The bronze age and the Celtic world - Universal History Library

112 THE BRONZE AGE AND THE CELTIC WORLD
been above the average in stature. That they were fair-haired has been taken for
granted by many writers.*' It has been suggested, however, that the fact that Menelaus
was called fair, signifies that he was in this respect an exception to the rule, and
that the others were as dark as the majority of modern Greeks. Moreover, it has
been pointed out that ^a.v06s may only mean brown, and that Menelaus had brown
hair."
The first argument certainly carries some weight, and does seem to imply that there
was something exceptional in Menelaus' fair hair. But the Atreidae, according to fifth
century legend, were Pelopids, and this is hinted, though not expressly stated, in the
Iliad. Now other legends bring Pelops from Phrygia, though, of course, this may only
signify that he was a Phrygian, who left the Briges before their departure for Asia. But
the Pelopidae, in their customs, differed from the other " Achaeans." Later legend
attributes to them a type of endogamy, interpreted afterwards as incest, infant sacrifice,
and cannibalistic habits. iEschylus'^ looks upon these customs as crimes, and
attributes them to a curse upon the House of Tantalus. I think, however, we may
see in the Pelopids, and perhaps in other groups of op peoples, some non-Nordic type,
most probably Alpines of some kind, who had accompanied the " Achaean " heroes
southwards. That one of these should be fair-haired would be unusual, though by
no means impossible if he had had a Nordic ancestress. If ^av^o's ever meant brown
it must have meant Hght brown or auburn, and its force would be equally as great as
if it meant flaxen ;
it is not uncommon among Nordics.
the Mediterraneans and eastern Alpines never have light brown hair ;
Lastly we may take the case of the Thracians, who, as we have seen, were almost
certainly the stock from which the " Achaeans " were derived. According to Ridgeway**
some of these were fair and some dark, that is to say a fair Nordic strain had entered
a land peopled with dark Alpines, and the result was a red-haired strain {nvppo^, as
is often the case when fair and dark strains have mixed. *^
We have no right to expect from Homer, or any other Greek writer, an account
of the head-form of the " Achaean " heroes. Nevertheless we find in the Iliad a word
" Hall (1913) 67 ; Ridgeway (1901) 351. m Ridgeway (igoi) 400.
» Giles, P., in a recent lecture. y Deniker (1900) 49, 50.
n Aeschylus Agamemnon, 1178-1245, 1468-1474.