Prosopon ( or ; from ; plural:
prosopa) is a technical term encountered in Greek
theology. It is most often translated as "person", and as such is sometimes confused in translation with
hypostasis, which is also translated as "person." Prosopon originally meant "face" or "mask" in Greek and derives from Greek theatre, in which actors on a stage wore masks to reveal their character and emotional state to the audience. Both prosopon and hypostasis played central roles in the development of theology about the
Trinity and about
Jesus Christ (
Christology) in the debates of the fourth through seventh centuries.