Have you ever wondered why the sky is blue? It’s a question many people ask, but if you were living in ancient Greece, you might not have thought about it at all. Surprisingly, the ancient Greeks didn’t have a word for the color blue, even though their country is famous for its beautiful blue rooftops and crystal-clear waters. Let’s explore why this is and what it tells us about how humans perceive color.
Homer, a famous ancient Greek writer from the 8th century B.C., wrote epic stories like “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey.” In these stories, he mentioned colors like black, white, red, yellow, and green, but never blue. Instead, he described things we would call blue, like the ocean, as “wine-dark.” He even called honey “green” and sheep “violet,” which seems strange to us today.
For a while, some people thought maybe the ancient Greeks saw colors differently or were color blind. However, scientists know that humans have been able to see colors for about 30 million years, so that’s not the case. When researchers looked at other ancient civilizations, they found a similar pattern. Many ancient texts from different cultures, like those from Iceland, India, China, and even the Hebrew Bible, didn’t mention blue either. They talked about black, white, red, and sometimes green and yellow, but not blue.
In the mid-1800s, linguists started studying the history of languages and found something interesting. In every culture, the first colors to be named were black and white, followed by red, then yellow, and green. Blue was always the last color to be named. There are some minor exceptions with the order of green and yellow, but red is always first, and blue is always last.
There are two main theories about why colors were named in this order. The first theory is evolutionary. Black and white help us distinguish between night and day, light and dark, which are very important. Red is often associated with blood or danger, making it a crucial color to recognize. Green and yellow became important for identifying ripe and unripe foods. Blue, on the other hand, is rare in nature. There aren’t many blue fruits or animals, and when animals are blue, it’s often due to a light illusion rather than a pigment.
The second theory is about creation. People didn’t have words for colors until they could create them. Red is easy to make using natural materials like clay, which is why it’s common in ancient cave paintings. Blue, however, is one of the hardest colors to create. Only the ancient Egyptians had a word for blue because they could make it.
Does this mean ancient people couldn’t see blue? Not exactly. They saw colors as shades of black, white, or red. Modern evidence supports this idea. For example, the Himba people of Namibia don’t have a separate word for blue, so they take longer to identify it among other colors. However, they can quickly spot differences in shades of green that might be hard for us to see.
In the 1890s, anthropologists found that indigenous islanders in New Guinea described the sky as black or dirty like water. This makes sense because dark blue isn’t that different from black. In the past, black was a broader term that included what we now call blue.
Language shapes how we see the world. Once we have a word for a color, our brains start to see it more distinctly. This is similar to learning a new language. At first, everything sounds like gibberish, but as you learn, you start to recognize words and patterns. It’s not that you couldn’t hear the differences before, but now you notice them more clearly.
Think about when you learn a new word in English. Suddenly, you start hearing and seeing it everywhere. Your brain creates a feedback loop that helps you notice it more. This shows how language not only helps us communicate but also changes how we perceive the world.
Understanding how ancient people saw colors helps us learn more about the connection between language and perception. It’s fascinating to see how our brains and language work together to shape our view of the world. Next time you look at the sky, remember that the color blue is more than just a color—it’s a part of how we understand and describe our world.
Research the order in which different cultures named colors. Create a timeline that shows when each color was named in various civilizations. Use this timeline to discuss why certain colors might have been named earlier than others.
Conduct an experiment with your classmates to explore color perception. Use colored cards and ask your classmates to describe the colors without using the actual color names. Discuss how language influences our ability to identify and describe colors.
Go on a scavenger hunt to find natural objects that are blue. Take pictures or collect samples, and then research why these objects appear blue. Present your findings to the class, explaining the rarity of blue in nature.
Have a class discussion about how language shapes perception. Use examples from the article, such as the Himba people and the ancient Greeks, to explore how having or lacking words for colors affects how we see them.
Invent new words for colors that don’t have specific names in English. Describe these colors in detail and explain why you chose those names. Share your color dictionary with the class and discuss how naming colors might change how we perceive them.
**Sanitized Transcript:**
– Why is the sky blue? It’s one of the most common questions asked by both kids and adults, unless you’re from ancient Greece. You might think that a country known for beautiful blue rooftops, crystal blue waters, and a blue flag would have a longer history with the color. However, if you read Homer, the famous ancient Greek writer from the 8th century B.C., you’ll notice that the word blue isn’t mentioned once. Throughout “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey,” black is mentioned 170 times, white 100 times, red 13 times, and yellow and green each around 10 times, but blue never appears. Interestingly, Homer describes things that we would normally call blue, like the ocean, as wine-dark. He even refers to honey as green and sheep as violet.
For a while, some suggested that maybe the ancient Greeks just saw colors differently than we do, or perhaps they were all color blind. But we now know that color vision developed around 30 million years ago, so that’s not the case. As historians and researchers began looking into other ancient civilizations, they found a similar pattern: almost none of them used the word blue. From Icelandic texts to ancient Indian epics dating back about four millennia, to ancient Chinese writings and even the original Hebrew Bible, all of them fail to mention blue, while they do mention black, white, and red, and many also mention green and yellow. Again, it’s not that they don’t talk about things we would call blue; they describe the ocean as wide, stormy, or silent, but never blue.
