Purple and Blue

From: Lemens, Chris <CNU!AUSTIN3!lemens_at_cnucorp.attmail.com>
Date: Fri, 27 Dec 1996 10:01:00 +0000


Jane Williams noted that perhaps Minaryth Purple of Jonstown is so named because he likes expensive purple-dyed clothes. She asks "where does that leave our diary-keeping friend from KoS, Minaryth Blue?" I seem to recall that in ancient times, purple and blue were considered the same color when it came to dyes. I recall that the Latin word purpurus refers to the purple-blue dye which was (1) created from the shells of some oyster-like sea critter, (2) sold by the Phoenicians in Carthage, and (3) used by the Romans as a symbol of status (some togas were dyed witha purple stripe). I don't recall a separate word for blue other than ocean- and sky-related words. However, this is from high school Latin and I'm pretty senile.  Nonetheless, perhaps there is a connection--pssibilities include family, intentional copying, and identity between the two. I'm no KoS expert, so I'll leave to to the experts.

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