Greek Masks

... Greek masks continue to hold our fascination. So much of the history of modern theater has its roots in ancient Greece and much of Greek theater is associated with these masks. The rich ancient history of Greek theater is inextricably linked to the use of Greek masks and one can hardly tell the story of the ancient theater without referring to them. The concept of using masks in theater was born from worship of Dionyssos, the Greek god of fertility and wine. There were a great amount of rituals and ceremonies that were associated with worship of Dionyssos and many of them included the wearing of masks. The acting fraternity of Greece adopted the mask wearing proclivities of the worshippers of Dionyssos. In fact, Thespis, a Greek writer, was the first to wear a mask and it is from his name, Thespis, that we derive the word thespian, a synonym

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