From what I understand, acting wasn't really considered a high-class line of work in the past.

A) Is this true?

B) When and why did the attitudes change?

And as a side question: Do we know of any notable actors from the Greek and Roman eras?

For example "John of Smithton".

I am basing this on the book 1491, which may or may not be a valid source. (It sure is a good read, though.)

If Australian aborigines were killed by European diseases, why don't we hear much about it? If they were not, why not? Dispersion?

I was listening to Ray Harris' History of WW2 Podcast, and Philippe Petain came across to me as purposely subverting the French war effort against Germany.

For how long had he planned to be head of Vichy France? Did he have any journals, diaries, or correspondence that indicated a desire to do this before the surrender? Is there any evidence that he was, in fact, purposely trying to make France lose to the Nazis?

We all know he wasn't white, but I hear the black Christians say he was black and the Muslims say he was middle eastern (or "brown" whatever that means).

Bonus question: why do Christians celebrate Easter even though this holiday is not to be found in the Bible?

I've seen a number of pictures of beautiful European cathedrals today, including Paris' Notre Dame and Florence's Duomo. I was wondering who would realistically have had access to them in the era in which they were constructed. Could you find a fairly representative sample of the city there? Would it be restricted just to the nobles/elite? Were regular services different from major holidays? Could children of the poor be baptized in these buildings?

Ive read "Theres power in a union" which I thought was a great book. Any other suggestions?

I know that illiterate people used to sign their names with an x, but how did that come about? And when/how did it become widely accepted as the placeholder symbol (e.g., x marks the location of the treasure chest, etc.)?

I would really apreciate having some more information than just the wikipage.

Frequently when I see ancient texts translated from languages like Hebrew, personal pronouns are rendered as "thou" or "thy" or other archaic forms. It might make sense for some religious texts as their original translations might have been done when those pronouns were still in common use, but it still seems to be done every now and then. Why?

Edit: as an example "O Osiris, everything which is hateful in Unas hath been carried away for thee; for that which was uttered in his name of evil hath Thoth come, and he hath carried it away to Osiris. I have brought that which was spoken in the name of Unas of evil, and have placed it in the palm of thy hand. The SA shall not be separated from thee, and thou shalt not be separated from it." From pyramid texts translated by E. A. Wallis Budge [1909].

The formal/informal thing makes a lot of sense. We don't normally differentiate in modern English. What are some of your opinions about doing it for aesthetic purposes?

After reading the historical fiction book "Under Heaven" by Guy Gavriel Kay I've found myself interested in learning more about the history of China, and imperial history in particular.

So, AskHistorians, can you recommend a good introduction to Chinese history? Either a stand-alone book or a series.

I realise this is a massive topic covering thousands of years, but I'm not looking for something that's rigorously academic. More of a "pop history" sort of thing. Accessible, reliable, well-written and with a large scope.

A good example of the kind of thing I'm looking for would be the recent History of England series by Peter Ackroyd.

Specifically the late 1700s to early 1800s European ships. What were common duties performed by the maintenance crews at sea. Is there some recommended reading material on the types of tools and techniques used by the sailors to maintain a ship?

I realize this might be a broad question, so probably limit the maintenance duties to what would keep the ship in fighting shape (gun and deck maintenance etc...) , and not so much the privy/kitchen maintenance.

My english is not so good, but i'll try. I'm interested if Heracles can be "realted" to somekind Greek gods. For example, Hephaestus and Heracles both hathed Hera but this wasn't their blame. Are there myths/cults/rithuals about Heracles that you can relate to other gods also? Does any of his 12 labors(?) maybe relate to some other similar myths?

As it says in the title!

To include mythology system or creation story in general.