There are references to murex in other religious texts as well. According to the New Testament of the Bible, on the day of his crucifixion, Jesus was dressed with a crown of thorns and his body clothed in a purple garment usually reserved for royalty (Mark 15:17). The latter was no doubt a sarcastic gesture by his detractors who chanted, "Hail, King of the Jews!" Although Jensen (104) states that "Muslims did not value purple," Islamic texts suggest its value, and its subsequent repudiation by the Muslim prophet Muhammed. As if to demonstrate his humble, ascetic lifestyle, Muhammad said, "I do not ride on purple [saddle-cloth], or wear a garment dyed with saffron, or wear a shirt hemmed with silk" (Robson, 918). During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, purple-hued clothing was a luxury permitted only to "Dukes, Marquesses, Erles, their children or Barons & knights of the order" (Elizabeth I 1559: 2). Today, Pope John Paul II often makes public appearances in purple robes, though the source for the dye may be an insect (a less costly substitute introduced by Pope Paul II in 1464) or a synthetic dye—not the murex shellfish (Druding 1982).

Although there are a number of inexpensive chemical substitutes for murex, purple is still the color of the royal and religious. As Alice Walker once said, "I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it." For thousands of years, purple has been a color that commands attention.

May 15, 2001

Bibliography:

Astour, Michael C. "The Origin of the Terms 'Canaan,' 'Phoenician,' and 'Purple.'" Journal of Near Eastern Studies 24, no. 1 (1965): 346-350.

Boucher, François. 20,000 Years of Fashion: The History of Costume and Personal Adornment. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1987 [1965].

Druding, Susan C. "Dye History from 2600 BC to the 20th Century." Straw.com. 30 January 2001. http://www.straw.com/sig/dyehist.html  (14 May 2001).

England and Wales. Sovereign (1558-1603: Elizabeth I). By the Quene. London: Richard Iugge and Iohn Cawood, 1559.

The Holy Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1962.

Jensen, Lloyd B. "Royal Purple of Tyre." Journal of Near Eastern Studies 22, no. 1 (1963): 104-118.

Mishkat al-Masabih. Translated by James Robson. Lahore, Pakistan: Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, 1999.

Plaut, W. Gunther, Bernard J. Bamberger and William W. Hallo. The Torah: A Modern Commentary. New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1981.

Pliny the Elder. Natural History. Translated by John F. Healy. New York: Penguin Books, 1991.

Pompas, Renata. "PURPLE, KERMES AND WOAD: The trilogy of Mediterranean precious dyeing." Texere. January 2001. http://www.texere.u-net.dk/newsinfo/01_01/purple.html  (14 May 2001).

Stieglitz, Robert R. "The Minoan Origin of Tyrian Purple." Biblical Archaeologist 57, no. 1 (1994): 46-54.