People can have different eye colors: for some they are black, for others - brown, some have been rewarded with blue eyes, some with green eyes . But have you ever seen someone with naturally purple eyes? Probably not. Although this eye color does exist. The reasons for its appearance include two components: one of them is associated with myth, the other with reality.
The ability to have purple eyes is associated with a disorder called
"The Origin of Alexandria." Despite the fact that the presence of such a disease is unknown in modern times, it is possible that it existed in the past. According to legend, several centuries ago in a small Egyptian village, a mysterious flash of light occurred in the sky, to which all inhabitants were exposed. After that, they began to have children with
pale skin and purple eyes. The first such child was a girl named Alexandria, who was born in England in 1329. At birth, her eyes were gray or blue, and then turned purple within six months. Subsequently, inheritance of eye color was transferred to her four daughters. However, they were healthy and lived up to a hundred years. As you know, people with purple eyes are distinguished by perfect vision. Although, perhaps, this is a natural condition that is not the result of a genetic defect or mutation.
The violet color of the eyes can be explained from a medical point of view. It's connected with
albinism is a genetic disorder caused by an altered gene that prevents the development of melanin. This condition leads to a lack of pigmentation of the skin, hair and eyes. Along with these symptoms, a person with albinism may have purple eyes. In fact, the absence of melanin gives rise to red eyes, as all vessels become visible through the iris. Sometimes blue collagen is more strongly reflected in the eyes. However, in very rare cases, red and blue shades can combine to form a purple color. But there is one more explanation. Albino people are hypersensitive to sunlight.
The iris allows light to penetrate the eye, and this can contribute to the appearance of purple.
Speaking about such a genetic mutation, one cannot fail to mention the famous actress Elizabeth Taylor. Her violet eyes,
white skin and dark hair conquered millions of people around the world and brought her great popularity. Although there is currently a lot of debate about whether Taylor's eyes were purple from nature. In favor of the naturalness of color is the fact that at that time contact lenses did not yet exist. The production of lenses began in 1983, and Elizabeth Taylor with a purple eye color appeared on the screen in the role of Cleopatra back in 1963. Many, however, believe that her eyes were not purple, but blue-gray. After all, as you know, purple is one of the intermediate shades between blue and gray.
So, the basis for the presence of purple eyes is a genetic defect. The conditions of its origin are connected both with the legend, which, unfortunately, cannot be verified, and with albinism, which most of us have a visual representation of. Be that as it may, the possibility of having natural purple eyes is not excluded, although this is a very rare condition.