Komos Growing up among Satyrs and Children Author(s): Amy C. Smith Source: Hesperia Supplements, Vol.

41, Constructions of Childhood in Ancient Greece and Italy (2007), pp. 153-171 Published by: American School of Classical Studies at Athens Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20066788 . Accessed: 14/04/2011 06:19
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Komos
Satyrs

Growing
and

Up

among

Children

by Amy C. Smith

the few children figured on Attic vases there is a boy named Among Komos.1 He appears on a range of red-figure vases dating from theHigh b.c.2 His depictions suggest that he could be Classical period, 450-400 shown at various ages between approximately three and twenty years. Ko mos

is unusual in several distinct ways among the children who have been remembered to us through the visual arts of Classical Athens. Depictions of children inAttic pottery generally fall into two categories?mythical children,who usually frequent images of known tales, and human children, who populate genre scenes?but Komos appears in neither category yet both contexts (mythical and genre). His resulting status, between divine and mortal, thus suits his role as a personification, a representation of a thing, event, place, or abstraction in human form:3his name, which means "the Carouse" (and related activities), is hardly coincidental.4 Moreover, is liminal in another way: he sometimes appears as a human and
times as a satyr.

Komos
at other

youthful activities in the human world. The genre scenes inwhich Komos
1.1 dedicate this article to the

contribution is a study of the varying representations of Komos Athenian artists,with a focus on his transition from a youthful satyr, by a usually in the retinue ofDionysos, to human boy who conducts normal This

tionsofChildhood in the Ancient

World" and 6-8,2003, College, to the British for funds to Academy attend the symposium. 2. All otherwise dates hereafter stated. treatments of the are b.c. unless symposium November held at Dartmouth

A. Cahn, who gen memory invited me to view his private erously collection of pottery fragments in 1996 and who, on that occasion, first brought his Komos allowed me

of Herbert

481, followed by Pind. Pyth. 5.22. For a thorough study of the word ? kc?uo? in Greece during the Classical period, see 1976. For the activity, Minyard 1993, pp. 126,213-214; 1976, pp. 207-297. Ghiron-Bistagne 4. For the purposes of simplicity, this article I translate the throughout names personifications or double-word Oinos Whereas of all personifications and quasi with capitalized single names for (e.g.,Wine for Hedyoinos). I refer to the entity komos see Lonsdale

Shortlybeforehis death he kindly photographof thisfragment(Fig. 8.8). I am also indebtedtoJudith Bar M.

M. Hurwit, ringer, Ada Cohen, Jeffrey and Jeremy B. Rutter, all of whom read to and recommended improvements earlier versions grateful of this article. and Rutter I am also for the to Cohen permission to publish my

fragment

to my

attention.

Komos (primarily the personification human figure),seeLIMC VI, 1992,

pp. 94-98, Deissmann); 1300-1303, s.v. Komos RE (A. Kossatz cols. (H. Lamer); II.2,1922,

3. For general

but Sweet Wine

s.v. Komos

Levi 1947, pp. 50-54. Graf 1999,

discusses the musical pp. 705-706, nature of ? kcouo?, as prescribed by its in earlier appearance Hymn. Horn. Merc.

to deliver an earlier version opportunity at the "Construe of this contribution

the personification Komos (always as a name) without. capitalized,

(nevercapitalized)with italics,I denote

TABLE
Text 1 Ref.

8.1. VASES DEPICTING

Inventory Number

KOMOS
Shape Findspot
Painter Polygnotos Manner Peleus of Painter of Date Komos Label

Mus?e du Louvre CA 303 Neck amphora Paris,

440-430 440-430 440-430 440-430 440-430

KOMOI KQ[MOI] KOMOI KQMOI KQMOI

(G430)

Syracuse,

Museo

Paolo

Orsi

Calyx

krater

(fr.)

