Masks have been used for centuries in many religions, whether they are still practiced today or have died out. These artifacts are used as a way to worship a certain god during particular ceremonies, to entertain, and during festivals. Every religion is different and has separate rules, god(s), beliefs, practices, etc. but just like how Christianity and Judaism believe in the Old Testament, Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece both used masks as a religious way to worship a particular god. Ancient Egyptian masks were very different than the Ancient Greek masks. There are many similarities and differences between how the masks were made, what they were made from, how they were used, who could wear them, where they were worn, how they were stored and what they looked like. …show more content…
But thanks to a couple of discovered vases and the paintings on them from the 5th century BCE, historians have been given an idea of what masks looked like and how they were used in Ancient Greece. An example of a vase painting is “a mask of a god in a tree with a robe hanging below the mask and it dancing. This shows the actors getting ready for a Satyr play”. It is thought that masks had been used in ceremonial rites and celebrations along with worship. The most commonly worshipped god was Dionysus. Greek plays were performed during religious ceremonies held in honor of Dionysus. The Greeks commonly used theater as a way to worship gods as well as entertaining an audience. Dionysian was a festival held annually to honor Dionysus. “It was held in an open-air theater that seated 15,000 people”. Behind the orchestra and chorus was where the actors performed on an open stage. People from all over Greece would travel to Athens to watch the performance and to worship