These terracotta figurines look as though they might’ve stepped right off the nearby vases! They are among the earliest representations of comic actors. And, most importantly, they document the beginning of standardized characters that appeared time after time in a variety of Greek comedies.

Look at the actor dressed as an old woman with a cloak pulled over his head, and another dressed as Herakles with a lion skin and club. There’s one that wears the costume of an old man with a conical traveler’s hat. Notice his mask with a long beard, and how he dabs at his eye with the edge of his cloak. These figures resemble the characters in the later plays of the Greek comic dramatist, Aristophanes.

By the end of the fifth century B.C., the old man, the hag, the slave, and the courtesan were characters instantly recognizable by their costumes and masks. In addition to special features like a leather phallus, and heavy padding on the belly and rump, you’ll notice that these terracotta figurines were also once brightly painted. Just imagine how color would have brought each character to life.

Theatrical companies may have sold such figurines as souvenirs of popular character-types. This group is from Attica , the region surrounding Athens. Other examples from this area, and copies made elsewhere, are found throughout the Greek world from as far as South Russia to Spain.