A History of Masks

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 togethr 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 perios 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.