Famous actor says all Greek men should have a moustache to celebrate 200 years of Independence

Being just one year shy of Greece’s 200 years since the Greek Revolution of 1821, famous Greek actor Renos Charalambides has made an interesting proposal on how men should celebrate this event.

Charalambides proposed through social media that all Greek men should grow a moustache, a very common feature of Greek men in the 1800’s, especially the independence fighters.

Along with his call to grow the moustache, he posted a photo of himself sporting a new moustache himself.

The actor’s post went viral and has left many wondering if the actor is joking or means it.

Whether it is a joke or not, it seems like a great way to immortalise the 200 year anniversary.

Many of Greece’s independence heroes had a moustache.

Theodoros Kolokotronis, considered the greatest hero of the Greek independence struggle had a moustache of course.

Georgios Karaiskakis, of course had one.

As did the “Turk-eater” Nikitaras.

And perhaps the one with the most famous moustache of them all, Odysseas Androutsos.

The moustache was not however reduced to only the warriors of the 1800’s, but also carried into the 1900’s, whether it was legendary musicians like Vasilis Tsitsanis; Nikos Kazantzakis who authored Zorba the Greek, or great statesmen like Eleftherios Venizelos.

In the 1900’s, fighters for Hellenism like Georgios Grivas also had a moustache, but were challenged by those having a long beard like Napoleon Zervas and Aris Velouchiotis.

Today in Greece, the moustache has mostly been dropped in favour of either a cleanly shaven face or a short beard. It would be almost safe to say that the moustache is now out of fashion and does not appear to be returning anytime soon.

However, can we make an exception for 2021 in honour of so many heroes who helped achieve Greece’s independence from the Ottoman Empire two centuries ago?