Perceptions of Power: Purple in Archaic Greek, Ancient Mesopotamian Inscriptions, and the Hebrew Bible

Ellena Lyell
Additional contact information
Ellena Lyell: University of Exeter, United Kingdom

Avar, 2022, vol. 1, issue 2, 283-311

Abstract: Purple in the ancient world held common characteristics: symbolic of power, wealth, and beneficence. Purple was also thought to be produced and imported from the Phoenician area, situated along the Levantine coastal shore. Yet between different literature circles, the specifics of purple diverged widely. This article explores the social function of purple-material (and its inherent purple-colour) in the Hebrew Bible in light of wider ancient Near East and eastern Mediterranean texts. As with any given cultural material, the meaning of purple is relative; it is differentially significant according to audience, context, subject matter, and the qualities of the material. By utilising a sociological and comparative approach, in the following I consider the use of purple in Homeric epic, ancient Mesopotamian inscriptions and biblical texts. I demonstrate that purple pigments and dyes, as well as the purple-colour of the object to which the pigments/dyes is applied, is a key means to communicate something culturally-specific. In so doing, this ultimately provides fresh insight into the texts and offers a glimpse into the thought processes of ancient society.

Keywords: Purple; colour perception; materiality; Homer; ancient Near East; Hebrew Bible (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://avarjournal.com/avar/article/view/2250/2002 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mig:avarjl:v:1:y:2022:i:2:p:283-311

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://avarjournal. ... ormation/librarians/

Access Statistics for this article

Avar is currently edited by Isaac Alderman, Shane M. Thompson and Eric M Trinka

More articles in Avar from Transnational Press London, UK
Bibliographic data for series maintained by TPLondon ().