It is believed that the "red carpet" is the property of the Oscars. This is not the case, to say the least.
Purple is a precious red-violet dye, precious in ancient times, obtained from the secretions of the special glands of gastropods and used to dye expensive fabrics. At a cost comparable to gold. In ancient Rome, clothes dyed in purple served as the hallmark of higher posts. To make 1 gram of purple dye, 10,000 shellfish had to be processed. Only high dignitaries and, of course, emperors could afford to dye clothes in this color.
In general, the purple color was "invented" by the Phoenicians 1600 years BC. Since then, the reputation of purple or red has only grown.
One of the first and most famous references to the “red carpet” is Eskil’s play “Amamemnon” written in 458 BC! Agamemnon’s wife, wanting to increase her husband’s sins and destroy him, ordered her servants to spread a red plank for him from the chariot to the doors of the palace. Only the gods or those who carry statues of the gods could walk on the red carpet. Agamemnon hesitated ... and went along the path, unable to cope with the temptation. The path led him to death, of course.
The red carpet was laid out in 1821 to greet American President James Madison. In 1902, the red carpet was bedded for one of the first branded trains, called the “20th Century Limited”.
