Don't make people more swarthy than they were historically
This thread is about ancient ethnography. Some people seem to think the ethnographic makeup of Eurasia during antiquity was exactly the same as the stereotypical picture we see today - pale white and light eyed people originating from and living exclusively in Northern Europe, and darker skinned people living around the Mediterranean and in the Orient. As for ethnicity, anyone slightly interested in anthropology knows that much has changed. Most populations of the antiquity have been heavily altered or replaced. In general, since ancient times, the populations of Eurasia have become swarthier, that is with more dark complexions like black hair, darker skin, brown eyes etc. In Rome I, the armies and leaders of many factions generally appeared much too swarthy compared to how they looked historically. Heck, they even appeared swarthier than the corresponding populations are today. I'm not sure why exactly this was the case but it is definitively flawed.
Hellenic factions
Let's start out with the Hellenic factions. I never saw any Hellenic soldier or leader in Rome with other than quite dark complexions. If I recall correctly, none were fair haired or had other than dark colored eyes. Today, some 4% of the Greek population is blonde and some 17% have light eyes. During antiquity, the strain of light complexions was significant. For instance, Alexander the Great, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, Critias, Demetrius of Phalerum, King Lysimachus, King Pyrrhus and Alcibiades were all fair-haired individuals. Dionysius I, the ruler of Syracuse, had blond hair and freckles, whilst the Athenian playwright Euripides describes himself as a fair haired type with freckles. The ancient Greek lyric poet Pindar wrote that the hair of the Achaeans (Danaoi) was blonde. Ancient Greek sources describe the Spartans as blonde. The poet Bacchylides said that the women of Sparta were blonde, and Dicaearchus said much the same thing about the women of Thebes. In the work of Homer, Menelaus the king of the Spartans is, together with other Achaean leaders, portrayed as blond. Spartan poet Alcman describes his cousin Hegesichora as golden haired while the Spartan poetess Megalostrata as a ''blonde-haired maiden''. Menelaus, the legendary ruler of pre-Dorian Sparta is described as blonde throughout Homer's texts.
Greek mosaics
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Ancient Greek mosaic, a deer hunt, detail from the mosaic floor
The Celts
The Celts are represented as merely red haired in Rome I. Celts are indeed described as pale white and with light eye and light hair color in Roman sources, for instance by Virgil and Ammianus. However, red hair is starkly overrepresented among the Celts in Rome I . Also, the Celts inhabited most of the Iberian Peninsula during antiquity. In addition, the Celtic migration to Anatolia in 279 BC left the peninsula with a predominantly Celtic population the following centuries. This of course influenced the physical appearance of the population in these regions.
The Romans
The element of blondeness and blue eyes in and around ancient Rome was significant. It is still significant. Some 25-35% of the contemporary population living in Rome is blue eyed while around one fourth is fair haired. Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Galba Marcus Porcius Cato, Julius Cæsar all had light hair according to ancient sources. Of the 18 Emperors from Augustus to Commodus (27 BC-AD 192): 9 had blonde or red hair; 5 had grey or white hair; 3 had no recorded hair color, and just 1 (Hadrian), was referred to as dark-haired. Of the 18 Emperors from Augustus to Commodus: 9 had blue or grey eyes; 2 had "wine-colored eyes" (whatever that may mean), and 7 had no recorded eye color.
Later emperors such as Constantius II (337 - 361 AD) and Jovian (363 - 364 AD) were blue eyed and fair haired. Valentinian I (364 - 375 AD) was blue eyed and fair of feature and his brother, Valens (364 - 378 AD), was also fair, with a reddish complexion. Emperor Theodosius I (379 - 395 AD) was blonde haired. Emperor Theodosius II (408 - 450 AD) had according to ancient sources golden hair.
The name of patrician families such as Ahenobarbus , Rufi, Flavi, and Fulvi means "fair hair" or “red hair”, while the family names such as Caesulla and Ravilia means light eyes. This also demonstrates the significance of light colored features in Rome.
Roman mosaics
Roman fresco
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Mosaics of girls in bikinis at the Villa Romana del Casale
The Berbers
The Numidians, along with the ancient Mauritanians, were Berber peoples. They were NOT Bedouins. The Berbers are different from most other peoples in North Africa because of their unique history and light complexions (aside from the nomadic pastoralist Tuareg Berbers). The percentage of fair hair and light eyes is significant among the Berbers, and their skin color is significantly whiter than that of other North African inhabitants. Google “Berber”, have a look at the images and you’ll see what I mean.
The Eurasian steppe
Blue eyes did not evolve in Sweden. It originates from around the Black Sea and the center of gravity for this characteristic has changes with history. During antiquity, the peoples living in the Eurasian steppe were mostly blue eyed and light haired. These traits were then dominant for all Indo-European peoples on the Eurasian steppe, such as the Parthians, Alans, Scythians and the Yuezhi. Scythians and Alans are described as light haired in Roman and Greek (Herodotus) sources. Modern genetic studies confirm that they were blue (or green)-eyed, fair-skinned and light-haired (link to this for those interested). Yuezhi along with other ancient inhabitants in the Tarim basin are described as having light complexions in Chinese sources. The same is confirmed by modern genetics and archeological evidence from for example the Tarim basin mummies and Altai mummies.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
"Tocharian donors", 6th century CE fresco from the Kizil Caves.
Pannonian Basin
The now extinct population of Thracians was fair-complexioned. Several Thracian graves or tombstones have the name Rufus inscribed on them, meaning "redhead" – a common name given to people with red hair. Ancient Greek artwork often depicts Thracians as redheads. Rhesus of Thrace, a mythological Thracian King, derived his name because of his red hair and is depicted on Greek pottery as having red hair and beard. Ancient Greek writers also described the Thracians as red haired. A fragment by the Greek poet Xenophanes describes the Thracians as blue-eyed and red haired. The same light complexions are attributed to Dacians also in ancient sources.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
A fresco of a red-haired woman in the Ostrusha Mound in central Bulgaria.
Carthage
Carthaginians were Phoenicians. The name "Phoenicians" loosely translates as "red people." We know very little about the ethnic character of the Phoenicians, however, some scholars have argued that "red people" refers to the color of their hair. Nevertheless, what we do know is that the Carthaginian aristocracy was not native North Africans and this fact should be taken into account. Interestingly though, Hasdrubal the fair, Hannibal’s brother in law and son of Hamilcar Barca was obviously fair haired, demonstrating the strain of light complexions at least in the Carthaginian leadership.
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Re: Don't make people more swarthy than they were historically
Originally Posted by Der Phönix
I don't think the same can be said for hair color though. You're either a blond or you're not! 
Well, I'm a blondish brunet myself. Perhaps that's what Suetonius meant when he said that the hair of Augustus was "inclining to golden"?
