Whatever contemporary texts one reads concerning the ballet d'action (or indeed contemporary mime in general), from performance reviews to discursive essays, practical instruction to polemical tirades, one can expect to encounter references to ancient pantomime, usually Roman pantomime. In essence, the purpose of these references is simple: to put an unusual modern form of art into a respectable Classical context. In an age when the Classical legacy was generally felt to be beneficial, even essential, this tendency is not unusual. However, as anyone who has studied the nature of early modern ‘Classicism’ knows, the ancient ancestry claimed for one art form or another is often problematic. It is often inspired by cultural interests much closer to the contemporary era than by historical interest in the ancients alone. The ballet d'action is typical in this respect: its roots are not as deep as contemporaries sometimes claim them to be.