# In Greek myth, are the men sown from dragon's teeth blond and blue-eyed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 7, 2019, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-greek-myth-are-the-men-sown-from-dragons-teeth-blond-and-blue-eyed/835160 "2019-06-07T13:21:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-greek-myth-are-the-men-sown-from-dragons-teeth-blond-and-blue-eyed/835160/1 "2019-06-07T13:21:15Z")
As a child growing up in Sweden, I seem to recall reading a version of either the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece, or - less likely - the story of Cadmus, where the _spartoi_ - those sown from dragon’s teeth - are described as being blond and blue-eyed. (Or hmmm OK, come to think of it, not 100% sure about the _blond_ bit, but I’m pretty damn sure they were at least described as blue-eyed.) I remember being, well, not exactly _shocked_ - but sorta kinda taken aback a bit, since until that point I had always imagined the mythological Greeks to have looked, well, sorta kinda like _me_, i.e. dark-haired and brown-eyed. Now that I’ve suddenly, randomly, inexplicably remembered this moment many decades later, I gotta ask: 1. Do the earliest original sources, of either tale (Jason or Cadmus), describe the _spartoi_ as blond and/or blue-eyed? 2. Assuming that the idea of the _spartoi_ as blond and/or blue-eyed wasn’t a uniquely Swedish twist, have any of y’all encountered it elsewhere? Any idea when it first appeared…? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-greek-myth-are-the-men-sown-from-dragons-teeth-blond-and-blue-eyed/835160/2 "2019-06-07T15:03:10Z")
Blondes were not unknown on ancient Greece, you know. Alexander the Great was blonde and had heterochromatic eyes. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-greek-myth-are-the-men-sown-from-dragons-teeth-blond-and-blue-eyed/835160/3 "2019-06-07T15:46:50Z")
Unfortunately, I’m not where I can check my references. I strongly recommend Timothy Gantz’ _Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources_ as one of the best references to the earliest versions of the myths. You can also use Robert Graves’ _The Greek Myths_ as a source for original references, but take his interpretations with more than a grain of salt. Karl Kerenyi’s books _Gods of the Greeks_ and _Heroes of the Greeks_ are also excellent references pointing to the original sources. There are lots of other books I’d recommend if you’re following this up, but that’s enough to get you started. My memory is rusty on this – even though I’ve made a special study of the myth of Kadmos – but I don’t recall the _Spartoi_ being described physically at all, let alone as blonde and blue-eyed. There’s a parallel myth of the Spartoi in the story of Jason ( for which, principally, you ought to check out the _Argonautica_ of Apollonius of Rhodes), as you note, but I don’t recall them being described, either. > **[Spartoi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartoi)** > > In Greek mythology, Spartoi (also Sparti or Spartae) (Ancient Greek: Σπαρτοί, literal translation: "sown \[men\]", from σπείρω, speírō, "to sow") are a mythical people who sprang up from the dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus and were believed to be the ancestors of the Theban nobility. > Cadmus arrived in Thebes, Greece, after following a cow at the urging of the oracle at Delphi, who instructed him to found a city wherever the cow should stop. Cadmus, wishing to sacrifice the cow, sent his men to a ne... If no one else chimes in on this\*, I’ll let you know what I find when I return after the weekend. - as if THAT’S going to happen! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-greek-myth-are-the-men-sown-from-dragons-teeth-blond-and-blue-eyed/835160/4 "2019-06-12T14:10:06Z")
> [@blindboyard](#): > > Blondes were not unknown on ancient Greece, you know. Alexander the Great was blonde and had heterochromatic eyes. Mind you, it is possible that he was the kind of blonde that’s blonde in the sense of “he was tow-headed as a child” rather than “he stayed tow-headed as a grown-up.” He died pretty young, but many blonde Southern European men shift from tow-headed to ash-blond to when did you go grey. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2019, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-greek-myth-are-the-men-sown-from-dragons-teeth-blond-and-blue-eyed/835160/5 "2019-06-18T11:35:57Z")
I finally pulled out my copy of Gantz last night and went through the sections on Jason and on Kadmos. Neither myth said anything about the men sprouting fro the dragon’s teeth being blond-haired or blue-eyed, and Gantz is the place you go to in order to find the oldest, most basic sources. ---
**Author:** ![Dana\_Scully](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5daacb/32.png) [@Dana\_Scully](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dana_Scully)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-greek-myth-are-the-men-sown-from-dragons-teeth-blond-and-blue-eyed/835160/6 "2019-06-18T16:53:21Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Mind you, it is possible that he was the kind of blonde that’s blonde in the sense of “he was tow-headed as a child” rather than “he stayed tow-headed as a grown-up.” He died pretty young, but many blonde Southern European men shift from tow-headed to ash-blond to when did you go grey. I love your tag line!