All the arrangements already described show strong contrasts between ancient and modern theatres, and perhaps there is nothing which strikes us as so extraordinary as the Greek theatrical costume, and especially the appearance of actors in masks. It is impossible for us to understand this complete disregard of expression and change in representing feelings, and this perpetual stare of the unchanging mask. This curious custom has been explained in many different ways. It is a mistake to suppose that the Greek theatres were too large for the play of an actor’s expression to be observed, and that the coarse features of the mask were arranged with a view to this distance, in which their want of change would be less striking. Since they played in broad daylight, in the sharp clear light of a southern sky, the spectators, even in the most distant places, could have followed the play of the actor’s features, especially since the ancients had better eyes than our present generation. Nor is it correct to suppose that the masks were required in order that the funnel-shaped contrivance applied to its mouth should strengthen the sound; for the acoustics in the Greek theatres were usually so good that the very slightest word even whispered on the stage could be heard in the auditorium. Undoubtedly it would have been impossible without masks for the same actor to undertake many parts in quick succession; but at the same time we may ask whether they would have held so strictly to this system of dividing all the parts among three actors if they had not already possessed the masks, and thus the possibility of abiding within these limitations. The introduction of real characters, whose features were to be faithfully imitated was also facilitated by the masks, but good mimics could achieve this even without, as examples on the modern stage have shown. Consequently, none of these reasons really explain the use of masks; in reality they originated in the religious customs which were the origin of the drama, and afterwards were simply maintained with many other relics of its religious origin, as people had got accustomed to them and found them convenient. It had formerly been the practice at the Dionysia, whence the drama originated, for people to disguise their faces by smearing them over with husks of grapes, etc., or to cover them up completely, or disguise them with wreaths of ivy, etc. Instead of painting and covering them with leaves they gradually began to use pieces of linen, at first quite shapeless and destined only to cover the face and prevent recognition, but afterwards by imitating human features, these developed into masks. This custom continued, then, as sanctified by tradition, and, indeed, all the theatrical arrangements were regarded as a sacred ceremony in honour of Dionysus.
The theatrical masks, the material of which in later times, too, was linen, covered with plaster of Paris, or else wood, bark, etc., differed from our modern masks in covering not only the face, but the whole head of the actor. The actor who had put on the mask could, of course, only see through the slits for the eyes, and, indeed, it sometimes happened—and in the oldest period seems to have been common—that, instead of cutting out a slit for the whole eye, there was only one for the pupil, and the iris was represented on the mask itself, and coloured, so that the actor had the difficult task of looking only through the place for the pupil; still, as the dimensions of the masks were usually larger than those of a human face, this may have been larger than his own. Of course, the masks were completely painted over; the eyebrows, lips, cheeks, wrinkles, etc., were marked; the beard and hair were made of real hair, or wool, or some other succedaneum. Some of the tragic masks had a high bunch of hair above the forehead to increase the height; this was called the “superficies” (onkos), and its object was mainly to increase the height of the actor and make him appear of greater size—an object at which many other peculiarities of the tragic costume also aimed. The ears were not always visible. The mouth was usually open, very wide, with lips and sometimes artificial teeth. The object of the great width of the mouth opening was to enable the actor to declaim and sing unhindered. The comic masks (see below, Figs. [156] and [157]), very often had a funnel-shaped mouth opening, which gave a very grotesque expression to the whole face, and may have been connected with some special technical object, or else merely destined to increase the comic effect. In putting on the masks they took hold of the chin, and drew them on from bottom to top; they were then fastened under the chin with strings, and the actor’s neck was almost completely covered by the mask and his clothing; hence the curious, we might almost say asthmatic, impression given by the pictures of ancient actors.
