Besides comedies
and tragedies, the Romans had a species of drama peculiar to their
country, called the Atellane farces, which were, in general, low
pieces of gross indecency and vulgar buffoonery, but sometimes
contained spirited satires on the character and conduct of public men.
10. We should be greatly mistaken if we supposed that the theatres in
ancient Rome at all resembled those of modern times; they were
stupendous edifices, some of which could accommodate thirty thousand
spectators, and an army could perform its evolutions on the stage. To
remedy the defects of distance, the tragic actors wore a buskin with
very thick soles, to raise them above their natural size, and covered
their faces with a mask so contrived as to render the voice more clear
and full.[1] Instead of the buskin, comic actors wore a sort of
slipper called a sock.
11. The periodical festivals of the Romans were celebrated with
theatrical entertainments and sports in the circus at the public
expense. The most remarkable of these festivals was the secular,
which occurred only at periods of one hundred and ten years.
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