For three centuries following its conquest by Alexander in 332 B.C., Egypt was ruled by Macedonian Greeks. These rulers and their subjects enjoyed Greek drama. Troupes of actors presented performances in major towns throughout Egypt. Some of the most popular characters appeared in the comedies of the Athenian playwright Menander, whose plays remained popular long after his death. The actors employed conventionalized masks to represent these characters, and the distinctive colors and features of the masks made them instantly recognizable. The characters included soldiers, slaves, and courtesans, and they were portrayed in mosaic glass plaques that became popular decorative motifs. Glassmakers used halves of faces to form complete, symmetrical faces by combining two slices from the same cane, one of which was simply reversed. Here is one such mask, which shows Menander’s brothel keeper.