Abstract
Two sources, Suetonius and Dio Cassius, report that Nero performed some of his theatrical roles while wearing portrait masks of himself and his female lovers. Shadi Bartsch, in her recent fascinating study of theatricality under Nero and his successors, calls attention to this remarkable fact, focusing in particular on the narrative in Suetonius as emblematic of the endemic confusion between reality and theatricality in the reign of this performer emperor.' A closer examination of these masks against the background of both contemporary Roman stage practice and earlier Roman traditions will suggest that they constitute a significant further dimension to the scandal of Nero's performances. Dio's account at least implies recognition of this scandal. Both texts are relatively brief and worth citing in full:
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