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When I was a child, I was obsessed with Greek mythology. I don't mean run-of-the-mill obsessed; this obsession ran deep. My interest branched out to include Roman history and other things ancient and Mediterranean, and I ended up majoring in Classics at university. Which means I've known for a long time that the bare white marble statues and buildings we think of when we think of Rome and Greece were not, in fact, bare and white, but were originally presented in a glorious panoply of colors to make the rainbows and the multicolored unicorns weep.
Normally I'm not of the opinion that ignorance is bliss, but in this case, I was fairly tormented with knowing the temples and statues had color but not knowing how it really looked. Or else only a glimmer of paint here and there, a hint of how things might have looked, but no real confirmation. I don't have much of an imagination, so I was really experiencing some rough times.
Which is why I'm posting this link to the wonderful article over on io9 showing how spectroscopy is finally revealing the answers to these questions. Because one of you may be like me, trying in vain to picture how ancient statues looked all painted up, and failing miserably. I'm here doing my little part to help you out.
(link)
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