A History of Masks
Masks are a staple of our culture.
During Halloween, plays, and films masks are often used.
Masks have been used for everything from celebrations to funerals throughout history, the Egyptian funeral mask is one example.
Whether used for work or play,protection or anonymity the mask has many varied uses.
The following is a short study on the history of masks.
Egyptian Funeral Mask
The Egyptian funeral mask of King Tut is one of the most famed of all masks, ever since his tomb was uncovered in the Valley of the Kings, “the boy king” has become a celebrity of sorts.
Beyond his iconic status though is 2,000 or so years of tradition and symbolism.The funeral mask of ancient Egyptians was especially used for royalty in most cases. The solid gold in Tut’s mask denotes his kingship.
Gladiator Masks
An example of masks for protection is the Roman gladiator mask. These masks were worn during bloody sporting events put together for the entertainment of Roman emperors and nobles, gladiators were usually of low class. Often they were prisoners. Gladiator fights were often to the death of one of the unfortunates in the arena.
Masks were also employed during European jousting contests for the protection of the participants. From history we learn the important value of protecting ones face during dangerous activity.
Theatre Masks
Masks for entertainment have been used since the days of Greek theatre, I personally think masks from that time period are great. Theatre masks are often elaborately decorated so as to hold the audiences attention. Live theatre employs masks moreso than films, but masks such as the one worn by jason voorhees are interesting as well.
Finally, we come to the end of this article, and the final mask we will look at is the
Gas Mask
An example of masks in warfare, a gas mask is used even in modern warfare to protect soldiers against chemical weapons.
Thank you to all who read this article. I hope you found it informative and interesting.
Liked it
User Comments
Judy Sheldon
On August 2, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Great story and pictures.
Thanks & God Bless.
lauren mcnab
On September 17, 2008 at 11:00 am
this page should have just history on masks and all sorts of masks eg masquarade or carnival.
lauren mcnab
On September 17, 2008 at 11:02 am
this page is brillant and the pictures are brilliant too.
thanks alot of help !!
hannah snell
On December 11, 2008 at 10:42 am
some masks were scary, but some were cool x
shannon searle
On January 18, 2009 at 4:29 am
this has been alot of help for my homework!! some of the masks were scary but some were cool. i dont normally pay attention to masks but this has been fun to explore thanks.
lily
On February 26, 2009 at 12:45 pm
cool site
william granger
On March 6, 2009 at 3:44 am
this site is very unhelpful as i am trying to complete my assignment and your site does not have enough info for me to do that. tut pathetic
John
On March 6, 2009 at 12:47 pm
I apologize that it did not meet your needs, I will try to improve the article.
pippaaaaaaaaaaaa
On March 15, 2009 at 10:06 am
this helped quite abitttt (:
spelling mistakes though…
=/
but all in all it was a good help
cheers
x
Brad..
On March 15, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Hey whats the name of the gladiator mask? please reply
John
On March 15, 2009 at 8:38 pm
I must admit even after researching,I am not sure the actual term,the term gladiator is derived from the Roman word “gladius” which is the name of the combatants sword.
here this may help
On March 15, 2009 at 8:51 pm
There are several kinds Brad,
Secutor Herculaneum
Thracian
Hoplomarchus
and the Charioteer helmet
correction
On March 15, 2009 at 9:00 pm
it’s actually hoplomachus and another is the thraex
MS
On April 30, 2009 at 4:49 am
You have grasped the general idea but it needs improvement in order to be considered a well informed and helpful site. or you should consider changing the title, because when one enters this site he expects a history of masks. what you have written is very brief and poor. But you are on the right track, it just need further development.
izzy
On June 7, 2009 at 1:29 pm
really good
usefull !!
it does need more detail.
many reards
megan bridgen
On September 28, 2009 at 1:35 pm
ITS OKAY!
Post Comment