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Neolithic cave paintings do not have traces of green pigments, but Neolithic peoples in northern Europe did make a green dye for clothing, made from the leaves of the birch tree. it was of very poor quality, more brown than green. Ceramics from ancient Mesopotamia show people wearing vivid green costumes, but it is not known how the colors were produced.

In Ancient Egypt green was the symbol of regeneration and rebirth, and of the crops made possible by the annual flooding of the Nile. 

For painting on the walls of tombs or on papyrus, Egyptian artists used finely-ground malachite, mined in the west Sinai and the eastern desert- A paint box with malachite pigment was found inside the tomb of King Tutankhamen. They also used less expensive green earth pigment, or mixed yellow ochre and blue azurite. To dye fabrics green, they first colored them yellow with dye made from saffron and then soaked them in blue dye from the roots of the wood plant.

For the ancient Egyptians, green had very positive associations. The hieroglyph for green represented a growing papyrus sprout, showing the close connection between green, vegetation, vigor and growth. In wall paintings, the ruler of the underworld, Osiris, was typically portrayed with a green face, because green was the symbol of good health and rebirth. Palettes of green facial makeup, made was malachite, were found in tombs. 

It was worn by both the living and dead, particularly around the eyes, to protect them from evil. Tombs also often contained small green amulets in the shape of scarab beetles made of malachite, which would protect and give vigor to the deceased. It also symbolized the sea, which was called the "Very Green".

In Ancient Greece, green and blue were sometimes considered the same color, and the same word sometimes described the color of the sea and the color of trees. 

The philosopher Democritus described two different greens or pale green, and passion, or leek green. Aristotle considered that green was located midway between black, symbolizing the earth, and white, symbolizing water. However, green was not counted among of the four classic colors of Greek painting; red, yellow, black and white, and is rarely found in Greek art.