Young Red Haired Girl Portrait

Geographic distribution
Historical
Several accounts by Greek writers mention redheaded people. A fragment by the Greek poet Xenophanes describes the Thracians as blue-eyed and red haired. The Greek historian Herodotus described the "Budini" (probably Udmurts and Permyak located on the Volga in what is modern-day Russia) as being predominantly redheaded. The Greek historian Dio Cassius described Boudica, the famous Celtic Queen of the Iceni, to be "tall and terrifying in appearance... a great mass of red hair... over her shoulders." Also, several mythological characters from Homer's Iliad, (themselves purportedly Greek) are described as being "red-haired" including Menelaus and Achilles.