Post #2154572
2026-02-14 23:33 UTC
User: marzipanandminutiae
"They are indeed purple,
But one thing you’ve missed:
The concept of “purple”
Didn’t always exist.
Some cultures lack names
For a color, you see.
Hence good old Homer
And his “wine-dark sea.”
A usage so quaint,
A phrasing so old,
For verses of romance
Is sheer fucking gold.
So roses are red.
Violets once were called blue.
I’m hugely pedantic
But what else is new?"
3/6
Replies (1)
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@shivers@mastodon.ie 2026-02-14 23:38
User: ineptshieldmaid "My friend you’re not wrong About Homer’s wine-ey sea! Colours are a matter Of cultural contingency; Words are in flux And meanings they drift But the word purple You’ve given short shrift. The concept of purple, My friends, is old And refers to a pigment once precious as gold. By crushing up molluscs From the wine-dark sea You make a dye: Imperial decree Meant that in Rome, to wear purpura was a privilege reserved For only the emperor!" 4/6