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> Also colors were perceived differently (this one is hearsay for me): like violett or so referred to shiny It's from Homer's Illiad and Odyssey where he refer
by pilsetnieks 6y ago
> Also colors were perceived differently (this one is hearsay for me): like violett or so referred to shiny
It's from Homer's Illiad and Odyssey where he refers to sea the color of wine. However: 1) it's possible he's referring to the darkness, not color, or some other aspect like turbulence; 2) he was also supposedly blind, so not the best judge of colors and 3) it's possible that he didn't really exist at all.
- fpoling 6y agoThere is even speculation that he referred to some distilled spirit in which case the color was indeed blue.
- Mediterraneo10 6y agoDistillation to make alcoholic beverages wasn’t known to Bronze Age/early Iron Age Greece. It didn’t take off until the early centuries AD.
- fpoling 6y agoWe do not know if the distillation was not known. We just do not have evidence that it existed. Technology necessary to produce distilling equipment was available.
- Mediterraneo10 6y agoIt is extremely unlikely that distillation of alcoholic beverages was known to the Ancient Greeks. Once distillation took off at the point when it is documented in the early first millennium, it swiftly spread through Eurasia. It beggars belief to think that the Homeric-era Greeks had these beverages and kept them to themselves.
- mprovost 6y agoHow different languages identify colours and how those definitions have changed over time is really interesting. Apparently using different words for blue and green is one of the last things a language develops.[0] Usually "red" is one of the earliest terms developed and "blue" one of the last. [1] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue%E2%80%93green_distinction_in_language https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue%E2%80%93green_distinction... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_Color_Terms https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_Color_Terms
- andi999 6y agoYes, I am also fascinated by color perception. Number of rainbow colors varies by culture. The sun is perceived as red by Japanese, and yellow by western culture (true color is white)
- seg_lol 6y agoI have seen this dark red seas during a storm at sunset, they are scary and powerful in movement and in color. I don't think Homer perceived color differently than we do now.
- permo-w 6y agoCould be white wine