History and Cultural Symbolism Black moves through history with a symbolic weight denser than any other color. In ancient Egypt, it was linked to fertility and renewal, because the black soil of the Nile brought life to the crops. Black represented potential, the returning cycle, the richness of the earth. In ancient Greece, it carried the same duality: color of night and chthonic deities, yet also of seriousness and restraint. In medieval Europe, black was first viewed negat