Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 27, 1916.djvu/205

Rh personate deceased ancestors and spirits—either spirits of the wild or vegetation-spirits.

It is therefore quite conceivable, not to say probable, that the savage ancestors of the Greeks may have worn masks as other savages did and do wear them to personate ancestors and spirits or gods. This conjecture of a common origin for the masks both of the Greeks and of uncivilised peoples gains in strength when we observe that the wearing of masks amongst both Greeks and savages was a privilege strictly limited to men.

But it is not enough merely to suggest that the Greek drama may have had its origin in the wearing of masks. If the wearing of masks were a custom capable of developing into what we mean by drama, then it would be remarkable if the custom had so developed amongst the Greeks alone. It would indeed be so remarkable that we should hesitate long before accepting the suggestion. As regards the history of the Greek drama in all its forms—tragedy, comedy, and satyric drama—there are certain broad facts which are plain and undisputed. From the beginning to the end of its history the actors always wore masks, and men alone were allowed to wear masks and to act. For this rigid custom no satisfactory explanation has hitherto been forthcoming. Next, it was only on the occasion of religious ceremonies that masks were worn and that acting took place in ancient Greece. Further, whereas in the earlier stages of Greek drama, gods, heroes, and satyrs were the leading characters, in the later stages they are less prominent; in the new comedy they are absent, and the play only continues to be religious in the sense that it is performed on the occasion of religious festivals, and not in the sense that its theme is in any way religious.

Amongst savages, as I have said, the rites in honour of the gods, spirits and the dead are performed by men alone; the performers wear masks, and the women and children,