ACTOR

Thespis

600 BC - 560 BC

Photo of Thespis

Icon of person Thespis

Thespis (; Greek: Θέσπις; fl. 6th century BC) of Icaria (present-day Dionysos, Greece), according to certain Ancient Greek sources and especially Aristotle, was the first person ever to appear on stage as an actor playing a character in a play (instead of speaking as themself). In other sources, he is said to have introduced the first principal actor in addition to the chorus.Thespis was a singer of dithyrambs (songs about stories from mythology with choric refrains). Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Thespis has received more than 357,222 page views. His biography is available in 31 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 29 in 2019). Thespis is the 266th most popular actor (up from 295th in 2019), the 124th most popular biography from Greece (up from 143rd in 2019) and the 2nd most popular Greek Actor.

Thespis is most famous for being the first person to act in a play.

Memorability Metrics

  • 360k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 74.41

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 31

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 7.57

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.28

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of Thespis by language


Among ACTORS

Among actors, Thespis ranks 266 out of 10,030. Before him are Demi Moore, Bill Murray, George Peppard, Silvana Mangano, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Kris Jenner. After him are William Holden, Michael Landon, Jodie Foster, Richard Widmark, Giuliano Gemma, and Tyrone Power.

Most Popular Actors in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 600 BC, Thespis ranks 19. Before him are Lucius Junius Brutus, Maya, Pheidippides, Mardonius, Hippasus, and Chilon of Sparta. After him are Hippias, Bias of Priene, Nahum, Cleomenes I, Yaśodharā, and Theano. Among people deceased in 560 BC, Thespis ranks 1. After him are Alcaeus of Mytilene, Alyattes of Lydia, Dorieus, Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis, and Opiter Verginius Tricostus.

Others Born in 600 BC

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 560 BC

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In Greece

Among people born in Greece, Thespis ranks 124 out of 855. Before him are Philoctetes (null), Lysias (-445), Chilon of Sparta (-600), Arion (-700), Cleon (-450), and Epimenides (-690). After him are Phryne (-371), Cratylus (-500), Callicrates (-470), Alcaeus of Mytilene (-620), Ioannis Metaxas (1871), and Melina Mercouri (1920).

Others born in Greece

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among ACTORS In Greece

Among actors born in Greece, Thespis ranks 2. Before him are Irene Papas (1929). After him are Melina Mercouri (1920), Katina Paxinou (1900), John Aniston (1933), Arianna Huffington (1950), and Ariane Labed (1984).

Greek born Actors

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Television and Movie Roles

  • Datawheel