Sock and buskin are ancient symbols of

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

and

tragedy A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...

. In

ancient Greek theatre A theatrical culture flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. At its centre was the city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, and the theatre was institutionalised there as p ...

, actors in tragic roles wore a boot called a buskin (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

cothurnus A buskin is a knee- or calf-length boot made of leather or cloth, enclosed by material, and laced, from above the toes to the top of the boot, and open across the toes. The word buskin, only recorded in English since 1503 meaning "half boot" ...

'') while the actors with comedic roles wore only a thin-soled shoe called a

sock A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the Calf (leg), calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. ...

(Latin '' soccus''). The sock and buskin, like the comedy and tragedy masks, are associated with two Greek Muses,

Melpomene Melpomene (; ) is the Muse of tragedy in Greek mythology. She is described as the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne (and therefore of power and memory) along with the other Muses, and she is often portrayed with a tragic theatrical mask. Etymolog ...

and Thalia. Melpomene, the Muse of tragedy, is often depicted wearing buskins and holding the mask of tragedy, while Thalia, the Muse of comedy, is often depicted wearing the comic's socks and holding the mask of comedy.

References

Drama Ancient Greek theatre Symbols Professional symbols {{theat-stub