It wasn’t until the mid-1800s that linguists began to analyze the history of languages and found something peculiar. In every culture, black and white are first. The first color to enter the language is always red, followed by yellow, then green. Blue is the final color to enter language in every single culture. Over the years, researchers have found some minor exceptions with the order of green and yellow, but red is always first and blue is always last in every language.
So, why this order? There are two main theories. The first, an evolutionary explanation, is simple: black and white help distinguish between night and day, light and dark, and are the most clear and useful, so every culture has those. Then red, which is often associated with blood or danger. Even human faces and communication use red through the galvanic skin response, like when you blush or feel stressed. Green and yellow entered language as the need to distinguish between ripe and unripe foods. And blue? There are very few blue things that we actually interact with. Blue fruits are rare, and blue animals are rare too. When they are blue, it’s often not a pigment but a sort of light illusion, like in butterflies. Even the modern European words for blue are derived from ancient words for black or green.
The second explanation suggests that these words don’t enter language until humans could create them. Red is the easiest and most accessible color because you can just take a piece of dry clay and use it as a crayon. If you think of cave paintings, for example, there’s a lot of black and red in them. But blue? It’s one of the hardest colors to create. For thousands of years, nobody had it except the Egyptians, and they had a word for it.
So does this mean that ancient people couldn’t see those colors before they had a word for it? Not exactly. Early humans would have considered colors as simply hues of black, white, or red, which might sound strange, but there’s modern evidence for this. If you look at a set of 12 colors, can you spot the one that’s different? We might think it’s clear, but when presented with a similar chart, the Himba people of Namibia, who don’t have a separate word for blue, take longer to point out this distinction. Conversely, when looking at green colors, they can more quickly identify differences that we might not catch as easily.
In fact, one of their color categories groups some types of blue and green together, while they have other categories for different greens. In the 1890s, anthropologists discovered that indigenous islanders in New Guinea described the sky as black or dirty like water. This isn’t surprising when you consider that a dark or navy blue isn’t actually that far from being black and is quite distant from other hues we still call blue. In that sense, black would have been a much broader term for early and ancient humans.
It’s similar to how we categorize shades of red. We wouldn’t necessarily call them different colors. But in English, we call this one pink. Even though it’s technically just another shade of red, we’ve decided to categorize it separately, and as a result, it feels different in our minds. Of course, even if we didn’t name it pink, we’d still be able to see that it’s a different color, a lighter hue, but ultimately, we’d consider it a form of red.
Now, you might be thinking this just seems semantic. So what if they have different names? There’s no functional difference in the actual color we’re seeing. But neuroscience has found that to be untrue. It turns out that language trains our brain to see colors differently. This means that once we have a new word for a color, there’s a feedback loop in the brain that exaggerates the differences between those colors, especially at the border areas between them. We get used to calling these colors distinct hues, and as a result, the brain sees them more distinctly.
Without the word, you would still see the color, but you wouldn’t notice or contextualize it in the same way. If that still feels strange, think about learning a new language. At first, everything just looks or sounds like gibberish. You can’t tell the verbs apart from the nouns, let alone one word from the next, because you’re just learning. But over time, your brain starts to pick up on these categories and patterns and can recognize minor differences much faster. It’s not that you couldn’t tell the words were different before, but they all sort of blended together. Once you become more familiar with it, you start to see and hear those words much more clearly.
Honestly, it’s similar to when I learn a new English word and then suddenly I hear it everywhere and see it everywhere. The truth is I probably came across that word before but just didn’t notice it. Now that I’ve learned the word, the feedback loop is there, and I truly notice it. It’s a fascinating example of how our brains allow us to create language, and then that language impacts brain function. Not only is our perception of the world an illusion, but our brains actively participate in creating it.
Thank you for watching. I hope you found this as interesting as I did. If you like our videos, make sure you’re subscribed, leave a like on this video, and you can join our mailing list with the link in the description. Otherwise, we will see you next time for a new science video.
Color – The property of an object that depends on the light it reflects and is perceived by the eyes. – Scientists study how different colors can affect our mood and behavior.
Language – A system of communication used by a particular community or country. – Psychologists explore how language development occurs in children.
Perception – The process by which the brain interprets sensory information from the environment. – Our perception of color can change depending on the lighting conditions.
Ancient – Belonging to the very distant past and no longer in existence. – Ancient civilizations used natural dyes to create colors for their artwork.
Blue – A color that is often associated with calmness and stability. – The sky appears blue because of the way Earth’s atmosphere scatters sunlight.
Green – A color that is often associated with nature and growth. – Plants appear green because they reflect green light from the sun.
Red – A color that is often associated with energy and passion. – Red light has a longer wavelength than blue light, which is why it appears differently to our eyes.
Black – The absence of color, absorbing all light in the visible spectrum. – Black holes are regions in space where gravity is so strong that nothing can escape from them.
Theory – A well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world. – The theory of evolution explains how species change over time through natural selection.
Humans – Members of the species Homo sapiens, characterized by higher cognitive abilities. – Humans have developed complex languages to communicate and share ideas.
