The Kōmos was a ritualistic drunken procession, or carouse, performed by revellers after a symposium. Participants were known as komasts, and are thought to have engaged in singing and dancing in an impromptu manner; the dance lacked a chorus leader, script or rehearsal. There were some kōmoi dances described as “modes” or “decent,” which implies that others were not.
The dancers can be seen depicted standing on one leg, with one arm forward and one arm back, and they often hold drinking horns or cups while dancing. Although some dancers wore short padded tunics, many are shown naked. While ancient literature mentions the use of masks during Kōmos, this is not always seen in the artistic representations.[1]
Earlier reference to Kōmos appears in Hesiod, as part of a wedding celebration.[2] Pindar later mentions that it was part of city festival.[3] Demosthenes also mentions the Kōmos, stating that the dance took place after a ritual procession and a chorus on the first day of the Great Dionysia, which emphasises the Dionysiac associations of the dance.[4]
The Kōmos is more frequently depicted in art, however, such as painted on vases and other vessels. Archaic Corinthian vases including these figures depict clubfooted, padded dancers, which may have been a localised symbol offering political commentary on historical traditions of lameness within the tyrannical family of Corinth.
Though komasts are portrayed on several types of vessels, they appeared so frequently on a special form of cup that scholars have now labelled it the komast cup. These vessels have a deep, curved body, an offset lip, and a short, spreading foot. The komast cups are decorated with similar motifs: of course, the dancers are featured, but they also have flowers or other floral designs near the handles, and a patterned lip, often decorated with rosettes.[5] Rays are commonly seen above the foot of the vessel, and the interior is typically black, possibly containing additional depictions. The exportation of these vessels, as suggested by their distribution, demonstrates the popularity of the komast cup in the early to mid 500s BC.[6]
The term Kōmos can also be used as a name, referring to a personification in the form of a youth or satyr, the latter of which is commonly represented as an attendant or cupbearer of Dionysos in Attic pottery.[7]
[1] Demosthenes, On the Embassy 19.287.
[2] Hesiod, Shield of Herakles 281.
[3] Pindar, Pythian 5.21; Olympian 4.9.
[4] Demosthenes, Speeches 21.10.
[5] See Conor and Brijder 1983: Figs. 7-8.
[6] See Smith 2007:154 on distribution of Attic vessels with komos motif.
[7] For more on personification and the komos, see Smith 2007