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Well, there is nothing stopping other cultures from depicting Roman aristocrats in their own image. Indian gods and historical figures are usually depicted as

Well, there is nothing stopping other cultures from depicting Roman aristocrats in their own image. Indian gods and historical figures are usually depicted as fair, in their own, contemporary art.

pastage 5y ago
Except missing it, I notice that you are not disagreeing with the point. Lots of contemporary indian culture features fair skinned people in the main role. For the same general reason.
- wdb 5y ago
  I always thought fair skin in parts of the world meant that you weren't working class (e.g. worked outside in the sun)
- zozbot234 5y ago
  Many Indians today believe in the Aryan invasion theory, which views Indian culture and religion as having originated from people living in modern-day Central/Southern Asia and Iran, and only later being adopted by native people in India. This theory is often connected with a view that fairer-skinned people represent "true" Indian culture, not the natives who were generally relegated to lower social status. The caste system itself is not native to India but is instead found widely among PIE cultures, including the Aryans who are said to have invaded India.
  - cabalamat 5y ago
    > Many Indians today believe in the Aryan invasion theory That's because it's almost certainly true! it's why Indians speak Indo-European languages, and why the same Y-chromosome haplogroup (R1a) is common among (for example) Indian Brahmins and Norwegians. > This theory is often connected with a view that fairer-skinned people represent "true" Indian culture The Hindu religion in its most ancient form (see e.g. the Rig Veda) derives from the Proto-Indo-European religion, parts of which have been reconstructed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-European_mythology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-European_mythology (Obviously modern India culture comes from a lot of other sources too!) > including the Aryans who are said to have invaded India. You phrase it that was as if to imply that it didn't happen. But I think the evidence that it did: linguistic, genetic, archeological, is very strong.
    - cmrdporcupine 5y ago
      Sure, but likely by the time the Aryans got to that region they were not "fair skinned." There was an intervening millennia of hanging out in the Caspian / Bactria / Central Asia before entering the subcontinent [1]. Nor were the Yamnaya people ever really "fair skinned" ; they were likely dark haired and olive skinned. 1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bactria%E2%80%93Margiana_Archaeological_Complex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bactria%E2%80%93Margiana_Archa...
    - Mediterraneo10 5y ago
      > That's because it's almost certainly true! Actual Indo-Europeanists today eschew the label "Aryan invasion theory" in favour of e.g. “Aryan migration theory”. While genetic evidence makes a (limited) case for presence of force and population movement in the spread of the Indo-European languages to India, the bulk of the spread was through language shift whereby the indigenous inhabitants gradually adopted Indo-European languages as higher prestige.

Well, there is nothing stopping other cultures from depicting Roman aristocrats in their own image. Indian gods and historical figures are usually depicted as fair, in their own, contemporary art.

pastage 5y ago

Except missing it, I notice that you are not disagreeing with the point. Lots of contemporary indian culture features fair skinned people in the main role. For the same general reason.

wdb 5y ago
I always thought fair skin in parts of the world meant that you weren't working class (e.g. worked outside in the sun)
zozbot234 5y ago
Many Indians today believe in the Aryan invasion theory, which views Indian culture and religion as having originated from people living in modern-day Central/Southern Asia and Iran, and only later being adopted by native people in India. This theory is often connected with a view that fairer-skinned people represent "true" Indian culture, not the natives who were generally relegated to lower social status. The caste system itself is not native to India but is instead found widely among PIE cultures, including the Aryans who are said to have invaded India.
- cabalamat 5y ago
  > Many Indians today believe in the Aryan invasion theory That's because it's almost certainly true! it's why Indians speak Indo-European languages, and why the same Y-chromosome haplogroup (R1a) is common among (for example) Indian Brahmins and Norwegians. > This theory is often connected with a view that fairer-skinned people represent "true" Indian culture The Hindu religion in its most ancient form (see e.g. the Rig Veda) derives from the Proto-Indo-European religion, parts of which have been reconstructed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-European_mythology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-European_mythology (Obviously modern India culture comes from a lot of other sources too!) > including the Aryans who are said to have invaded India. You phrase it that was as if to imply that it didn't happen. But I think the evidence that it did: linguistic, genetic, archeological, is very strong.
  - cmrdporcupine 5y ago
    Sure, but likely by the time the Aryans got to that region they were not "fair skinned." There was an intervening millennia of hanging out in the Caspian / Bactria / Central Asia before entering the subcontinent [1]. Nor were the Yamnaya people ever really "fair skinned" ; they were likely dark haired and olive skinned. 1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bactria%E2%80%93Margiana_Archaeological_Complex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bactria%E2%80%93Margiana_Archa...
  - Mediterraneo10 5y ago
    > That's because it's almost certainly true! Actual Indo-Europeanists today eschew the label "Aryan invasion theory" in favour of e.g. “Aryan migration theory”. While genetic evidence makes a (limited) case for presence of force and population movement in the spread of the Indo-European languages to India, the bulk of the spread was through language shift whereby the indigenous inhabitants gradually adopted Indo-European languages as higher prestige.