Kamarina

24.114 Bell krater Cup Cup Nola Vulci (perhaps) Spina

3 (Fig. 8.4) 4 (Fig. 8.3) 5

Compi?gne,Mus?e Vivenel 1025 Museum E 82 London, British Martin von Wagner W?rzburg, Museum L 491

Group Kodros Kodros

Polygnotos Painter Painter

6 (Fig. 8.1) 7 8 9 10 11 (Fig. 8.5) 12 (Fig. 8.8)

New

York, Metropolitan of Art 24.97.25ab

Volute

krater

Gela

Coghill Painter Eretria Painter

430-420 430-420 430-420 430-420

420-410

KQMOI KOMOI

Museum

BerlinAntikenmuseen F 2532 BerlinAntikenmuseen F 2471

New Museum York, Metropolitan of Art 08.258.22 Rhode Island

Cup

Vulci Trachones,Attica

(I

Squat lekythos
Chous

Eretria Eretria

Painter Painter

KOMO[l] KOMOI (re KOMOI KQMOI KQMOI

KQMOI

Providence,

Bell

krater

Pothos

Painter

School ofDesign 23.324 BerlinAntikenmuseen F 2658

Basel, Collection of

Chous
Chous

Vulci

Painter Boston

of 10.190

420-410

MeiSchool of
dias Painter

410-400

Herbert A. Cahn 649 Ex. Hope Collection 141

Oxford, Ashmolean 1937.983

13 14 (Fig. 8.9) 15 16 (Fig. 8.2)

Bell krater
Calyx krater

Pothos

Painter

420-410

KQMO[I] KQMOI KQMOI KQMOI

Spina S.Agata dei Goti

Dinos

Painter

430-420 420-410
410-400

Naples, Museo Nazionale 82547 Bell krater

Dinos

Painter

(H 2369)

Vienna,

Kunsthistorisches-

Bell

krater

Manner Dinos

of Painter

Museum IV 1011
Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Calyx krater

17 18 (Figs. 8.6, 8.7)

Dinos

Painter

420-410

KQMOI KQMOC KQMOC

Museum IV 1024
London, British Museum Miniature chous Athens, Stables near Royal 1929.10-16.2

Group of Athens 12144

410-400

KOMOS

GROWING

UP

AMONG

SATYRS

AND

CHILDREN

155

appears as a human boy arewell attested on choes (juglets) that are associ ated with the Choes rites at theAnthesteria.5 A consideration of Komos's age in the images on these choes might shed light on the relevance of the Choes portion of theAnthesteria to boys at a certain life stage. Iwill then

name 5th-century Athens. Is the significant? Perhaps the activity, komos, had a special role inAthenian (wartime) society, particularly among chil dren or youths. This line of inquiry naturally leads to Komos's role as a

consider the implications of Komos's name: how and why Komos became name for an appropriate youthful characters, whether satyr or human, in

vases). Komos is themost common name for a satyr on Attic vases and is verymuch an Attic and High Classical phenomenon: there are no known occurrences in Tyrhennian, Chalcidian, or other wares that commonly de named satyrs.6 breakdown of the artists orworkshops that depicted A pict among Athenian

personification. I shall argue thatwhether Komos is represented as satyr or human, his name is always meaningful, and therefore that he always serves as a personification. This analysis has wide-ranging implications for the study of personification which, for semantic reasons, has hitherto been restricted to figures shown more strictly in the human form. Komos is represented 20 times on the 18 vases listed in Table 8.1, as a 12 vases), a youthful satyr (on 4 vases), or as a human satyr (on boy (on 3

Komos

who may have been a student of the aforementioned Eretria Painter.9

between 440 and 400 also reveals how widespread this figurewas artists of this period. Four maybe attributed to the Group of Polygnotos,7 or asmany as eight ifone includes Polygnotos's descendant, the Dinos Painter, five to the Kodros and Eretria Painters,8 two to the Pothos Painter, and three choes to the large Circle of the Meidias Painter,

KOMOS
Komos

IN THE WORLD

OF DIONYSOS

on kraters and is best known as a satyr companion of Dionysos cups, vessels unsurprisingly associated with drinking, beginning in the third quarter of the 5th century.The satyrKomos ismusical and festive, and almost always appears in a Dionysiac thiasos, usually as an attendant toDionysos himself. He thus seems to represent the carouse of Dionysos and his followers. Occasionally amusical instrumentmight hint at the ode named for him.10 In the later representations, 430-400, Komos is usually shown as an undistinguished satyr:he follows the thiasos (onNo. 10), carries
8. Beazley classes in these two dias Painter particularly choes. and the Eretria strong with Painter are

