A higher dimensional generalization of the cross product is associated with an adequate matrix multiplication. This index-free view allows for a better understanding of the underlying algebraic structures, among which are generalizations of Grassmann's, Jacobi's and Room's identities. Moreover, such a view provides a higher dimensional analogue of the decomposition of the vector Laplacian, which itself gives an explicit index-free Helmholtz decomposition in arbitrary dimensions n ≥ 2 n\ge 2 .