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MASKS
Form: Gr. prosopa, Lat. personoe.
An indispensable part of the equipment of a Greek actor. Their use, like the drama itself, goes back to the mummery at the festivals of Dionysus, in which the face was painted with lees of wine or with vermilion, or covered with masks made ofleaves or the bark of trees. The development of the drama led to the invention of artistic masks of painted linen which concealed not only the face, but the whole head, a device ascribed to Aeschylus. The opening for the eyes was not larger than the pupil of the actor concealed under the mask; similarly, in the masks of tragedy (figs. 1-4), the hole for the mouth was only a little larger than sufficed to let the sound pass through; while the masks of comedy (figs. 6-10) had lips that were distorted far apart, and in the form of a round hole, so as to make the voice louder. By moulding and painting them in different ways, and variously arranging the hair of the head and the beard, the masks were made to represent many different types of character, men and women of various ages, slaves, etc; the expression also was made to agree with the dominant nature of the parts [Pollux, iv 133-164]. Among the Romans, masks were at first only used at the Atellanoe (q.v.) , popular farces acted by amateurs; they were not introduced on the stage till the 2nd century B.C., and were not generally employed before the time of the celebrated actor Roscius, an older contemporary of Cicero. After that time, the mimes seem to have been the only actors without masks.

Pictures and Media
Masks used in Tragedy.
Masks used in Tragedy.
Masks used in Tragedy.
Masks used in Tragedy.
Mask need in Salyric Dramas.
Masks used in Comedy.
Masks used in Comedy.
Masks used in Comedy.
Masks used in Comedy.
Masks used in Comedy.
Query:
Type: Standard
SoundEx
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gutter splint
gutter splint
gutter splint