Station: [45] Lydia, the Purple Merchant

So you want to meet this millionaire? A world of luxury: the purple trade. These piles here are the remains of thousands of snails. That’s she stored the fabrics dyed with purple: parchment here, wool here, cotton over there, and in the back room, wild silk and shell silk. She ships as far as Rome. How is the dye extracted? The purple snails have the gland that secretes the color pigment removed while they’re still alive, until the animal dies in agony. How many snails do you need for 10 grams? Line them up one right behind the other—enough to walk along for two hours—and you’ll have as many as you need for 10 grams! 1 kilo of purple dye is worth about 2 million euros!