` :PS.: I do hope that passages such as the one quoted from Günther above are not the kind of thing being used to substantiate the claim that ``Nordicists repeatedly used this and other passages to justify the claim that ``an invisible Nordic ruling class`` ... were present in Rome.`` Because that is not what Günther is saying here. He's saying that the Roman 'ideal of beauty' was derived from the characteristics found in a portion of the 'noble' class - something non-controversial in itself. His addition is to align this with what he (and others) termed 'Nordic'. The thrust of the passage is this: the 'Nordic' features found in some of the 'noble' class of Romans had a palpable effect on the Roman 'ideal of beauty' - so much so, that 'non-Nordic' Romans of the upper class felt the need to imitate their 'fairer' associates. Whether or not he is right is beside the question, of course. But linking this passage to a theory regarding an ``invisible Nordic ruling class`` (an oxymoron, seeing as how this 'Nordic' element was, above all else, an apparent one) would seem unwarranted. (In fact, one could argue that Günther is talking more about the artistic and literary portrayal of Roman nobility by their fellow Romans rather than their actual 'pedigree'.) But, more direct passages can be found from Günther and Co. regarding this 'theory'...right? —   `