The History of Incense

Trees which produce frankincense are guarded by winged serpents, small in size and of various colours. And they cannot be driven away from the trees by any other thing, but only the smoke of the storax. The stories of venomous flying snakes were repeated a number of ancient greek writers. Few of those who explored the coast of arabia by sea were ever brave enough to venture inland to see the incense plantations for themselves. We will never know whether this was a simple legend, or whether was a purposeful piece of disinformation spread by arab frankincense farmers to scare others away from their lucrative industry.