Bust of Hadrian. He was the first Roman emperor to wear a beard
The Emperor Hadrian (76 A.D.-138 A.D.) was the first ruler of Rome to wear the beard, rather thick and curly, as we can see from the numerous busts that portray it and that we can still admire today.
Mainly the aesthetic choice was due to the intent to be inspired by the Greeks , which Adriano always tried to emulate even in his lifestyle; all the ancient Greeks in fact had this habit, abandoned only by Alexander the Great , which inaugurated the fashion of shaving.
Hadrian therefore transferred this ancient habit to Roman palaces for the first time, then imitated also by his successors, who certainly ignored the little secret that Hadrian's beard hid, namely having to cover a large and unsightly scar .