Red (Ancient Egyptian name 'deshr') was primarily the color of chaos and disorder – the color of the desert (Ancient Egyptian name 'deshret', the red land) which was considered the opposite of the fertile black land ('kemet'). One of the principal red pigments, red ochre, was obtained from the desert. (The hieroglyph for red is the hermit ibis, a bird which, unlike the other ibis of Egypt, lives in dry areas and eats insects and small creatures.)
Red was also the color of destructive fire and fury, and was used to represent something dangerous.
Through its relation to the desert, red became the color of the god Seth, the traditional god of chaos, and was associated with death – the desert was a place where people were exiled or sent to work in mines. The desert was also regarded as the entrance to the underworld where the sun disappeared each night.
As chaos, red was considered the opposite to the color white. In terms of death it was the opposite of green and black.
However, this most potent of all colors in Ancient Egypt, was also a color of life and protection – derived from the color of blood and the life-supporting power of fire. It was therefore commonly used for protective amulets.
