The revolution that ended the reign of beards occurred on September 30, 331 b.c., As Alexander the Great prepared for a decisive showdown with the Persian emperor for control of Asia, he ordered his men to shave. From time immemorial in Greek culture, a smooth chin on a grown man had been taken as a sign of effeminacy or degeneracy.
What can explain this unprecedented command? When the commander Parmenio asked the reason, accordin…
University of Chicago Press, Adapted from Of Beards and Men: The Revealing History of Facial Hair, by Christopher Oldstone-Moore