RE: Race Comments

From: Andrew Solovay <asolovay_at_rubberducky.com>
Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 12:09:37 -0700

The Greg wrote:
>
>=20
> The idea that Persians and even ancient Greeks were white guys is a
> modern misconception that I, for one, do not hold to.=20

I suppose it all depends what you mean by "white". IIRC, there was a = tradition that Alexander was red-haired (though, to be sure, he was = Macedonian, not Greek). There certainly is an old Jewish tradition = (going back at least to the Talmud) that King David had red = hair--whether or not the tradition is true, it at least shows that = Talmudic Jews were of an ethnicity where red hair was not unknown.

So if by "not white guys" you mean "swarthy, semitic, olive-skinned", = then we could still have occasional natural redheads (like Vinga) and = blondes.

I guess we could clarify it thus--would you describe modern Persians (or = Arabs) as "white guys"? I'm prepared to believe that ancient Greeks were = *that* dark, and with that much variation (there are some very pale = Arabs).

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