Is it true that ancient Greeks had light hair and light skin?

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Elaine

Actually, the fair-haired, blue-eyed ancient Greeks theory is based on a misinterpretation of the ancient sources (read Asimenia's excellent comment). Such theories were propagated in the ninenteenth century by a group of historians known as "the Nordicists" (most of whom had never visited Greece) and later on by the Third Reich, which sought to establish a connection between Germans and the ancient Dorians.

An example.

It is agreed by a majority of scholars that this mosaic is a faithful rendition of an original Hellenistic painting of the 3rd century BC.

http://users.otenet.gr/~ncro/mosalex.gif

Ancient writers describe Alexander as having fairer hair than most of his contemporaries. But does he look like a Viking?

That doesn't mean that blue-eyed, fair-haired ancient Greeks didn't exist, but that they were not the majority. Also, not all Turks are "dark", as you say, this is also a misconception.

ADDED: "NO! THE ANCIENT GREEKS WERE NOT VIKINGS!"

LOL! Well said!

Lady S

For some reason it is hard to believe that you're asking that question with good intentions. But OK, let's say you are.

I have also heard that ancient Greeks were lighter. Don't know if that is true. I guess Greeks have mostly dark hair and olive skin because they live in the warm climate, so they had to adjust to those conditions. I don't think anyone can claim that there was no mixing at all between different ethnicities during all those centuries and millenniums, but it probably wasn't common enough to affect the whole nation and change its features. After all, other Mediterraneans are also pretty dark - Italians, Spanish, Portuguese etc., and they had no contact with Turks. I personally like that Mediterranean type - dark hair, dark eyes, olive skin. They look kinda hot and temperamental :) Besides, on the more practical side, they are more resistant to sun and their skin is less sensitive and always looks good. My niece, who is half Greek, tans easily and really nice, and I usually get so red that I look like a lobster... LOL :))

Macedonia is Greek

Here we go again...

NO ! NOT ALL OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS HAD LIGHT HAIR AND LIGHT SKIN !

NO ! THE ANCIENT GREEKS WERE NOT VIKINGS !

TAKE SOME ANSWERS FROM THE PAST

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AkdRn9b_BE.d.VIvZsa_c5jsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071127083644AAVgKXw&show=7#profile-info-7a5CEicqaa

asimenia

You must also take into consideration what Greeks mean when they say someone is blonde. For example I have light skin and dark hair (by English standards) and I have been referred to as blonde MANY times! Sometimes a light brown colour or strawberry blonde will be called 'blonde' by Greeks. They are not talking about the blondes of Scandinavian countries when they say blonde

THOMAS K

Ancient Greeks where of mixed skin. Some blond, some darker.And they all darkened from the sun exposure. I'm Greek, blond hair, blue eyes and in the summer I get red like a lobster too! Look at the Greek soccer team (google it, not live in euro08 cause we sucked)and you'll see that their skin is the same as any Mediterranean people (if not lighter). Greece has sunshine statistically over 300days a year. Even I will eventually get darker (I hope)!

ketilevedis

Really this is getting boring!!!! Thanks for 2 points.Yia sou.

xanthochroi

why people are so obsessed with this thing if anyone had darker skin would it change your thoughts i dont think they mixed any race so much they look mediterranean to me dont generalize please they're all caucasion eventually climate might be the reason for it no i'm not greek maybe you're curious about it too :)

GREEK BARBiiEâ™¥

NO! They didnt mix with Turks, according to Greek DNA tests, only 0.4% of Turkish admixture was found, which is considered very low. In fact they found more Slavic & Middle Eastern admixtures in the Greek population than Turkish, but at the low level of 2%. So as you can see the majority of the Greeks is pretty homogeneous.

It was proven that the Greeks today are a mix of Alpines and Atlanto- Mediteraneans.

Also the Greek DNA was proved to be the most similar to 1. Italian Dna 2. French DNA 3.Spanish DNA

This is what American physical anthropologist Carleton S. Coon said:

"It is inaccurate to say that the modern Greeks are different physically from the ancient Greeks; such a statement is based on an ignorance of the Greek ethnic character.... The Greeks, in short, are a blend of [sub]racial types, of which two are most important: the Atlanto-Mediterranean and the Alpine. Dinaricism here is present, but not all pervading; true Alpines are commoner than complete Dinarics. The Nordic element is weak, as it probably has been since the days of Homer. The racial type to which Socrates belonged [Alpine] is today the most important, while the Atlanto-Mediterranean, prominent in Greece since the Bronze Age, is still a major factor. It is my personal reaction to the living Greeks that their continuity with their ancestors of the ancient world is remarkable, rather than the opposite." (Coon, 1939)

The ancient Greeks along with the Romans were described as being brunette haired with light skin. By light skin i mean either white or light olive, similar to modern day Greeks. Most Greeks today along with other Southern Europeans have white skin but not pale, in which it tans easily in the summer. The majority of Greeks today have brown hair (dark-light), straight noses and strong jaws, very similar to how the ancient Greeks were described.

marissa

'so dark now' Like how dark is the dark you mean? Like the night ? Like dark-dark? Like dark black... or maybe darkish? Or darker than dark? Off black? I am wondering.. . You cannot offend me because I do not know you and therefore I do not respect you. So no worries. ;-)

MÎ±Ï„Î¸Î±Î¹Î¿Ï‚

ancient greeks and modern greeks share almost a direct relation... this has been proven through genetic studies and THE LANGUAGE...
think of it this way Latin became Italian
Ancient greek became greek
more simalities in ancient greek to modern greek... proves greek puriety

also this is an interesting article you might wan't to take a look at... http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9E00E5DE1638E433A25757C0A9649D94669ED7CF&oref=slogin

Yes ancients greeks were light colored.
Modern greeks are not that dark. I think that is a wrong image people have about greeks. Ok they are not as the scandinavians but they are not like the turks either.
If you live in Greece, just look around. Are greeks that dark?
I'm greek and light coloreds. My whole family and we are 100% greeks. And it's not just us. When I was in school, in my class about 1/3 - 1/2 were light-colored.
After all, greeks are not darker than the rest mediterraneans.
But I guess there is a percentage (don't know how much) mixed with turks.

Mercenary Karma

Yes but not all of them did.

Trotsky vs Kerensky- ÐÐµÐºIÐ¾!

No, no they aren't mixed with Turks otherwise they would have black skin and chinked eyes right? You occasionally see Turks with light hair colours -god forbid even with colorful eyes- but they are probably not Turks anyway, maybe they're European, white agents in Turkey.

But Greeks have blond hair and blue eyes, in fact 90% of Greece happens to be Scandinavian (not even sandy) blond. Look at Kimi Raikkonen, that is just how an average Greek looks like. Especially in Northern Greece, everybody is blond and everybody looks like ancient Greek sculptures.

Nonie L

yes, we were blond hair blue eyes but the Turks invaded and the two people mixed and changed everything...............(no offense to the Turks)................................(i love their music)

GreekLover

greeks have always had and have white skin but most of them go to the beaches and tan allll day... 60% of greeks have blue eyes

Cle@r Sky 07

not all of them did! well... most of them had dark hair, because they lived in a Mediterranean country and as u know, most Mediterraneans have dark hair and skin...

Macedonian-American boy

No the Macedonians (who are related) did but dont know because they mixed with Slavs from Serbia and Bulgaria

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