What was the significance of the color scarlet to ancient rome who were the people who wore it
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it's bright and was expensive (iirc).
your dudes all wear red, and your general on the hill knows where they are and can direct them better than the guy on the other hill, whose men all wear homespun and dirt.
it looks flashy and scary.
basically the same reasons that red has been worn by military units throughout history.
your dudes all wear red, and your general on the hill knows where they are and can direct them better than the guy on the other hill, whose men all wear homespun and dirt.
it looks flashy and scary.
basically the same reasons that red has been worn by military units throughout history.
The Roman military wore a red/scarlet cloak, its associated with Mars, the Roman god of warfare.
Pay attention class and you want have to ask here about your homework.
Red is the same colour as blood, is Roman religion it is therfore closley associated with Mars god of war, as a strong masculine colour, it was dyed into the white Toga as a stripe of rank, it was painted onto bronzes of military dead, it was pianted on gladiators, it was painted on generals who recieved a triumph, the legions vexaloid was dyed in that colour. The officer class wore a military cloak dyed scarlet red on campaign, legionaries could wear a duller red or white or off white, white for formal occiasions, off white general duties, Red for combat. Blue was assiociatted with the sea and naval duty legions had blueish cloak.
No roman was allowed to wear a red military cloak in Rome.
Scarlet shows command rank, duller red those under mil law.
In Catholioc Religion colour is also important, Purple symbolizes repentance, and red honors the blood of Christ and the Christian martyr and are prominate colours used in forms of vestments worn by the clergy.
Purple is associated with Royalty.
Pay attention class and you want have to ask here about your homework.
Red is the same colour as blood, is Roman religion it is therfore closley associated with Mars god of war, as a strong masculine colour, it was dyed into the white Toga as a stripe of rank, it was painted onto bronzes of military dead, it was pianted on gladiators, it was painted on generals who recieved a triumph, the legions vexaloid was dyed in that colour. The officer class wore a military cloak dyed scarlet red on campaign, legionaries could wear a duller red or white or off white, white for formal occiasions, off white general duties, Red for combat. Blue was assiociatted with the sea and naval duty legions had blueish cloak.
No roman was allowed to wear a red military cloak in Rome.
Scarlet shows command rank, duller red those under mil law.
In Catholioc Religion colour is also important, Purple symbolizes repentance, and red honors the blood of Christ and the Christian martyr and are prominate colours used in forms of vestments worn by the clergy.
Purple is associated with Royalty.
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It was like Tyrian purple. Expensive and costly to make, rich people want to stand out from the unwashed masses....so there you have. Rich people through history always wanted to make themselves special and unique, and guess that, scarlet dye was expensive, do the math.
But i think that the roman military do not used scarlet as much as is portrayed on mass media, expensive dyes are expensive, you will not use it as much on the plebs who will die for the glory of the Empire!.
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If the average legionary wore red tunic (and undyed wool might have been more common) it would have been a madder based dye rather than the expensive kermes used to make scarlet or crimson
In one previous post years ago, it was pointed out that our concept of the Roman army wearing red tunics is based almost entirely on one piece of evidence. That one particular set of military tunics was red, but supposedly there is no supporting evidence that they were all red. I can't vouch for the accuracy of that, however. More research may be needed.
There are claims that it was to hide injuries, so the soldiers couldn't tell if a comrade was bleeding, but there doesn't seem to be anything to support that. It's probably a much later statement made up to explain the choice of color, rather than anything accurate passed down through history.
There are claims that it was to hide injuries, so the soldiers couldn't tell if a comrade was bleeding, but there doesn't seem to be anything to support that. It's probably a much later statement made up to explain the choice of color, rather than anything accurate passed down through history.
Pliny says (22.3, and he mistakes it for plant based dye) that at least some varieties of it are reserved for generals' cloaks (plaudamentum).
