MAR 24 WHY IS PURPLE ASSOCIATED WITH ROYALTY?

MAR 24  WHY IS PURPLE ASSOCIATED WITH ROYALTY?

At the DUNER BLOG headquarters, we often listen to the All-Eighties radio station. When Prince's Purple Rain played the other day, a staff member asked: "Why is purple always associated with royalty and religion?" Well...when you ask a historical question like this at this office, be prepared for a very long-winded response. So let's get started!

We can thank Hercules for discovering the color purple. Well...actually, it was Hercules' dog. The two were strolling along the beach when the pooch chewed on a sea-snail. Afterward, his drool was a new color. It was quite a discovery. Aside from flowers, one particular sea mollusk is the only naturally occurring purple item on earth. To make it worse, Murex (scientific name: Bolinus Brandaris) is found only along the Mediterranean coastline of the modern-day nation of Lebanon. This meant that only a small amount of purple dye was available.

The color purple's popularity in ancient times can therefore be seen as a clear case of 'Supply and Demand.' Given this rarity, purple clothing was only used by the wealthy and powerful. Adding to the rarity, obtaining this purple dye was quite labor-intensive. First, you crack the shell and remove the snail. Then find a tiny gland and extract a white mucous. Once exposed to six hours of sunlight, it will turn into purple. As expected, it takes hundreds of snails to make an ounce or two of the gelatinous substance. Homer states that purple dye is "worth its weight in gold"

Throughout antiquity, the Phoenician city of Tyre was the center of the Murex production. Pliny the

Elder describes the massive semi-circular vats on the edge of the port. Next to these stood mountains of discarded shells. It follows that controlling this coveted trade was essential for every emperor. Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Justinian...all wore Tyrian purple robes. In medieval times, when popes replaced kings, purple remained in demand. But perhaps the most obsessed monarch was Queen Elizabeth I. She passed the Sumptuary Laws, which forbade anyone but the Royal Family from wearing purple!

Suddenly, everything changed in the year 1856. That's when an 18-year-old chemist tried to synthesize an anti-Malaria drug called quinine. William Henry Perkin instead invented a simple chemical purple dye. It was refined and mass produced and the British chemist died a multi-millionaire. Rightfully so. His wondrous gift to the world meant that rich and poor alike could finally wear purple clothes. Even an oddly-named musician from Minneapolis can don an oversized crushed-velvet PURPLE overcoat. Rock on!