Semiramis

Semiramis has been a popular subject for paintings in the style of the one above which was made by Christian Köhler in 1852. I don't know if this was a result of Rossini's opera Semiramide, or if both paintings and opera were prompted by another cause. As Semiramis must have been:

a mythical Assyrian queen, noted for her beauty and wisdom. She was reputed to have conquered many lands and founded the city of Babylon. After a long and prosperous reign she vanished from earth in the shape of a dove and was thereafter worshiped as a deity, acquiring many of the characteristics of the goddess Ishtar. The historical figure behind this legend is probably Sammuramat, who acted as regent of Assyria from 810 to 805 B.C.

I have my doubts if this was how Assyrian Queens dressed in the 9th century before we started counting. I think I prefer this statue:

although I have to admit that it looks more like a dancing queen than like a warrior. But of course even a warrior queen must have had time to dance.  


The perfume was one in the series of Warrior Queens that was issued in 2009 by Black Phoenix Trading Post. The story that comes with Semiramis's perfume is this:

A legendary Assyrian queen, often identified with Sammu-Ramat, the wife of Shamshi-Adad V, she was believed to be the daughter of the goddess Atargatis. Her youth was filled with mythic adventure, and her otherworldly beauty and voluptuous sexuality ensured her two advantageous marriages. When she took the reins of power of Empress of Assyria, she expanded her kingdom by conquering much of Mesopotamia and Asia. She beautified and revitalized Babylon, and implemented improvements in Nineveh that helped to moderate the flow of the Tigris. She was renowned for her military and political prowess, as well as her ferocious and merciless sexual appetite.

HER PERFUME
Red musk, pomegranate, orange blossom, and melon.

The legend of her sexual appetite seems to have sprouted form the story that in order to have her power safe from men making presumptions because they had a relationship with her, she had each lover killed after one night of passion. (source) 


It may be because the perfume has aged for three years now, but unlike the first reviews I read the first note I smell is the melon note and I think the orange blossom, not the red musk or the pomegranate. And in fact the color of the perfume is no longer red (if it ever was), it is a rather dark brown. It has a lot of staying power. I find that scents disappear fast when the weather is warm, but although this is a very warm day Semiramis stayed strong and I only reapplied once.