Generally speaking, we may distinguish three kinds of masks, according to the three kinds of drama—tragic, comic, and satyric; and it is not difficult among the numerous representations of masks on ancient works of art to distinguish between these three kinds, especially since the expression is, as a rule, decisive. In the tragic masks we see calm solemnity, deep grief,
| Fig. 154. | Fig. 155. |
or wild passion; every feeling is expressed on a large and usually dignified scale. The comic masks, on the other hand, always incline to caricature; and those used for the satyric drama, since they were meant for satyrs, naturally represent the physiognomy of animals. But, besides these general indications, there were a large number of gradations—some of them very finely marked—which proves to us that the old makers of masks, which was a special branch of trade, thoroughly understood their work and also human physiognomy. In olden times they seem to have made the masks specially for each drama, so that they might correspond exactly to the characters. This was the case in tragedy as well as in the older comedy, Aeschylus, to whom in particular innovations and inventions in this domain are ascribed, required quite new masks for his “Eumenides,” which had never before appeared on the stage; as did Aristophanes and the other poets of the older comedy for their fantastic characters—Frogs, Clouds, Birds, etc., as also for the real personages represented in their comedies, such as Euripides, Socrates, Cleon, and could only use the already existing masks for the usual typical figures of citizens and citizens’ wives, slaves, etc., as well as for the mythological personages, Hercules, Dionysus, etc. The newer Attic comedy, with its typical characters, very seldom required specially-constructed masks, and it thus became the custom for the properties of every stage or acting company to include a considerable supply of character masks of every kind, which in most cases were sufficient for the demand. Consequently, to speak simply of tragic or comic masks is to express ourselves rather superficially; for though an actually comic mask—that is, one whose absurdity excites to laughter—could never be used in a tragedy, yet there were serious masks which might be used in a comedy; and it would be wrong to suppose that all the persons in a comedy for instance by Menander, appeared in masks which could be designated as specially comic.
Among the typical masks they distinguish between sex, age, and differences of figure; thus there was a mask called “the young girl,” another “the thin old woman,” “the fat old woman,” etc.; then they distinguished according to the colour or cut of the hair: there was the “curly-headed youth,” the “short-haired maiden,” the “fair man,” the “grey satyr,” or by the beard: the “man with a long beard,” the “beardless satyr,” or by the complexion: the “brown man,” the “fair woman with flowing hair,” and even by the shape of the nose, as the “satyr with a pug-nose.” Other masks were characterised by the social position they were to represent, such as “the old housewife,” “the countryman,” “the old hetaera,” “the soldier,” “the lady’s maid with elaborate coiffure,” or according to special peculiarities of mind or character; “the worthy young man,” “the talkative old woman.” Even varying moods of mind or feelings were represented by the masks, and it is probable therefore, that when an important change took place in any one person, the actor changed his mask behind the scenes. The writers also supply various instances to show the different means by which special traits of character were represented. One of these tokens was the colour of the complexion; a brown complexion characterised healthy men, living much out of doors, or devoting themselves to physical exercise; a white complexion was given to women and to delicate or effeminate youths; pale or yellowish to invalids, or those whose mind was disordered or suffering, as for instance unhappy lovers. The colour and expression of the eyes was also important; they distinguished between dull, piercing, dark, gloomy, sad, etc., and all this was not represented by the actor, but was already indicated in the mask. The eyebrows, too, were of importance; when they were drawn up high they indicated, in comedy, pride and boastfulness, and were thus allotted to parasites, soldiers, etc.; narrow eyebrows indicated seriousness or a sad state of mind. No less important for the character of the mask was the treatment of the forehead, nose, etc. To explain all this we give, in Figs. [154] and [154], the front and side view of a tragic terra-cotta mask, whose wide-open mouth, staring eyes, brows drawn upwards, and wrinkled forehead indicate fear and terror. A contrast to these is the comic mask (Figs. [156] and [157]), with the funnel-shaped mouth opening, the pug-nose, squinting eyes, and eyebrows drawn down towards the middle. Similar is the mask worn by the comic actor in Fig. [158], who in other respects appears in the costume of ordinary life—that is, in the short slave’s dress—and the mask of the comic actor in Fig. [159] is a similar caricature.
Besides the regular masks, from which the actors chose those that suited their part, unless the poet had already prescribed what they were to wear, others were in later times adapted for extraordinary situations—for personages of quite abnormal figure, allegorical characters, etc.—and these could not be used for ordinary performances. Tragedy especially was often obliged to bring unusual masks on the stage; and the comedy of Southern Italy, which treated mythological subjects in grotesque fashion, may have occasionally required quite special masks. Thus, on the Pompeian wall-painting (Fig. [160]), which, doubtless, was copied from a Greek picture, the masks relate to the legend of Andromeda; the one on the left belongs