There were a number of expensive dyes in Rome: Tyrian Purple being the most famous of course, but Armenian Red (Scarlet), Kermes Vermillo (Crimson), Indigo, and Saffron Yellow, were also very expensive. Armenian Red was believed to be worn by high ranking Officers or Administrators (being second only to Tyrian Purple) - The idea that every soldier wore it is indeed nonsensical.
The shade of red (either from kermes or the Armenian species) wouldn't be so exact. You can produce varying shades even with modern chemical dyes. Nor did ancients have words for all these shades to begin with. Pliny speaks of coccus (which could be translated simply as fine red rather than specifically crimson or scarlet) from Galatia, Africa and Lusitania for the officers' cloaks. This is also the same word that appears in the "Whore of Babylon" thing from Revelation that the OP meant.
And that's why I started this thread, if the whore of babylon is ancient rome then the colors scarlet and purple must have significance to ancient rome (in revelation 17 the whore is described as wearing the colors scarlet and purple) I knew purple was what the ruling class wore in ancient rome, but scarlets significance was unclear to me
Well, the "whore of Babylon" may have been Rome, and perhaps the end of the world WAS nigh. We MIGHT just be living in the hellish aftermath, after everything good was taken to a better place....or perhaps not.
It needs to be dyed with natural dyes, otherwise it's not what John meant.
Luckily, dying at home is surprisingly easy* and apparently you can buy dried kermes online for only $53 per gram.
*Though probably not with natural dyes, never messed with them.
Dying with blood is much cheaper if its not your own. That or Cherry juice.It needs to be dyed with natural dyes, otherwise it's not what John meant.
Luckily, dying at home is surprisingly easy* and apparently you can buy dried kermes online for only $53 per gram.
*Though probably not with natural dyes, never messed with them.
Many natural dyes can be "fixed" with a weak solution of vinegar, otherwise much or most of the color bleeds out during the next washing. That doesn't work with the new synthetic dyes, as I discovered:
Bought a shirt (made in Pakistan) recently from a locally based chain store (Boscov's). Nice fabric with a felt-like texture, extremely deep burgundy color, comfortable, looks good. Wore it once, and the T-shirt I wore beneath it was stained a bright hot-pink color wherever it touched the shirt. Washed the T-shirt and about half the color came back out. Washed the burgundy shirt 3 times, and each time the water ran red with excess dye, with the color almost as strong as a red wine. Tried adding a few teaspoons of vinegar to the water and let it soak for a couple of hours....and it still ran red in the next washing. I took the shirt and the pink T-shirt back to where I bought it and explained the situation. They refunded my money, took the remaining merchandise off the shelf, and will contact their supplier to prevent a recurrence of the situation.
Dying fabrics apparently isn't as simple as I thought. I suppose that dyes such as Tyrian purple, Scarlet, and other exotic natural dyes each have their own quirks and requirements to use properly.
Bought a shirt (made in Pakistan) recently from a locally based chain store (Boscov's). Nice fabric with a felt-like texture, extremely deep burgundy color, comfortable, looks good. Wore it once, and the T-shirt I wore beneath it was stained a bright hot-pink color wherever it touched the shirt. Washed the T-shirt and about half the color came back out. Washed the burgundy shirt 3 times, and each time the water ran red with excess dye, with the color almost as strong as a red wine. Tried adding a few teaspoons of vinegar to the water and let it soak for a couple of hours....and it still ran red in the next washing. I took the shirt and the pink T-shirt back to where I bought it and explained the situation. They refunded my money, took the remaining merchandise off the shelf, and will contact their supplier to prevent a recurrence of the situation.
Dying fabrics apparently isn't as simple as I thought. I suppose that dyes such as Tyrian purple, Scarlet, and other exotic natural dyes each have their own quirks and requirements to use properly.
I said this in the previous thread and I'm going to say it again here, there is nothing wrong with considering these questions but you might want to consider if maybe there is another reason why you are so worked up about these things. I experience bouts of anxiety myself and though I cannot offer medical advice here, have you considered maybe speaking to your family doctor to see if they can offer any help?
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