5.1 have whereby

italics, whereas Choes (always capital ized), the name of rites on a particular is not italicized, day of the Anthesteria, help the reader distinguish between the two. easily 6. Later occurrences include a few Roman mosaics (Levi 1947, pp. 50 as the Peleus in order to

type3 oinochoe by (jug), is identified

the convention adopted chous (pi. choes), the Beazley

painters ARV2,

together apparently

chapter 65 of for reasons of chro Painter as teacher

regard

to the

nology and shape. 9. On the Eretria of theMeidias

p. 705, {LIMC

10. LSJ s.v. ? kcouo?. Graf and Kossatz-Deissmann VI,

1999,

Painter, see Burn n. 53. She notes that both 1987, p. 11, a for squat painters had penchant classifies

however, Another

54).
as well Polygnotos, and Coghill Painters. 7.

the two painters together, along with the Shuvalov Painter, in the "Chevron and comments Workshop," that the connections between theMei

and choes. Green (1971, p. 191) lekythoi

1992, p. 94, s.v. Komos), as the define Komos only of the procession. personification (of a more

see Pompe (fjrcouTiri); A. Smith 1997,

pp. 120-122.

of a procession personification solemn nature) might be

i56

AMY

SMITH

mm.

Figure 8.1. Komos (thirdfigure from the left)among satyrsand maenads in aDionysiac thiasos, on sideA of a volute krater attributed to the Coghill Painter.New York,Met Museum ofArt, Fletcher ropolitan Fund, 1924 (24.97.25ab). Photo cour
tesy Metropolitan Museum of Art

aulos (on No. 13) or a lyre (on No. 15), or with a thyrsos draped across his arm (on No. 8). A scene that atypically takes him away from is one inwhich Komos and other satyrs frolicwith (attack?) the Dionysos (No. 16, Fig. 8.2). This ismost likely a scene spring nymph, Amymone taken from a satyr play.12 From his earliest appearances in the 430s, Komos s youth, his most common characteristic, is indicated.13 In at least three instances he is the double

a or a vessel (as perhaps on side A of a volute thyrsos (on Nos. 9 and 17) krater inNew York, No. 6, Fig. 8.1), occasionally leads theway with his torch (on No. 14, Fig. 8.9, see below), plays a double aulos (on Nos. 1 and 9) or a barbitos (on side A ofNo. 7),11 and at times is seated, holding the

11. The but without

tondo

also depicts

Komos,

All figures are clearly labeled: Persephone and Hades (OEPPEOATTA and in the tondo; Amphitrite and Poseidon (AMOITPITH and nAOYTON) IIOXEIAQN), as well as Hera and Zeus (HEPA and ZEYI), attended by and APEI), as well as Ariadne and Dionysos (APIAANE and AIONYIOI),

as as youthful cupbearer ofDionysos, just Ganymede traditionally served Zeus's cupbearer. The comparison ismade explicit on a remarkable cup in London, attributed to theKodros Painter (No. 4, Fig. 8.3).The decoration a on all sides of this grand feast of the gods: Zeus and large cup depicts his brothers are shown, each reclining with his consort on his own kline.

attributes.

nos. 49-50. depicted

12. SeeMatheson 1995, p. 260, Brommer 1959, p. 75, following

The same on another

be play might vase attributed to

Museo Paolo Orsi 44291: ARV21041,

no. 9; 319. Beazley Addenda2 two of the earlier vases 13. Only a mature satyr: nos. 1 and 2.

group, a bell krater in the Polygnotos's manner of the Peleus Painter, Syracuse,

Ares (AOPOAITH A; MEAEI), on side Aphroditeand Ganymede (|JA]NY

(datingfromthe430s) depictKomos as

KOMOS

GROWING

UP

AMONG

SATYRS

AND

CHILDREN

157

Figure 8.2. From leftto right,

Hedyoinos, Amymone, the Dinos Komos, and other the satyrs, nymph on side

A of a bell krater in themanner of

Painter. Vienna, Kunst

historisches Museum

IV 1011. Photo

courtesy Kunsthistorisches Museum

Figure 8.3. Komos (farright) attend

and Ariadne, among ing Dionysos on side B of a others, cup in London, to the Kodros attributed Painter. London, ?Trustees British Museum E 82. Photo of the British Museum

