The church tried to ‘release these unhappy slaves of a cruel voluptuousness’. By the time of Valentinian I, who reigned from 364 to 375 AD, the church had gained considerable grounds in ‘rehabilitating’ performers and introducing them into respectable society. An actress who, on her death bed, asked for and received the last sacraments, had to promise to never return to her ‘hateful’ theatrical life in case she recovered. This was just one episode of of the many adventures of actors and actresses in ancient Rome.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://martinifisher.com/2022/11/08/blame-it-on-the-theater-the-joys-of-being-actors-and-actresses-in-ancient-rome/