The Most Exclusive Color in History
This is one of the most exclusive colors in history. Tyrian purple was a dye produced from the secretions of murex snails; a type of sea snail found in the Eastern Mediterranean.
It wasn’t always purple. It varied from a blood red to a deep violet. Tyrian purple has been produced by Phoenicians since the bronze age and it required a vast number of snails, around 12,000 and substantial labor to make a single gram of dye. This made tyrian purple extremely expensive and the ultimate status symbol.
During the Roman period, its production and use was highly controlled, and at some points only the emperor was allowed to wear it. According to legend the Emperor Caligula had someone assassinated for daring to wear tyrian purple to a gladiatorial show.
But here’s the thing, the dye smelled really bad. Its production involved fermenting the glands of the snails, and apparently the smell wasn’t just of rotten shellfish, but had undertones of garlic and eggs. The smell was said to linger in the dyed clothes, and to add to that, urine was often used to help fix the dye. So, the important people who wore it probably didn’t smell great. But tryian purples unpleasant smell hasn’t prevented the cultural impact this dye has had on history.
Purple is still a color we associate with royalty, even if we no longer use tens of thousands of sea snails to make it.