Le Rouge et le Vert : sémiologie dé la couleur en Égypte ancienne

Abstract

Contesting the thesis of basic color terms, the purpose of the present thesis is to determine the part of physiological and symbolical solicitation there is, within the egyptian lexis of colour. This symbolical solicitation being based on the theological expression of cosmic, biological and social world is a remarkably permanent feature in ancient egypt thought. The exploration of the lexis and of its vague impulses toward an evolution, show that red and green are not only dominant colours, but also that they constitute the organising principle of egyptian colour. However, there is a further division in the symbolical lexis due to the transversal criterion of light, thereby offering us four fundamental terms. Because of metonymy and metaphor, these terms are laden with the most striking properties of their pregnant referents (i. E. , those among all possible referents, that express colour in the most prominent way). Being therefore polysemous, these terms expressing colour apply to a wide range of spheres, also to an unquestionable semantic depth that is essential to a both complex and subtle vision of the world. (translation by F. Gille).