Roman Theatre

When Thespis, a Greek performer, stepped on the stage in 534 BC and became the first known man to speak words as a character in a play or a narrative, he broke the tradition where ancient Greek legends were only expressed in songs, dances and third-person storytelling. However, for hundreds of years after Thespis’ first appearance as the first recorded actor, the words ‘actors’ or ‘thespians’ strictly referred to men, as women's presence in the theatre remained the exception rather than the rule. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"89769","attributes":{"alt":"A Maenad and a Satyr, ancient Roman floor mosaic depicting Dionysiac scenes (220 AD) Römisch-Germanisches Museum Cologne (CC BY-SA 2.)","class":"media-image","height":"657","style":"width: 610px; height: 657px;","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"610"}}]] A Maenad and a Satyr, ancient Roman floor mosaic depicting Dionysiac scenes (220 AD)