Editing Saturnalia (section)

===Role reversal===
Saturnalia was characterized by role reversals and behavioral license.<ref name="Parker"/> Slaves were treated to a banquet of the kind usually enjoyed by their masters.<ref name="Parker"/> Ancient sources differ on the circumstances: some suggest that master and slave dined together,<ref>[[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], ''Epistulae'' 47.14; Carlin A. Barton, ''The Sorrows of the Ancient Romans: The Gladiator and the Monster'' (Princeton University Press, 1993), p. 498.</ref> while others indicate that the slaves feasted first, or that the masters actually served the food. The practice might have varied over time.{{sfn|Dolansky|2011|page=484}}

Saturnalian license also permitted slaves to disrespect their masters without the threat of a punishment. It was a time for [[Marsyas#Prophecy and free speech at Rome|free speech]]: the [[Augustan literature (ancient Rome)|Augustan]] poet [[Horace]] calls it "December liberty".<ref>[[Horace]], ''Satires'' 2.7.4, ''libertas Decembri''; {{harvnb|Mueller|2010|pages=221–222}}</ref> In two [[Satires (Horace)|satires]] set during the Saturnalia, Horace has a slave offer sharp criticism to his master.<ref>[[Horace]], ''Satires'', Book 2, poems 3 and 7; Catherine Keane, ''Figuring Genre in Roman Satire'' (Oxford University Press, 2006), p. 90; Maria Plaza, ''The Function of Humour in Roman Verse Satire: Laughing and Lying'' (Oxford University Press, 2006), pp. 298–300 ''et passim.''</ref> Everyone knew, however, that the leveling of the [[social class in ancient Rome|social hierarchy]] was temporary and had limits; no social norms were ultimately threatened, because the holiday would end.<ref>Barton, ''The Sorrows of the Ancient Romans'', ''passim''.</ref>

The [[toga]], the characteristic garment of the male Roman citizen, was set aside in favor of the Greek ''[[Synthesis (clothing)|synthesis]]'', colourful "dinner clothes" otherwise considered in poor taste for daytime wear.<ref>{{harvnb|Versnel|1992|page=147}} (especially note 59).</ref> Romans of citizen status normally went about bare-headed, but for the Saturnalia donned the ''[[Pileus (hat)|pilleus]]'', the conical felt cap that was the usual mark of a freedman. Slaves, who ordinarily were not entitled to wear the ''pilleus'', wore it as well, so that everyone was "pilleated" without distinction.{{sfn|Versnel|1992|page=147}}{{sfn|Dolansky|2011|page=492}}

The participation of [[Women in ancient Rome|freeborn Roman women]] is implied by sources that name gifts for women, but their presence at banquets may have depended on the custom of their time; from the late Republic onward, women mingled socially with men more freely than they had in earlier times. Female entertainers were certainly present at some otherwise all-male gatherings.{{sfn|Dolansky|2011|pages=492–494}} Role-playing was implicit in the Saturnalia's status reversals, and there are hints of mask-wearing or "[[guising]]".<ref>At the beginning of [[Horace]]'s ''Satire'' 2.3, and the mask in the Saturnalia imagery of the [[Calendar of Philocalus]], and [[Martial]]'s inclusion of masks as Saturnalia gifts</ref>{{sfn|Beard|North|Price|1998b|page=125}} No theatrical events are mentioned in connection with the festivities, but the classicist [[Erich Segal]] saw [[Roman comedy]], with its cast of impudent, free-wheeling slaves and libertine seniors, as imbued with the Saturnalian spirit.<ref>[[Erich Segal|Segal, Erich]], ''Roman Laughter: The Comedy of Plautus'' (Oxford University Press, 1968, 2nd ed. 1987), pp. 8–9, 32–33, 103 ''et passim''.</ref>