Theatre Masks

Theatrical masks of Tragedy and Comedy. Mosaic, Roman artwork, 2nd century CE. Capitoline Museum. From the Baths of Decius on the Aventine Hill, Rome.Wikipedia user: Tsujigiri	Public Domain image.
Theatrical masks of Tragedy and Comedy. Mosaic, Roman artwork, 2nd century CE. Capitoline Museum. From the Baths of Decius on the Aventine Hill, Rome. Wikipedia user: Tsujigiri Public Domain image.

Classical world was a cradle of performing arts. From around 6th century BC drama was institutionalized in Athens with dedicated performance dates and purpose-built buildings. Soon theatrical performances could be seen across the whole of the Mediterranean, and beyond during the Roman Empire. From its religious routes theatre very quickly became a major source of entertainment, offering a diversity of performances including comedy, tragedy, mime or farce. Classical drama gives us some of the earliest evidence for organized leisure, with works often created just to amuse or for the sake of telling a good story. Some of the plays created in this period have been performed through the two millennia, and are still enjoyed by audiences today.

Reading

Bieber, M. 1961. The History of the Greek and Roman Theatre. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Csapo, E. and Slater, W.J. 1995. The Context of Ancient Drama. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

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