Actors and Icons of the Ancient Theater examines the realities of everyday life for actors -- and their popular reception -- from the time of theater's emergence in Classical Greece to its subsequent demise during the Roman Empire. In a series of six pioneering essays, noted Classical scholar Eric Csapo un-masks the ancient acting profession to reveal myriad facets of its social, economic, and political history. Along with addressing the evolving image of the actor in Attic and West Greek art, Csapo shows how the rapid expansion of the theater industry from about 430 BC provided the economic basis for the development of an independent and highly competitive acting profession. Other original studies reveal how the emergence of professional actors in the late fifth century changed the way tragedy and comedy were written, and what theater iconography tells us about the activity and performance styles of actors from the Hellenistic period to the Early Byzantine Empire. A final study addresses the history of the privatization of theater from Late Classical to Imperial times. Revelatory and thought-provoking, Actors and Icons of the Ancient Theater offers students and scholars alike fascinating new insights into the origins and evolution of one of the world's most enduring traditions.
