Greece

Aegean Blue is Greece's soul color. Santorini's white houses with blue-domed churches look like heaven's silhouette in sunlight. Greeks chose blue doors for two reasons—the "evil eye" belief that blue reflects curses, and the 1967-74 junta's mandate for blue-white uniformity. The Greek flag's nine blue-white stripes represent "Freedom or Death" syllables. Ironically, ancient Greeks considered blue a barbarian color.

Marble White is the foundation of Western civilization. The Parthenon's Pentelic marble glows warm milky white in sunlight, considered perfect for 2,500 years. Ironically, the ancient Parthenon was polychromatic—red, blue, and gold decorated its columns and pediments. The 19th-century discovery of pigment traces shocked the world. Nevertheless, pure white marble became the Western standard of "classical beauty," copied from the US Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial.