" The Assyrian kings intertwined gold thread with their fine
beards--and, judging from mural sculptures, curling tongs must have been
in considerable demand with them. In ancient Greece the beard was
universally worn, and it is related of Zoilus, the founder of the
anti-Homeric school, that he shaved the crown of his head, in order that
all the virtue should go to the nourishment of his beard. Persius could
not think of a more complimentary epithet to apply to Socrates than that
of "Magistrum Barbatum," or Bearded Master--the notion being that the
beard was the symbol of profound sagacity.[158] Alexander the Great,
however, caused his soldiers to shave off their beards, because they
furnished their enemies with handles whereby to seize hold of them in
battle. The beard was often consecrated to the deities, as the most
precious offering. Chaucer, in his _Knight's Tale_, represents Arcite as
offering his beard to Mars:
And evermore, unto that day I dye,
Eterne fyr I wol bifore the fynde,
And eek to this avow I wol me bynde,
My berd, myn heer, that hangeth long a doun,
That neuer yit ne felt offensioun
Of rasour ne of schere, I wol ye giue,
And be thy trewe seruaunt whiles I lyue.[159]
[158] The notion that a beard indicated wisdom on the part of
the wearer is often referred to in early European
literature.
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