Greek Theater

In ancient Greek theater, costumes played a huge role in productions. Actors often wore elaborate masks to get into character. They were created to show a character's age, gender, and social class. These attributes couldn't have been shown through actors, because all ancient Greek actors were adult men.

Props and backdrops were created to assist during shows. Prop makers, called skeuopoios, designed and supplied these for actors. Huge backdrops were painted to help set the scene during a performance. They could be used as literal objects, or to symbolize bigger ideas. For example, actors playing Agamemnon usually walked down a red carpet to symbolize the people he killed in Troy.



Theater and drama played a huge role in ancient Greek society. Plays were huge events that attracted large crowds. Greek drama was originally created to honor the gods, another reason for it to be popular. However, they gained popularity on their own, as they created interesting worlds for Greeks to watch and defined what it meant to be human.