The Minoan Origin of Tyrian Purple
Tyrian purple was the most expensive dye in the ancient world. Manufactured from the secretions of species of the Mediterranean mollusk Murex, the discovery and distribution of "royal purple" are commonly credited to the Phœnicians. Yet archaeological and epigraphic data from the Aegean su...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Scholars Press
1994
|
| In: |
The Biblical archaeologist
Year: 1994, Volume: 57, Issue: 1, Pages: 46-54 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
|
| Summary: | Tyrian purple was the most expensive dye in the ancient world. Manufactured from the secretions of species of the Mediterranean mollusk Murex, the discovery and distribution of "royal purple" are commonly credited to the Phœnicians. Yet archaeological and epigraphic data from the Aegean suggest that the "royal purple" industry first developed on Crete. Before 1750 BCE, Minoans on Crete and some Minoanized islanders, such as those on Kythera, were already manufacturing sea-purple, generating an industry that then caught on and prospered throughout the eastern Mediterranean. |
|---|---|
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The Biblical archaeologist
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3210395 |