How did the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Persians and other ancient societies view people with light hair/eyes?
Each society viewed them differently. The ancient Greeks glorified people with blonde hair, as this was usually associated with heroism or nobility (in The Illiad, for example, both Menelaus and Meleager had golden hair). Ancient Romans had a variety of hairstyles and colors: Sulla had bright red hair, Commodus powdered his hair white, and Julius Caesar was almost completely bald. Light hair was somewhat rare in Mediterranean cultures, so someone with blonde or light brown hair would probably be considered foreign or exotic. Ancient Egyptians hated gray hair (and by extension, most light-colored hair), so they would usually either dye it a dark brown, wear a wig, or just shave it off completely. Anyone in their society with lighter hair would immediately be seen as an outcast. The Persians, on the other hand, had almost as much variety as the Romans, and often wore their hair in similar styles. Generally speaking, eye colors went unnoticed unless they were extremely unusual (such as gr
