thus reflect a shift of focus from the environmental alcohol cues to internal thoughts and feelings. A rigid internal focus may constrain the ability to resist alcohol consumption and thus be a critical determinant in promoting craving and relapse in alcoholics. 572 K. M. STORMARK et al. cal Review, 89(5), 507-528.

The integration of olfactory, taste and trigeminal perceptions must be taken into account to better understand the perception of beverages. To do this, seven beverages were formulated to investigate the role of ingredients on trigeminal perception. All mutual interactions between olfactory, gustatory and trigeminal perceptions were studied. Instrumental measurements and sensory evaluation were used to elucidate both physicochemical and sensory interactions. Sensory profiling was conducted according to monadic product presentation, and in vivo aroma release was assessed in the nasal cavities of subjects during beverage consumption.This study further revealed the influence of trigeminal perception on taste and aroma in complex beverages. The addition of CO2 in beverages induced a decrease in sweetness perception, an increase in sourness perception and an enhancement of aroma perception. Physicochemical and/or physical mechanisms (pH, aroma stripping effect) were assumed to be at the origin of these gustatory and olfactory interactions. Furthermore, the addition of mint flavoring enhanced tingling and freshness perceptions, highlighting perceptual interactions. The presence of sugar was shown to decrease the freshness perception but not the tingling perception.

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Three studies explored kin recognition through olfaction. In Study I, adults ðN ¼ 22Þ were tested for ability to identify the odors of themselves; their mother; their father; a sister; a brother; a familiar, unrelated individual; and a stranger. Acquaintances were identified as accurately as biological kin, implicating an association mechanism. However, biological kin were often confused, implicating phenotypic matching. Same-sex kin were confused more than opposite-sex kin, but mainly when same-sex kin had odors of similar intensity. Study II implicated phenotypic matching. Mothers ðN ¼ 18Þ could identify their biological children but not their stepchildren. The preadolescent children ðN ¼ 37Þ identified their full siblings but not half-siblings or stepsiblings. Thus, olfactory cues may help mediate favoritism of blood relatives. In Study III, mutual olfactory aversion occurred only in the father-daughter and brother-sister nuclear family relationships. Recognition occurred between opposite-sex siblings but not same-sex siblings. Thus, olfaction may help mediate the development of incest avoidance during childhood (the Westermarck effect).

I consider the metaphysics of farts. I contrast the essential-bum-origin view with a phenomenological view, and I argue in favour of the latter. Le Petomane performed at the Moulin Rouge in the 1890s to the great and good of the day, such as Sigmund Freud, the Prince of Wales, and the King of Belgium. His art was musical farting. He perfected musical farting into an art form. And there are still musical farting performances today. There is an Austrian duet, for example, who dress in formal evening wear with long coat and tails, but the trousers have a discrete hole through which the instrument can be played. But what exactly is a fart? There are two ways of thinking of farts, or two concepts of farts. A fart is either a thing or an act. We fart farts. Let us begin with farts considered as things. What are the identity conditions of fart-things? Are they proper objectsreidentifiable particulars? Suppose someone emits a series of farts in rapid succession, like a staccato trumpet call. Is that many distinct farts? But in a nearby possible world in which the emission of gas was more legato with no breaks, would there only have been one long fart, with pulsations in volume (in both senses)? Is that legato fart the same fart as the series of staccato farts? What about the origins of farts? Once one thinks of farts as objects out there in the world, it is natural to think that they have essential origins in bums. If particular farts have

Lecture title: The Smell of Gardens in Ancient Egypt
Date: December 4, 2019
Lecture series by Dora Goldsmith: The Scent of Ancient Egypt, November 20 - December 11, 2019
Location: Haus Bastian, Center for Cultural Education, Egyptian Museum Berlin

