The quintessential modern depiction of Jesus often looks something like this, however I would be very surprised if this looks anything like he actually did. I would expect a guy from Israel 2014 years ago to have very dark skin, at the very least.
So where did this pale skinned, long haired, bearded appearance come from? What would he have really looked like? Are there any historical descriptions of his appearance? I feel like most religious people would be extremely shocked if they saw what he actually probably looked like.
There is a theory that the popular view is one based on the great statue of Zeus at Olympia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Zeus_at_Olympia which, the argument goes, created an indelible image of deity, which led to our popular view of Jesus. However, in the Ethiopian Church he was depicted as an Ethiopian, in the Coptic Church as an Egyptian, in the Syrian Church as a Syrian, so the popular view isn't universal. There is an interesting article here, which, whilst not substantive, is thought provoking. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depiction_of_Jesus
Supposedly there's another comment here but I can't see it?
