The Zhoe Dynasty of China has clowns attached to the Imperial Court. This goes all the way back to 1046 BC. One was said to have been close to Ch’in Shih Huang-Ti, who built the great wall and his name was Yu Sze.

There were also clowns in Ancient Greece and they wore very short tunics and were over stuffed in the front and back for comedic purposes. They even had artificial penises strapped to the front of them for the entertainment of all around.

In Ancient Rome, there were many types of clowns for the amusement of the wealthy. One type was known as Sannio. This type of clown was a sort of mime that entertained people by making funny faces and shapes with their bodies. This clown, unlike most at the time, did not wear a mask. Stupidus was another clown of the time and you can gather by the name that his actions were quite foolish and would make others laugh. This clown generally wore a big, long pointed hat that was multicolored along with the rest of the outfit as well as being bald headed. He was well known for mimicking famous actors and using riddles and innuendo to entertain.

However, clowns started getting a reputation for being evil and scary and if you are like us, you are probably wondering how it went from happiness and entertainment to evil and scary. There were studies done that said very few children are fans of clowns because they are from a different era and they look odd and maybe they always have been odd.

If you refer to what we were talking about above, royalty tended to choose people that were odd looking or acting in some way to entertain everyone. Harlequins, jesters, pranksters and clowns have always been around and they were chosen for their odd ways. They also tended to have a dark side as well.

These were characters that were reflections of the funhouse mirrors in society. Scholars note that the comedy performed by these clowns were derived from their appetites for drink, sex, food and their behavior that tended to be manic. In some ways, the clown has always been a strange spirit. They grew up being the butt of the joke and like many comedians today, draw their comedy from tragedy.