Textual Complexity vs. Visual Simplicity

[Jorge_Stolfi]

Blonde or "fair" hair was seen as beautiful all over Europe and thus is seen in art all over Europe. Especially in beings which are traditionally considered "fair", like ladies and angels.

Was that the case only after Roman Empire was taken over by "barbarians from the North", who became the new ruling class?  

Or maybe only after the Empire expanded north of the Alps and incorporated many Celtic and Germanic people in its army, who then became Roman citizens?  

Are there early Roman or Greek paintings of goddesses with blond hair?  I don't recall any in Minoan or Egyptian art.  (In the latter, skin was yellow for women, red for men, and maybe blue for gods; but in reality it was probably black very early and in the South, then brown in later periods.  But the hair, AFAIK, was always curly black. What about the Ptolemies, and Cleopatra?  Many modern images of Alexander have him as blond as Jesus, but there is a famous floor mosaic in Pompeii that depicts him with black hair...)