Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

PERSONA. PERSONA. 891
in earlier times called 7rapaXpowpsr, represented an Lucian, de Scdltat. 27, Anaclh. 23, Nig;i'n. 11,] Sonn
old woman with long white hair, with noble but s. Gall. 26.)
pale features, to indicate a person who had seen The annexed woodcut rebetter days; the ypa'i'oYv ieevepoov, an old freed- presents some masks, one ap-,
woman; the ypal'8Lov olICET'CdV, the old domestic parently comic and the other
slave; the oIKETLKbV icEi o'icovpov, a domestic slave tragic, which are placed at the r
of middle age; and lastly the atOPepL'rs, a young feet of the choragus in the ( -
female slave. celebrated mosaic found at / (/
5. Tragic masksforfree women. The firstof these, Pompeii. (MAluseo Borbon.. vol. "!r/
called KaT'diKO os, represented a pale lady, with long ii. tab. 56; Gell, Pomp. vol. i.
black hair and a sad expression in her countenance. pl. 45.)
She generally shared the sufferings of the principal II. CoMuIC MASes. -In the old Attic comedy,
hero in a play. The second, called 1AeoidcovpoS in which living and distinguished persons were so
dXpd, resembled the former, with the exception often brought upon the stage, it was necessary that
that her hair was half shorn. She was a woman the masks, though to some extent they may have
of middle age, and was probably intended to repre- been caricatures, should in the main points be
sent the wife of the chief hero, if he was not too faithful portraits of the individuals whom they
advanced in age. The third is the tcldicovpos were intended to represent, as otherwise the object
rpd6oaraos, representing a newly married woman of the comic poets could not have been attained.
in full bloom with long and floating hair. The The chorus on the other hand, as well as certain
fourth is the IcobplOSs wrapOevos, a maiden of mature phantastic dramatis personae, rendered sometimes
age, with short hair divided on the middle of the a complete masquerade necessary; as in those cases
forehead, and lying smoothly around the head. when the choreutae appeared with the heads of
The colour of her countenance was rather pale. birds or of frogs, &c. We may remark here, by
There was another mask of the same name, but it the way, that the chorus of tragedy appeared gene.
differed from the former by the following circum- rally without masks, the Eumenides of Aeschylus
stances:-the hair was not divided on the forehead being probably only an exception to the general
or curled, but wildly floating, to indicate that she rule. The masks of the characters in the old Attic
had had much suffering to go through. The last comedy were therefore, on the whole, faithful to
is the idp?, or young girl. This mask represented life, and free from the burlesque exaggerations which
the beauties of a maiden's face in their full bloom, we see in the masks of later times. A change was
such as the face of Dana,, or any other great made in the comic masks, when it was forbidden to
beauty was conceived to have been. represent in comedy the archon by imitating his
The account which Pollux gives of the tragic person upon the stage (Schol. ad Asistoplz. NAzb.
masks comprehends a great number, but it is small 31), and still more, shortly after, by the extension
in comparison with the great variety of masks which of this law to all Athenian citizens. (Schol. cadl
the Greeks must have used in their various trage- Aristoph. A c. 1149, Av. 1297; Suid. s.v.'ATridies, for every hero and every god who was known leaXos.) The consequence of such laws was, that
to the Greeks as being of a particular character, the masks henceforth, instead of individuals, repremust have been represented by a particular mask, sented classes of men, i. e. they were masks typical
so that the spectators were enabled to recognise of men of certain professions or trades, of a particuhim immediately on his appearance. For this lar age or station in life, and sonse were grotesque
very reason the countenances of the gods, heroes, caricatures. A number of standing characters or
and heroines, must, in point of beauty, have been masks was thus introduced in comedy. Pollux
as similar as possible to their representations in gives a list of such standing masks, which are
statues and paintings, to which the eyes of the divided, like those of tragedy, into five classes.
Greeks were accustomed; and the distorted masks 1. Comic ma2sls fbr old men. Nine masks of
with widely open mouths, which are seen in great this class are mentioned. The mask representing
numbers among the paintings of Herculaneum and the oldest man was called ardi7ros;p&Tros: his
Pompeii (see the annexed woodcut from Alfrseo head was shaved to the skin, he had a mild exBosbon. vol. i. tab. 20) would give but a very in- pression about his eyebrows, his beard was thick,
aedequlate notion of his cheeks hollow, and his eyes melancholy. iis
the masks used at complexion was pale, and the whole expression of
Athens during the the countenance was mild. 2. The 7rdrrros esTipoe
nlostflourishingpe- w was of a more emaciated and more vehement apriod of the arts. All pearance, sad and pale; he had hair on his head
the representations /and a beard, but the hair was red and his ears
of tragic masks be- broken. 3. The'yedjcv, likewise an old man,
longing to this pe- C- ) with a thin crown of hair round his head, an aquliriod, do not show < line nose, and a flat countenance. His right eyethe slightest trace " brow was higher than the left. 4. The mrpeavr7Ts,
of exaggeration or bad a long and floating beard, and likewise a crown
distortion in the features of the countenance, and of hair round his head; his eyebrows were raised,
the mouth is not opened wider than would be neces- but his whole aspect was that of an idle man. 5.
sary to enable a person to pronounce such sounds The Eipuc6vElos was bald-headed, but had a beard
as oh or h7a. In later times, however, distortions and raised eyebrows, and was of angry appearance.
and exaggerations were carried to a very great 6. The 7ropogo~osr.s resembled the mask called
extenlt, but more particularly in comic masks, so Avsuou8jeios, but his lips were contorted, the evethat they in some degree were more caricatures brows contracted, and the head without any hair.
than representations of ideal or real countesiances. 7. The eppciseItos sE'TepoS had a pointed beard,
(Apollon. Vit. Apollon. v. 9. p. 195, ed. Olear; but was otherwise without hair. 8. The aorqmvo.