Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Comus (; , ''Kōmos'') is the

god In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances. Cup-bearer of the god

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

, he was represented as a winged youth or a child-like satyr. His mythology occurs only in later antiquity. During his festivals in

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

, men and women exchanged clothes. He was depicted as a young man on the point of unconsciousness from

drink A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothie ...

, with a wreath of flowers on his head.

Comus in art and literature

A description of Comus as he appeared in painting is found in '' Imagines'' ( Greek Εἰκόνες, translit. Eikones) by Philostratus the Elder, a Greek writer and sophist of the 3rd century AD.

Dionysos sails to the revels of he island ofAndros and, his ship now moored in the harbour, he leads a mixed throng of Satyroi (Satyrs) and Bakkhantes (Bacchantes) and all the Seilenoi (Silens). He leads Gelos (Laughter) and Komos (Comus, Revelry), two spirits most gay and most fond of the drinking-bout, that with the greatest delight he may reap the river's harvest.

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

times, an allegorical painting of the Reign of Comus was begun by Mantegna for the Studiolo of Isabella d'Este and was completed by Lorenzo Costa in 1511/12. This pictured Comus as the ruler of a land of bacchanals, seated on the left in the company of

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

and Cupid, beside an inlet of the sea. John Milton's later masque of '' Comus'' (1634) invents a new genealogy for the god, describing him as the son of Bacchus and Circe. A licentious figure here, as suggested in Costa's allegory too, his attempts to seduce a virtuous lady whom he has kidnapped are only narrowly defeated by her brothers. There have been a number of paintings of episodes from the play, including a set of eight watercolours commissioned from William Blake in 1801; Samuel Palmer's ''The Dell of Comus'' (1855, now in the Brighton Museum); and Edwin Landseer's ''The Defeat of Comus'', originally painted in 1843 for the garden pavilion in the grounds of Buckingham Palace. As a dramatic character, Comus also appears at the start of

Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...

's masque '' Pleasure Reconciled to Virtue'' (1618) and in '' Les fêtes de Paphos'' (''The Festivals of Paphos'', 1758), an opéra-ballet by Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville. In addition, he features in the

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s '' Les plaisirs de Versailles'' (1682) by Marc-Antoine Charpentier and ''

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

'' (1691) by Henry Purcell and John Dryden. During the 18th century a Temple of Comus was built as a venue in the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, where it was depicted by Canaletto during his visit to London and later made the subject of a popular print.

References

* Text and gallery a
Theoi Greek Mythology

External links

* {{Authority control Nature gods Greek gods Children of Dionysus Satyrs