dealt with historical subjects, but usually with legends; therefore a costume must, as it were, be invented for the characters. Art could assist them but little, since it generally represented the gods and heroes in the nude; but the theatre, which at the same time was a religious institution in which all the co-operators were participants in the celebration, sought its effects chiefly by splendour of costume. Thus was developed the ordinary tragic dress, which belonged neither to actuality nor to the past, but was an ideal costume most closely resembling the garments of religious festivities. There were also certain special means adopted for increasing the height of the actor beyond reality, but we must not suppose that this was required by the great distance at which the actors were seen; these attempts at magnifying were rather caused by the desire to make the actors appear super-human, heroic personages, excelling the men of the day in physical power and dignity, just as the wonderful deeds of the Homeric heroes exceeded the weak actions of their descendants. The requirements of costume in comedy were somewhat different; for gods and heroes the same costume was used as in tragedy, but slaves or persons of ordinary life were also introduced, and these could not be clad in solemn garments. It is difficult to find a fixed standard in comedy, since we must take into account not only the difference between the older and the newer comedy, but also the comedy outside Attica--for instance, that of the Sicyonians, the Tarentines, etc.--which had its peculiar character, and, doubtless, also peculiar dress, just as the “Arlecchino” of the Venetian popular comedy appears in a different dress from the Florentine “Stenterello,” and the Neapolitan “Pulcinella,” although originally they were all three the same person. A special costume was not required for the satyric chorus, since all that was necessary here was to imitate as well as possible what was represented by works of art. In stage costume, as in that of real life, we must distinguish between upper and lower garments. The lower garment of the tragic actor, as well as of the chorus, both in male and female parts, was the long chiton, which was worn in Attica before the time of Pericles, and traced its origin to Ionia; this dress was maintained on the stage because it was especially a festive garment, and, like these festive garments, the theatrical dresses were many-coloured, richly adorned with embroidery or borders, and often very costly, if a rich choragus desired to equip his chorus splendidly. As a rule, this chiton was girded in the old fashion, which we see also in the cithara players, immediately under the shoulders, thus forming a very high waist. They also wore long sleeves reaching down to the hands, a peculiarity of festive costume which had disappeared from real life. To increase the magnificence, the chiton often had a train, not only for women but even for men. The upper dress