The costume that an actor wore was an essential part of enabling the audience to know what character he was playing. Just as with masks, costumes varied among genres.

Based on what little pottery exists depicting tragedy from the fifth century, costume for tragedy was highly decorated and consisted of a full length cloak, sometimes with a knee-length cloak layered on top. The robe’s sleeves were long, tight, and bore patterns such as simple stripes and spirals or even animal shapes. Costumes varied depending on the socioeconomic status of the character, with kings and heroes wearing much more extravagant robes than poor characters. Other distinctions include characters in mourning always dressing in black and differences in dress between Greeks and “barbarians.” Along with the robes, the tragic actor wore soft, calf-length leather boots with a curved toe and slipper base to aid in swift movement across the performance space. Also, in comparing early and late fifth century vase paintings, tragic costume appears to have become more elaborate.

Comedic actors were costumed elaborately, just as the tragic actors were, but with an emphasis on trying to make the audience laugh rather than present a serious image. Actors padded their bodies, particularly in the stomach, buttocks, and shoulders (padding in the shoulders gave a stooped appearance). Another well known characteristic of comedic costume was the phallus. Male characters were fitted with an extremely exaggerated red leather phallus, which was intentionally meant to appear ridiculous. Rather than wearing long robes, comic actors wore short robes, along with tights, which allowed the phallus to show.

For satyr-plays, actors wore small, furry briefs or a loincloth made of linen or goatskin, with a small erect phallus attached, as opposed to the comedic actor’s large, dangling phallus. Under the briefs, the actor wore a full body stocking, which represented his skin.

References

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Brooke, Iris. Costume in Greek Classic Drama. New York: Theatre Arts Books, 1962.

Ley, Graham. A Short Introduction to the Ancient Greek Theater. Chicago: The University of Chicago P, 1991.

Storey, Ian C., and Arlene Allan. A Guide to Ancient Greek Drama. Malden: Blackwell, 2005.

Taylor, David. The Greek and Roman Stage. London: Bristol Classical P, 1999.

Webster, T.b.l. Greek Theatre Production. 2nd ed. London: Methuen and Co. LTD, 1970.

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