The Color Purple
I have always had a deep love for the color purple. I have my own understanding of what the color represents to me and how I express that adoration. However, until this year, I had no idea how unique the color purple truly is in historical context. I have been known to even throw “purple parties” which in essence is simply celebrating love and compassion. Purple continues to grow in meaning for me as I continue to be shown more and more of its significance as it relates to my spiritual understanding.
The history of the color is super interesting!! Did you know why the color purple is not found on international flags? Sometimes the simplest questions have the most fascinating answers. With 196 countries in the world today and virtually none of them have purple on their national flag. Throughout history purple was never used to represent a kingdom, civilization, or empire. Purple dye was just far too expensive. Up until the 1800’s, for centuries purple had been associated with royalty, power, and wealth.
Purple’s elite status stems from the rarity and cost of the dye originally used to produce it. The dye initially used to make purple came fro the Phoenician city of Tyre, which is now modern day Lebanon. Fabric traders obtained the dye from a small sea snail which is only found in the Tyre region of the Mediterranean. A lot of work went into producing the dye, as more than 10,000 sea snails were needed to create just one gram of Tyrrean purple. Since only wealthy rulers could afford to buy and wear the color, it became associated with the imperial classes of Rome, Egypt, and Persia.
Purple also came to represent spirituality and holiness because the ancient emperors, kings, and queens were often thought of as “Gods” or “descendants of the Gods”. Sometimes, however, the dye was too expensive for even the royalty. For instance, third century Roman Emperor Aurelion famously wouldn’t allow his wife to buy a shawl made from Tyrrean purple silk because it literally cost three times its weight in gold! A single pound of dye cost 3 lbs of gold which is equivalent to $56,000 today. So since the price of purple was so astronomically high, no one, not even the richest nations could afford to have purple on their flag. Imagine how expensive the purple robe must have been that Jesus Christ was covered in before his crucifixion, as they mocked him as “King of the Jews”?
The hue only became accessible to lower classes about a century and a half ago. When in 1856, 18 year old English chemist William Henry Perkin accidentally created a synthetic purple compound while attempting to synthesize quinine, an anti malaria drug. He noticed that the compound could be used to dye fabric. He patented the dye and manufactured it in mass quantity. Purple dye was then produced as affordable. The elites stopped valuing purple but the country flags remain the same. Since 1900 only a handful of new national flags have been designed and a few of them have opted to use purple in their flags.
Purple Purpose: The truth within me seeks the truth within you. ONE LOVE!! With unity and compassion in spirit•body•mind
