Note 3 — Chapter I · VERINA AND HER DAUGHTERS

There was no hereditary right to the throne in the Roman Empire, though a father generally contrived to secure it for his son. “Born in the purple” is, by the way, an inaccurate description of the imperial children, though not uncommon. They were “born in the Porphyra,” or porphyry-lined palace; but, as the Greek word porphura properly means “purple,” it is mistranslated at times. There are those who maintain that the imperial colour was rather red than what we know as purple.