Fabula palliata

Terracotta representation of two comic actors wearing masks with pallia slung over their shoulders

Fabula palliata is a genre of Roman drama that consists largely of Romanized versions of Greek plays.[1] The name palliata comes from pallium, the Latin word for a Greek-style cloak. It is possible that the term fabula palliata indicates that the actors who performed wore such cloaks.[2] Another possibility is that the fabula itself is metaphorically "cloaked" in a Greek style.[3] As in all Roman drama, the actors wore masks that easily identified which of the stock characters they represented.[1]

  1. ^ a b OCD, sv. palliata
  2. ^ "Fabula palliata". Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
  3. ^ OCD, sv palliata