The History and Significance of the Colour Green

An Origin Story of Nature, Transformation, and Uncertainty

Green is the colour most closely bound to life itself — and yet, throughout history, it has been one of the most unstable and ambiguous colours in human culture. To explore the history of green is to uncover a story shaped by growth and decay, renewal and danger, harmony and unpredictability.

From humanity’s earliest encounters with the natural world, green surrounded daily life in vegetation, forests, fertile land, and seasonal cycles. It symbolized regeneration, abundance, and survival. Early civilizations created green pigments from minerals such as malachite and verdigris, using them in wall paintings, cosmetics, and sacred objects. Yet these pigments were chemically volatile, often darkening or degrading over time — a material instability that mirrored green’s shifting symbolic meanings.

In ancient Egypt, green represented rebirth and resurrection, closely associated with Osiris and the afterlife. Across other cultures, it signified fertility, youth, and balance. However, during the medieval period in Europe, green took on more contradictory roles. It became the colour of transformation and liminality — worn by outsiders, tricksters, and figures that existed between worlds. In art and folklore, green was linked to the unpredictable forces of nature, enchantment, and even moral ambiguity.

The scientific development of green pigments lagged behind other colours, reinforcing its reputation as unreliable. Some of the most vivid green pigments of the 18th and 19th centuries were dangerously toxic, containing arsenic — turning beauty into hazard. At the same time, green emerged as a symbol of scientific inquiry, medicine, and later, environmental consciousness.

The history of green is therefore not a simple celebration of nature, but a narrative of transformation and tension. It reflects humanity’s evolving relationship with the natural world — one of dependence, fear, mastery, and responsibility — reminding us that life itself is both sustaining and fragile.

Interesting Facts about the Colour Green in History

The Language of Growth

The word “green” has deep roots. In English, it shares an etymological ancestor with the words grass and grow. In many ancient cultures, Green wasn’t just a colour; it was a verb—an expression of the Earth’s ability to regenerate.

  • Ancient Egypt: Known as wadj, Green represented joy and health. The god Osiris, who presided over the afterlife and rebirth, was often depicted with Green skin to symbolize the annual flooding of the Nile that brought life to the desert.
  • Ancient Rome: Green was the colour of Venus, the goddess of gardens, vegetables, and fertility.

The Great Dye Dilemma

For most of history, Green was a “secondary” colour in more ways than one. While nature is saturated with it, Green was notoriously difficult to capture in a bottle or on a loom.

  • The Struggle: Most green dyes were made by double-dyeing fabric—first in Yellow (like weld) and then in Blue (like woad or indigo). This was expensive and often resulted in uneven colours.
  • The Symbol of Luck: Because the colour was so hard to keep “fixed” (it faded or turned brown easily), it became associated with things that change: luck, fate, and money. This is why Green is the traditional colour of gambling tables and, eventually, the American dollar.

The “Deadly” Victorian Fashion

In the 18th and 19th centuries, chemists finally discovered a way to create brilliant, vibrant Greens using minerals. Unfortunately, they chose arsenic.

  • Scheele’s Green: This pigment was used in everything from ballgowns and artificial flowers to children’s toys and wallpaper.
  • The Cost of Beauty: As people lived in rooms lined with arsenic-laced wallpaper, the dampness caused the paper to release toxic fumes. It is famously rumored that Napoleon Bonaparte’s death in exile was hastened by the arsenic-pigmented wallpaper in his bathroom.

Explore the History of other Colours