Now when every maid's turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women;)
Now when every maid's turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus. A whole year was spent in preparation for the intended honour. Considering that this took place in a palace, the long period prescribed, together with the profusion of costly and fragrant cosmetics employed, was probably required by state etiquette. At the same time, at is said that from the dirty and neglected way in which the girls of Georgia and Circassia are brought up in their humble homes, a long process of purification is absolutely necessary before these celebrated beauties are fit for being brought into the Turkish markets. Reasons of a similar kind may have originated the cleansing processes at Shushan. But fragrant perfumes were an indispensable a mark of royal gratification to the kings of Persia, that these were burnt before them whenever they went abroad; and it is most likely, therefore, that fondness for cosmetics led to the course described in this passage. In fact, perfumes were used profusely, without regard either to cost or to quality.