The origin of the Latin word persona (“mask, role, status”) is unknown; it may be Etruscan. The philologist Gavius Bassus (1st cent. bce) traced the “origin” of the word to the function of the ancient theater mask, namely that of a megaphone which concentrated the voice and caused it to “sound through” (per-sonare; cf. Gellius, Noctes Atticae V 7) in a more sonorous way. The corresponding Greek word is πρόσωπον/prósōpon, “face, mask, front.…
Cite this page
Cancik, Hubert,
Schütt, Hans-Peter,
Grube, Andreas,
Herms, Eilert and
Schmidt, Heinz,
“Person”, in:
Religion Past and Present.
Consulted online on 16 May 2022 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1877-5888_rpp_COM_024328>
First published online: 2011
First print edition: ISBN: 9789004146662, 2006-2013