Did Romans distinguish between black and blue?

You're right, of course, Romans were able distinguish a blue sky from a black sky.

1. Did ancient people know the color blue?
2. Why did ancient people not see blue?
3. Did the ancient Greeks know blue?
4. Did ancient Romans have a word for blue?

Did ancient people know the color blue?

Scientists generally agree that humans began to see blue as a color when they started making blue pigments. Cave paintings from 20,000 years ago lack any blue color, since as previously mentioned, blue is rarely present in nature. About 6,000 years ago, humans began to develop blue colorants.

Why did ancient people not see blue?

Even blue pigments and blue gems and rocks were rare in antiquity. People back then didn't need as many adjectives for color as modern times because there was nothing in their life in a hue beyond what they used. Blue didn't appear in Chinese stories, the Icelandic Sagas, or ancient Hebrew versions of the Bible.

Did the ancient Greeks know blue?

Yes. The Greeks were able to distinguish shades of blue just as vividly as we can now, despite lacking a specific vocabulary for them.

Did ancient Romans have a word for blue?

Ancient civilizations had no word for the color blue. It was the last color to appear in many languages, including Greek, Chinese, Japanese, and Hebrew. In The Odyssey, Homer describes the “wine-dark” sea. According to one linguist, every culture begins with words for dark and light.