The ancient Greeks loved the theater and ancient Greek actors enjoyed a position of eminence and respect. In contrast, although entertainment and drama were similarly adored in Ancient Rome, theater performers were often belittled by higher society and also perceived as morally unclean. The emperor Tiberius, who ruled Rome from 14 to 37 AD and not the most morally upstanding man himself, urged those of high society and theatrical performers to avoid interacting with one another. Later, Julian the Apostate (who ruled from 361 to 363 AD) would prohibit pagan priests from attending the theater so that the actors and the theater itself did not receive any form of elevation in status because of their attendance. The Roman Empire, then, placed itself in a peculiar position of admiring the performing art yet, at the same time, viewing the theater as a symptom of the degradation of society and the stubborn attachment of the people to it as the worst social curse of the Empire.
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