concept
histriones
players
also: histrionibus, ludiones, ister
Professional stage-players; the name comes from the Etruscan 'ister' for a dancer, the craft (unlike the Atellan farce) carrying a civic stigma.
Reading notes
- The History of Rome, Book 7 §2 scenic games
Stage shows, here introduced to Rome from Etruria as a plague-remedy; Livy traces from them the rise of the professional players (histriones).