the (No. 5), Komos again attendsAriadne and Dionysos. While W?rzburg drunken god collapses on his consort, a young Komos (small and without a beard), standing to their right,with torch and backpack, humorously holds Dionysos's kantharos up to him. An even smaller/younger Komos,

on the opposite side, imply his role here (as a Ganymede, cupbearer) and thus his relative youth. On another cup attributed to theKodros Painter, in

attended by Komos (KQMOI), on side B. Komos's identity as a satyr is here indicated by his horse tail,pointed ear, and receding hairline, although his youth is obscured (his face is damaged on the pot; otherwise we would check for a beard). Yet his reduced size aswell as the direct comparison with

AMY

C.

SMITH

A t tA h N J4

with torch as well as kantharos, follows a mature satyr,playing the double New York (No. 9).14Together they lead Dionysos, aulos, on a large chous in on muleback, with the returning Hephaistos.15 Finally the satyrKomos to the appears as a mere toddler on a bell krater inCompi?gne attributed as a delightful inversion, Group of Polygnotos (No. 3, Fig. 8.4). Through Ariadne pours wine from an oinochoe into Dionysos's kantharos, positioned in the lap of the god himself, Komos reaches up to sip from the great cup.16 A maenad named Tragoidia (Tragedy) looks on, holding a small hare with which shemay be hoping to lure the boy away.17

Figure Komos on uted

Dionysos, Tragoidia, as a and Ariadne, boy satyr, side A of a bell krater, attrib to the Group author of Polygnotos.

8.4.

Compi?gne, Mus?e Vivenel 1025.

Drawing

KOMOS AND THE CHOES

There

at least four times on three a Dionysos's circle but human boy, appearing the iconography vases dating to the period 420-400. Though different of each vase depicting Komos as a human boy is distinct, their shapes,
one label exists for the 14. Only two satyrs, and it is difficult to link the label definitively with one or the to the head of each possible to which they referred (see figure A. Smith 1999, n. 53; Boardman 1992, no sense raised label makes p. 45). The in the case of the adult satyr, around close whose holds head there is plenty of room for a label. The young satyr, however, his thyrsos aloft, and the painter seems to have the label well kept above the top of the thyrsos where there is enough letters. the phenomenon room for all of the as as leaders especially return of Hephaistos, Komos on No. 9. in the of donkeys as in the case of

is, however,

a Komos

who

is neither

satyr

nor

a member

of

other of the two, as it is placed very vase. Their on the body of the high attributes (double aulos, thyrsos, and kantharos) Komos. are previous A. Kossatz-Deissmann While equally most attributable

to

scholars in LIMC

Komoidia. Shapiro (2003, p. 89) has

called this image for the Anthesteria 17. It was hare was a a "mythical festival."

vase illustrates a lost suggests that this but by Sophokles, tragedy, Athamas, the Ariadne he mistakes figure for paradigm plau

16. Fuhrmann (1952, p. 120, fig.8)

(e.g., seem s.v. Komos) VI, 1992, pp. 94-98, to have taken the mature satyr to be Komos, I would satyr is Komos made great efforts to place suggest that the boy because Attic artists labels as

15. Padgett (2000, p. 57) discusses

of juvenile satyrs,

sible suggestion(1912, p. 62) that the

gift for the boy.

originally

Fr?nkel's

KOMOS

GROWING

UP

AMONG

SATYRS

AND

CHILDREN

159

from right) Figure 8.5. Komos (third

and three on a chous reveling boy companions to the attributed Group of

Boston 10.190. Berlin, Antiken

Photo courtesy F 2658. sammlung zu Berlin-Preussischer Staatliche Museen Kulturbesitz, Antikensammlung

decoration, and presumed functions are remarkably close: each is a chous as Meidian decorated in the gifts to style, and all may have been presented children. The Group of Boston earliest of these three vases, a chous in Berlin attributed to the 10.190 (No. 11, Fig. 8.5), depicts a komos of four boys:

not surprisingly, Neanias and Song).18While Paian leads this procession, Their Komos stumble forward, arm in arm, across the center of the chous.