As a non-visual mode of communication, body odour plays a significant role in perceptions of self-identity, the identification of others and the social and psychological aspects of interpersonal exchange. What is more, it is a reflection of our genetic make-up, state of health and our environment. The use of perfume to mask or control body odour is a long-established practice extending from early civilisations. Sprayed on the skin, perfume is understood to stimulate mood or memory, effect cognitive performance or confidence, and even influence sexual attraction. Modern advances in manufacturing technologies however are producing a shift in methods of fragrance delivery. From conventional sprays we are moving toward microencapsulated garments and sensory fashion designs that respond to biometric measures such as heart rate or body temperature. Against this background of technological innovation in fashion and beauty practices, self-labelled ‘body architect’ Lucy McRae has developed the Swallowable Parfum (2011). Wresting smell back into the realm of the conceptual, McRae and collaborator, synthetic biologist Sheref Mansy, propose the release of a unique genetic scent ‘synthesized from the body’s natural processes,’ and emitted through perspiration. Crossing the dermal threshold, Swallowable Parfum internalises what has previously been an external bodily practice. Can McRae’s project be seen simply as an evolution of technological advances predicated on cosmetic surgical procedures that transform the body? Will such a product render subjects alien from their biological selves, and produce crises in relations with others? Does this speculative project widen the scope of olfaction, or can we understand this as yet another way of colonising bodily functions that are recuperated back into commodity? This chapter will explore these possibilities, including the prospect that Swallowable Parfum has the potential to create a revised ‘epidermic self-awareness,’ transcending its own difference to create a new, even if synthesised, embodied subjectivity.

The questions, exercises, and assignments on these pages are designed to guide students' reading of the literary work and to provide suggestions for exploring the implications of the story through discussions, research, and writing. Most of the items can be handled individually, but small group and whole class discussions will enhance comprehension. The Response Journal should provide students with a means, first, for recording their ideas, feelings, and concerns, and then for reflecting these thoughts in their writing assignments and class discussions. These sheets may be duplicated, but teachers should select and modify items according to the needs and abilities of their students.

Olfactory dysfunction, including anosmia and hyposmia is difficult to treat. Although the mechanism is not well known, stellate ganglion block (SGB) is used to treat olfactory dysfunction. There are no prior studies on the long-term effects of SGB on olfactory dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the continuity of therapeutic effects and patient satisfaction with SGB treatment.

An olfactory artist (Klara Ravat) and an Egyptologist (Dora Goldsmith) came together to create a workshop, where you can make your own perfume based on an ancient Egyptian recipe that dates back to as early as the building of the pyramids. Throughout this workshop, we will follow an ancient Egyptian recipe step-by-step to create a solid perfume. You will receive a copy of the original hieroglyphic text with a translation and explanations, as well as all the required materials. Dora will guide you through the text and present an overview of the history of the recipe. Klara will introduce you to perfume-making and give you an insight into the materials. Beside the traditional, solid perfume, we will also make a modern, liquid version of the fragrance. The workshop will take three hours. At the end of the event, you will go home with two bottles. One of them will contain a solid perfume based on an ancient Egyptian recipe, the other its modern-day, liquid equivalent. Join us to create a piece of fragrant history that you can take home with you! Price: 60€ + ticket fee. Time and Date: July 15, 2018, 3pm-6pm. Location: Lacuna Lab, Berlin-Kreuzberg. https://www.smell-lab.org/ancientegyptian

The scent kit includes six of my scent reconstructions, which are all based on my PhD research on the sense of smell in ancient Egypt. It also includes a detailed description of the significance of each scent for the ancient Egyptian culture.
(1)  Mendesian
(2)  Mummification
(3)  Kyphi
(4)  Ancient Egyptian garden fragrance
(5)  Flowers at the pond
(6)  Scent of ancient Egyptian festivals
Price: 120€ + shipping

The mummy kit contains the following:
(1) Six scent reconstructions representing the olfactory landscape of mummification based on my PhD research on the fragrant materials involved in the process of mummification
(2) Two phials to illustrate the substances used to prepare the dead for their next life
(3) An 8-page-long article about the smell of mummification and ancient Egyptian afterlife
Price: 130€ + shipping

The hieroglyphic script teaches us that fish was the prototype of stench in ancient Egypt, as every word related to unpleasant smell was classified with a fish classifier. Multiple written sources inform us explicitly that fish, birds and their natural environment in Egypt, the swamps of the Delta, stank. The Nile Delta is found in the north of Egypt and it is where the Egyptians went fishing and fowling. Fish and birds in their evil-smelling environment symbolized several concepts at the same time: stench, chaos, evil, the enemy and being far away from home. It was the king’s duty to annihilate bad smells by going fishing and fowling in the dangerous, foul-smelling swamps and to secure a sweet-smelling urban environment, where the scent of perfumes and flowers filled the air. In the royal battle against evil, fish and fowl symbolized the stench, danger and the enemy that the king had to defeat. Unpleasant smells were closely related to the archenemy of the king, the god Seth. Seth, the god of all evil, incorporated all these aspects in his figure: fish and fowl, the enemy, and foul smells. Nevertheless, his evil and unpleasant nature was a necessary part of existence. There was no good without evil. There was no perfume without stench.