The ancient Egyptians believed that red haired animals and people were associated with the god 'Set', and many of their pharaohs had red hair. That included Ramses who was one of the most influential pharaohs in Egyptian history.
Ever since the Romans came face to face with the red haired Gauls in 390 BCE, prejudice and suspicion has greeted them, along with the belief that they were fiery and hot-tempered. This image, wrong or not, most likely stems from the fact that the Gauls had a high percentage of red haired people, who were notoriously violent warriers.
The Paiute are a tribe that have made the Nevada region their home for thousands of years. These natives speak of a legendary race of red-haired giants known as the Si-Te-Cah. The forefathers of the Paiute recalled them as brutal and inhospitable cannibals.
Native Americans are familiar to numerous tales with a slightly different vision of the past about a long-extinct race of giant humanoids with capabilities far exceeding that of ordinary men. These brutes are depicted as both courageous and savage, and with a cruel interest towards anyone interfering with their affairs.
The southern coastal area of Peru, specifically Paracas and Nazca has evidence proving the existence of a pre-Colombian people having red hair. Remarkably, the royal bloodline of the Paracas culture, who preceded the Nazca not only had elongated skulls but they also had red hair.
The red "hats" on the Moai of Easter Island are in fact representing the hair that is tied up into a top knot. Many of these large stone figures were made prior to the arrival of Polynesians, who first came there about 100 AD, at the earliest.
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Blondes have a fascinating history, both in human origin, migration, culture and in ancient mythology. In Western culture, blonde hair is typically associated with beauty, youth and innocence. Blondes first began appearing around 11,000 years ago during the last ice age, and have since become major figures in mythology throughout Europe.
Apollo is a young, handsome God who is the son of Zeus. He has golden blonde hair, large muscles, and he was very tall. Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of music, truth and prophecy, healing, the sun and light, plague, poetry, and more. In the 5th century women of Athens bleached their hair with an herb which turned it golden yellow, in pursuance of a blond hair and beauty.
Two of the Norse goddesses, Sif and Freyja were blondes. Sif was a wife of the god Thor. She was known for her golden hair and was described as the most beautiful of women. She once had her hair shaved off by Loki, the god of mischief. Her hair symbolised fertility and prosperity in agriculture.
Freyja was characterized as a goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, and was said to be the fairest of all goddesses. The Norse people often prayed to her for help in matters of love and to assist with childbirth.
Freyja was also known to assist in such things as war, battle, death, magic, prophecy, and wealth. One mythical story tells of her receiving half of the dead lost in a battle, while Odin took in the other half at Valhalla.
In European tales, fairies preferred blonde hair in people. Blonde babies were more likely to be taken from their cribs and switched with changelings. And young blonde women were often enticed to join the land of the fairies and of course many of us know the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears!
Neanderthals also had the same distribution of hair color as modern Eurasian populations, including a spectrum of red hair from auburn red to strawberry blond. The European population seemed to adopted more of the strawberry blonde hair colour, that eventually turned into a pure blonde. Neanderthals didn't have pure blonde hair but the gene associated with it did come from Neanderthals.