NEANIAI (Youthful), KAAOI (Beautiful), KQMOI, and IIAIAN (Choral

appearance and attributes are identical, although Neanias is, appropriately, the smaller of the two: both wear thick taeniae and short capes, and hold,

Choes

the boys have already wreathed their vessels conveys the idea that theChoes festival has already occurred: these are imitating KcouaCovxec, as they process from the banquet (sym boys posion) to the Limnaion at the end of the day.19 Through
worn quendy reason around FGrH at the Choes considered

in their outstretched hands, wreathed choes that reveal the reason for their intoxicated state and suggest the occasion that this image celebrated: the rites in theAnthesteria. That

his association
were subse

18. This ismy own reading, based on my firsthand vase inspection of the in Berlin, for the arrangement of which I am grateful to Ursula K?stner. to see that I am in agreement I am glad

1998, p. 581, e.g., H. Immerwahr no. 2410, as well as Kron 1988, p. 294 and n. 25), in that the second letter in

banquet

name (KQMOI) is amal the third

and

boys would their choes and dedicate 325.F

polluted, for which place the wreaths

them at

with Furtw?ngler1885,2.760 (whose

formed omega mu.

the third letter a

the Limnaion

sanctuary: Phanodemos II. See also Immerwahr

vase has, however, been reading of the in literature, misrepresented subsequent

a 19. Phanodemos, 4th-century notes that the wreaths Atthidographer,

1946, p. 247.

i6o

AMY

SMITH

with Paian, this Komos might be taken as a personification of themusical ode named for him. His participation in a festive procession, however, either event, this Komos
mere coincidence.

indicates that he might also be meant

to represent that group or event. In could not have been given such a name through

the names, from left to right: KQMOC, KAAAINIKOC (Beautiful Victor), KQMOC, and XPYIOI (Gold), although the final figure, the largest one is rather labeled EY[T . . . ].23 The first whom he took to be Dionysos, a small white with a wreath around his long hair (the Komos, boy, nude, other boys in this scene are similarly wreathed), holds a wreathed chous in his right hand (Fig. 8.7); a second Komos (the figure to the immediate a a on a right of the goat), larger, red boy, rushes toward wreathed chous

variable colors and ages (the younger/shorter boys are goldish-white; the older/taller ones are red), with a white goat.Walters plausibly identified

is a slightly later example in London, attributed 12144 (No. 18, Figs. 8.6 and 8.7).21 In his initial to have been found near the Royal publication of the piece, which is said Stables atAthens, H. B.Walters described its decoration as a Dionysiac a scene "drawn in childish proportions," made up of two satyrs inciting with Dionysos.22 However, none of these followed by twomore satyrs goat, as a satyror asDionysos. Rather, they are five boys, of figures is identifiable of choes and of Komos, to theGroup ofAthens

second chous,which appeared in Gerard van Hoorn's expansive study Choes and Anthesteria,2? but has been neglected by many students A

is associated with Komos, or at least the satyr Komos. The other boy, who is also white (appropriately with gold Chrysos (second from the right), and smaller than the red boys, looks respectfully up to Eu[t... ], details) a lesson. as if he is learning Though neither of these Komoi ismusical or involved in with the processions, both share the attribute of the chous on the Berlin chous. The choes, which arewreathed, as well as the Komoi who hold or hope to hold them, may then refer to the procession Komos
20. Van Hoorn fig. 300. 21. For shape, see 1951, no. 668, of this delicate be restored as: E?tockto?

as if to stop the rearing goat three-legged stool, with his hands raised, from crashing into it (Figs. 8.6, 8.7). Kallinikos (the second figure from the left),who goads the goat with a (victory?) branch, and Eu[t... ] (on the far right), are both big, red boys who hold kantharoi, cups usually reserved for the god Dionysos. But aswe have seen,Dionysos's kantharos

might

(Well

E?to?uo? ordered),Em?xvo? (Skillful),

(Courageous), Emovo? (Hospitable), (Vigorous), Emporc??; in

a discussion

word (as helpfully pointed out tome by

Jeremy Rutter). sigma does second earliest

(mistakenly)

repeated

at the end of the Immerwahr

1994, p. 48, Campenon as well as Green 1971, p. 211, pi. 8.2, no. 1,who calls it the finest example of its class of choes.

