Beard Club

The pharaohs of Ancient Egypt wore ceremonial beards as a sign of their virile omnipotence. But this ceremonial beard was an artificial, stylized dummy; the natural growth of the beard was shaved. The beard was a sign of social distinction and was intended to clarify status differences in the old high cultures.

The Greeks, until their subjugation by Alexander the Great, were mostly proud of their beards, which were shaved only on occasions of mourning or as punishment. However, in the classical period, the so-called "strategic beards" appeared, short beards that did not interfere in combat. When the Macedonians came to power, it became the custom in the upper classes to shave. From this time comes the proverb: A beard does not make the wise. For philosophers wore long hair and long beards even in Alexander's time.

Until the 3rd century BC the Romans apparently did not know about shaving. With the contact to the Greek culture of Hellenism, it became common here to shave. Scipio Africanus the Younger is said to have been the first Roman to go clean-shaven. At least among the upper class, this custom soon became generally accepted in Rome; this only changed in the century and a half between Hadrian and Diocletian: Hadrian wore a full beard as a sign of his connection to the classical, pre-Macedonian Greek culture. Almost all emperors between Hadrian and Caracalla therefore had a full beard, while the soldier emperors preferred a three-day beard. Between Constantine the Great and Phocas, almost all rulers (with a few exceptions such as Julian the Apostate) were clean-shaven for centuries, as this was considered typically Roman in late antiquity.

Would you like to become a part of an old tradition? Join the #Beard-Club