Jesus' ethnicity (Ancient Jews' ethnicity)

[Estro Felino]

I am mystified by all the stupid theories that are spread nowadays about Jesus' physical appearance.

I love Zeffirelli's movie because the representation of the historical characters is not only accurate, but also historically truthful

 

[Augustus]

He was from the (South) East Mediterranean, so most likely looked like a typical (South) East Mediterranean (like a modern Southern European, Levantine etc.). Similar populations lived in places like what is now Israel, Syria, Greece, Turkey, etc.

Modern political geography makes us think differently about the region and this same population might now be classified as 'brown' people like Turks and Syrians (i.e. 'Arabs') or 'white' people like Greeks despite them all being of the same genetic heritage.

 

[viole]

I am mystified by all the stupid theories that are spread nowadays about Jesus' physical appearance.

I love Zeffirelli's movie because the representation of the historical characters is not only accurate, but also historically truthful

Looks like a Swede

Ciao

- viole

 

[Estro Felino]

He was from the (South) East Mediterranean, so most likely looked like a typical (South) East Mediterranean (like a modern Southern European, Levantine etc.). Similar populations lived in places like what is now Israel, Syria, Greece, Turkey, etc.

Modern political geography makes us think differently about the region and this same population might now be classified as 'brown' people like Turks and Syrians (i.e. 'Arabs') or 'white' people like Greeks despite them all being of the same genetic heritage.

These are arbitrary speculations.
What makes you think Jesus didn't look exactly like the actor in Zeffirelli's movie?
What about Pilate? Is he accurate, at least him?

 

[WalterTrull]

"...the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language."
Do you suppose different people saw him differently?

 

[Augustus]

These are arbitrary speculations.

The population genetics of specific regions are not arbitrary speculations.

What makes you think Jesus didn't look exactly like the actor in Zeffirelli's movie?

He looks more Northern European than Southern European. You don't get many folk who look like that in Greece for example, so on balance of probabilities...

 

[Estro Felino]

T


He looks more Northern European than Southern European. You don't get many folk who look like that in Greece for example, so on balance of probabilities...

With all due respect, this comment of yours denotes very little knowledge of the Ancient Greece's historiography.
Just to give you an example, Agathocles of Syracuse was described as a blonde man, blonde like a Swede.
Diodorus Siculus, Plutarch, Titus Livius described characters very accurately

 

[74x12]

I am mystified by all the stupid theories that are spread nowadays about Jesus' physical appearance.

I love Zeffirelli's movie because the representation of the historical characters is not only accurate, but also historically truthful

It's all just speculation really. I tend to speculate that He looked somewhat like modern Jews but even amongst modern Jews there are varying appearances. We can't get away from the fact that Jews from Northern Europe are lighter skinned and Jews from southern Europe are a bit darker and the darkest Jews are from the middle east and Africa. There are even black Jews from Ethiopia. So the skin tone of modern Jews is largely correlating with the region of the world they have been in for the last few centuries.

We can hypothesize that the same was probably true for ancient Hebrews as well. Meaning their appearance was likely very similar to the appearance of surrounding cultures. Therefore my hypothesis is that they probably looked like a typical middle Easterner/Mediterranean person.

 

[74x12]

With all due respect, this comment of yours denotes very little knowledge of the Ancient Greece's historiography.
Just to give you an example, Agathocles of Syracuse was described as a blonde man, blonde like a Swede.
Diodorus Siculus, Plutarch, Titus Livius described characters very accurately

It's hypothesized that ancient Greeks and Italians were lighter skinned and more European appearing. The influx of Turkish and Moorish invaders would have darkened the skin tone.

 

[Estro Felino]

It's hypothesized that ancient Greeks and Italians were lighter skinned and more European appearing. The influx of Turkish and Moorish invaders would have darkened the skin tone.

Well...Italy also had 5 centuries of Germanic invasions and dominations
And it was never taken by Turks

 

[viole]

I am mystified by all the stupid theories that are spread nowadays about Jesus' physical appearance.

I love Zeffirelli's movie because the representation of the historical characters is not only accurate, but also historically truthful

How is that important?

Since it is arbitrary/undefined what kind of genes He got from father side, He could have looked like anything.

Ciao

- viole

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

It's hypothesized that ancient Greeks and Italians were lighter skinned and more European appearing. The influx of Turkish and Moorish invaders would have darkened the skin tone.

That sounds like nonsense. Why would a bunch of pale people be living out in the hot sun where they'd be burnt up? Meds are olive skinned for a reason.

"European appearing". You mean Scandinavian.

 

[Jainarayan]

Meds are olive skinned for a reason.

Not all. There are many blond-haired blue-eyed Sicilians. They have northern European ancestry. The Vandals, then the Norse, then the Normans set up shop in Sicily and southern Italy as early as 439 CE.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Not all. There are many blond-haired blue-eyed Sicilians. They have northern European ancestry. The Vandals, then the Norse, then the Normans set up shop in Sicily and southern Italy as early as 439 CE.

Well, I was referring to the indigenous people.

 

[Jainarayan]

Well, I was referring to the indigenous people.

I wasn't sure. Yes, most of the Mediterranean basin was populated by peoples from the eastern Mediterranean/Levant area. The original inhabitants of Sicily, for example, were the Sicels, Sicanians and Elymians. They began settling there by about 3800 BCE. It's kind of an interest of mine: I am half Sicilian (paternal line), with a Y DNA haplogroup that originated in the Near East/Red Sea area. As a glow-in-the-dark-white-as-a-ghost-auburn-haired Sicilian, I have about 13% North African and Middle Eastern ancestry.

 

[Augustus]

With all due respect, this comment of yours denotes very little knowledge of the Ancient Greece's historiography.
Just to give you an example, Agathocles of Syracuse was described as a blonde man, blonde like a Swede.
Diodorus Siculus, Plutarch, Titus Livius described characters very accurately

Historical descriptive terms relating to colour don't necessarily match our the way we would use such terms today, even if we assume they were written to be factually accurate (which is also not to be taken for granted).

Anyway, what I said was 'on balance of probabilities'. On balance of probabilities Jesus wasn't 2m tall, but that doesn't make it impossible. On balance of probabilities he wasn't black. The only thing we have is a question of probabilities, no facts.

 

[74x12]

That sounds like nonsense. Why would a bunch of pale people be living out in the hot sun where they'd be burnt up? Meds are olive skinned for a reason.

"European appearing". You mean Scandinavian.

Lighter hair colors, eyes etc.

 

[74x12]

Well...Italy also had 5 centuries of Germanic invasions and dominations
And it was never taken by Turks

I didn't imply that Italy was taken by the Turks. The Turks invaded Greece. But since you're Italian you obviously know that in the North Italians are lighter skinned because the Germanic invaders you mention. Such as the Lombards etc.

And further south, especially in Sicily they're darker. If you know your history then you know Sicily was invaded by Moors.

 

[Estro Felino]

I didn't imply that Italy was taken by the Turks. The Turks invaded Greece. But since you're Italian you obviously know that in the North Italians are lighter skinned because the Germanic invaders you mention. Such as the Lombards etc.

And further south, especially in Sicily they're darker. If you know your history then you know Sicily was invaded by Moors.

This is not a thread about Sicily.
It's about ancient Jews...and implying that Jews looked like Berbers or Libyans is ludicrous and wrong.

 

[Estro Felino]

Anyway, what I said was 'on balance of probabilities'. On balance of probabilities Jesus wasn't 2m tall, but that doesn't make it impossible. On balance of probabilities he wasn't black. The only thing we have is a question of probabilities, no facts.

My question was different. Do you think he looked like that man in that movie?
You won't answer