Relevance of Color in Ancient Greece's and Rome's Garments

Relevance of Color in Greece's and Rome's Garments
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Relevance of Color in Ancient Greece's and Rome's Garments
Clothing is among the basic human needs, not just today but also in ancient societies. As a result, clothing is among the most visible distinctive element that defines an individual's social class, culture, and even religion and the individual's role within social and political institutions. Today, such distinction emanates from the brand one dons, the quality of material used (textiles), and the target market. In ancient Greek and Rome, the choice of color also played a significant part. In essence, not just the quality of clothing but also the choice of color enabled individuals to be differentiated from others based on their social, economic, and political role or proximity to the leadership.
Annotated Bibliography
Benson, J. L. (2000). Greek Color Theory and the Four Elements. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Amherst.
The book focuses on the cosmological interpretation of the Greek color theory. The author argues that color is the most inescapable, omnipresent, and constant sense of impression. In this view, the Greeks linked colors to the four core elements of earth, water, air, and fire, associating them with the colors black, white, yellow, and red, respectively. In essence, the choice of clothing colors was also associated with these cosmology ideas emphasizing the relevance of the four colors not just in Greek mythology but in everyday living in ancient Greek society. This source is relevant to the current project since it provides a foundation on which colors were viewed and their social, cultural, and political relevance.
Elliott, C. (2008). Purple Pasts: Color Codification in the Ancient World. Law & Social Inquiry, 33(1), 173-194.
Elliot begins by highlighting a 1995 US Supreme Court ruling in this source that color alone could be registered as a trademark, given modern marketing and advertising. However, the phenomenon of color codification is not unique to the modern era of advertisement. In the ancient world, color codification was necessary to sustain some form of symbolism. Purple garments, for instance, were associated with the aristocracy, meaning it was difficult to find an ordinary person donning the color. This source is relevant to the current paper because it discusses how colors (in garments) ...