Editing Black (section)

===Ancient===
[[File:Tutanhkamun jackal.jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Anubis Shrine|Statue of Anubis]], guardian of the [[underworld]], from the tomb of [[Tutankhamun]]]]
For the ancient Egyptians, black had positive associations; being the color of fertility and the rich black soil flooded by the Nile. It was the color of [[Anubis]], the god of the underworld, who took the form of a black [[jackal]], and offered protection against evil to the dead. To ancient Greeks, black represented the underworld, separated from the living by the river [[Acheron]], whose water ran black. Those who had committed the worst sins were sent to [[Tartarus]], the deepest and darkest level. In the center was the palace of [[Hades]], the king of the underworld, where he was seated upon a black [[ebony]] throne. Black was one of the most important colors used by ancient Greek artists. In the 6th century BC, they began making [[black-figure pottery]] and later [[red figure pottery]], using a highly original technique. In black-figure pottery, the artist would paint figures with a glossy clay [[slip (ceramics)|slip]] on a red clay pot. When the pot was fired, the figures painted with the slip would turn black, against a red background. Later they reversed the process, painting the spaces between the figures with slip. This created magnificent red figures against a glossy black background.<ref>Stefano Zuffi, ''Color in Art'', p. 270.</ref>

[[File:Akhilleus Aias MGEt 16757.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Greek [[black-figure pottery]]. [[Ajax the Great|Ajax]] and [[Achilles]] playing a game, about 540–530 BC. [[Vatican Museums]]]]
In the social hierarchy of [[ancient Rome]], purple was reserved for the emperor; red was the color worn by soldiers (red cloaks for the officers, red tunics for the soldiers); white the color worn by the priests, and black was worn by craftsmen and artisans. The black they wore was not deep and rich; the vegetable dyes used to make black were not solid or lasting, so the blacks often faded to gray or brown.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Olson |first=Kelly |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315678887 |title=Masculinity and Dress in Roman Antiquity |date=8 May 2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-67888-7 |location=Abingdon, Oxon; New York |series=Routledge monographs in classical studies |pages=90–100 |doi=10.4324/9781315678887}}</ref>

In [[Latin]], the word for black, ''ater'' and to darken, ''atere'', were associated with cruelty, brutality and evil. They were the root of the English words "atrocious" and "atrocity".<ref>''Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language'', New York: World Publishing Company (1964).</ref> For the Romans, black symbolized death and mourning. In the 2nd century BC Roman magistrates wore a dark toga, called a ''toga pulla'', to funeral ceremonies. Later, under the Empire, the family of the deceased also wore dark colors for a long period; then, after a banquet to mark the end of mourning, exchanged the black for a white toga. In Roman poetry, death was called the ''hora nigra'', the black hour.<ref name="Michel Pastoureau pg. 34"/>

The German and Scandinavian peoples worshipped their own goddess of the night, [[Nótt]], who crossed the sky in a chariot drawn by a black horse. They also feared [[Hel (being)|Hel]], the goddess of the kingdom of the dead, whose skin was black on one side and red on the other. They also held sacred the [[raven]]. They believed that [[Odin]], the king of the Nordic pantheon, had two black ravens, Huginn and Muninn, who served as his agents, traveling the world for him, watching and listening.<ref>Michel Pastoureau, ''Noir – Histoire d'une couleur'', pp.&nbsp;34–45.</ref>