The ''kōmos'' (; : ''kōmoi'') was a ritualistic drunken procession performed by revelers in ancient Greece, whose participants were known as ''kōmasts'' (κωμασταί, ''kōmastaí''). Its precise nature has been difficult to reconstruct from the diverse literary sources and evidence derived from vase painting. The earliest reference to the ''kōmos'' is in

Hesiod Hesiod ( or ; ''Hēsíodos''; ) was an ancient Greece, Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer.M. L. West, ''Hesiod: Theogony'', Oxford University Press (1966), p. 40.Jasper Gr ...

's '' Shield of Herakles'', which indicates it took place as part of wedding festivities (line 281). And famously

Alcibiades Alcibiades (; 450–404 BC) was an Athenian statesman and general. The last of the Alcmaeonidae, he played a major role in the second half of the Peloponnesian War as a strategic advisor, military commander, and politician, but subsequently ...

gate-crashes the '' Symposium'' while carousing in a ''kōmos''. However, no one kind of event is associated with the ''kōmos'':

Pindar Pindar (; ; ; ) was an Greek lyric, Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes, Greece, Thebes. Of the Western canon, canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar i ...

describes them taking place at the city festivals (Pythian 5.21, 8.20, Olympian 4.9), while

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; ; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide insight into the politics and cu ...

mentions them taking place after the '' ''pompe'''' and '' choregoi'' on the first day of the Greater Dionysia (Speeches 21.10), which may indicate the ''kōmos'' might have been a competitive event. The ''kōmos'' must be distinguished from the pompe, or ritual procession, and the chorus, both of which were scripted. The ''kōmos'' lacked a chorus leader, script, or rehearsal. In the performance of Greek victory odes ( ''epinikia'') at post-

Game A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...

celebrations for winning athletes, the choral singers often present themselves as ''kōmasts'', or extend an invitation to join the ''kōmos'', as if the formal song were a preliminary to spontaneous revelry. Nevertheless, some ''kōmoi'' were expressly described as "''semnoí''" ("modest", "decent"), which implies that standard ''kōmoi'' were anything but. Demosthenes upbraids the brother-in-law of

Aeschines Aeschines (; Greek: ; 389314 BC) was a Greek statesman and one of the ten Attic orators. Biography Although it is known he was born in Athens, the records regarding his parentage and early life are conflicting; but it seems probable that h ...

for not wearing a mask during the komos, as was the custom (On the Embassy 19.287), suggesting costume or disguise may have been involved. The playing of music during the ''kōmos'' is also mentioned by

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

('' Thesmophoriazusae'' 104, 988) and Pindar (Olympian 4.9, Pythian 5.22). There are also depictions of torch-lit processions in vase painting, yet it is not always clear from the evidence of vases if they depict symposia, choruses or ''kōmoi''. It is now widely thought that ''kōmos'' and ''κωμῳδία'' – ''komoidia'', "comedy", are etymologically related, the derivation being ''komos'' + ''ᾠδή - o(i)de'', "song" (from ''ἀείδω'' – ''aeido'', "sing"). However, in part III of the Poetics,

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

records the tradition that the word ''kōmoedia'' derives from the

Megara Megara (; , ) is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis Island, Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken ...

mime A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek language, Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a the ...

that took place in the villages of

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, hence from ''κώμη'' – ''kōme'' (the Dorian word for villageThe '' SOED'' cites both etymologies.). Nevertheless, it remains unclear exactly how the revel-song developed into the Greek Old comedy of the Dionysian festival in the 6th century BC.

Notes

References

*Kenneth S. Rothwell Jr. ‘’Nature, Culture and the Origins of Greek Comedy: A Study of Animal Choruses’’. CUP 2006. {{authority control Ancient Greek comedy Cult of Dionysus

See also

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References