Perspectives: Clowns

 This is one of our neighbors' (many) Halloween decorations. So creepy.  My impression of clowns is that they are meant to be funny - this is probably because they are part of circuses. I looked up the history of clowns and found this on Wikipedia:

The most ancient clowns have been found in the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, around 2400 B.C. Unlike court jesters, clowns have traditionally served a socio-religious and psychological role, and traditionally the roles of priest and clown have been held by the same persons.

Huh.