Emparce?o? None

(Morallygood), or Empoqxx; (Healthy).

of these names is attested s lists of satyr nor do any names in

(1990, p. 160) notes that the lunate

not occur until the later 4th

Although

Kossatz-Deissmann names (1991), to Ian Jenkins

century(citing Agora F 165, fromthe

Walters 1929, p. 71, pi. 45b. 22.

23.1 Museum am

Williams of theBritish andDyfri

grateful

The

for assisting me inmy study of this chous and for confirming my the labels. If the last name reading of as are the others, it is descriptive,

her lists begin with these three letters. are unusual in their use of dipinti both the lunate sigma and the four-bar four-bar sigma is here used sigma. The only for the medial the case of Chrysos sigma, except in itmight be where

publication ofKerameikos 2242 (from

the mid-4th are a number notes that "there century), of examples on Attic

half of the 4th century, as the Alan Johnston, in his example),

vases of red-figure and white-ground the third quarter of the fifth century" n. 4). (Johnston 1985, p. 297,

KOMOS

GROWING

UP

AMONG

SATYRS

AND

CHILDREN

Figure 8.6. Komos holding a chous

and Kallinikos

the leftside of a chous attributed to theGroup ofAthens 12144. Lon

1929.10-16.2. don, British Museum Photo ?Trustees of the British Museum

prodding

goat,

on

Figure

8.7. Komos

and Kallinikos prodding a goat;

another Komos Chrysos lunging and Eu[t... for a chous, ]. Draw

holding

a chous

with

ing of depictions on Figure 8.6.

Drawing author

that followed the Choes banquet.24 Perhaps the second who belongs to a group of older boys, refers to a second procession Komos, of boys: brothers who had already celebrated the Choes in a previous year might have commemorated their induction into the symposion through welcoming the youngest boys.25
scenes constitute of

to the Limnaion

24. Processional

to Ham tinctions

the images on as many the small and miniature

as one-third

25. See

1999, p. 207. the discussion on pp. 163-164.

of age dis

choes, according

l62

AMY

SMITH

A third chous, made up of eight joined fragments, formerly in the col lection ofHerbert Cahn (Fig. 8.8),26 depicts Komos engaged in a musical contest with other boys.27The first boy, named KAAOI (Beautiful), rests read as KAAOS), his bent left arm on the shoulder of KQMOI (previously a boy dressed in patterned, short-sleeved, knee-length tunic, holding a a is a kithara lyre in his left hand and plektron in his right hand. Next a

comes a barbitos a chiton and seated on a player, dressed hydria.29 Finally toKomos, although barely preserved and without an extant name. similarly As Van Hoorn suggests, in such compositions it is "doubtful whether the musicians

a long tunic and sandals; he stands on player, presumably male, wearing a which seems to indicate that he is orwill be the two-stepped platform, victor in this contest (this figure is almost entirelymissing).28 He is flanked a even Nike (Victory) herself, dressed in by winged female figure, perhaps

this Komos does not hold a drinking vessel as do other which is one of the twomusical instruments he does carry the lyre, Komoi, associated with satyrKomoi. He might then personify the ode commonly concluded. While

are giving a recital, taking lessons, or practising their art for themselves,"30 yet in the case of Cahn's fragment, the presence of Nike and the podium or bema indicates that a contest is in progress or has just

named komos, perhaps the same tune he has played in this contest. An agonistic context is suggested in the scene on this chous by the on which Nike is seated; Vera Slehoferova has proposed that the hydria its small handles, this hydria more closely With hydria might be the prize.31

an animal, and a musical procession, playing with 26. Cahn (1999, no. 76) attributesit
to the same hand asMunich, Antiken no. 39). {ARV21324, sammlung 2471 vase is identical This contemporary to the Cahn chous in shape, decorative friezes, Munich

resembles the shape ofmetal vessels than that of their terracotta counter were contexts of all sorts, parts; the metal vessels certainly used in cultic and some were used as prizes for the games at theArgive Heraion.32 actual komos These three scenes depicting Komoi as human boys?an gathering (perhaps a

to the ShuvalovPainter {ARV21208, no. 37; BeazleyAddenda2 348), depicts

two youths with one also with lyre, Munich a phiale. 28. The

aforementioned

vases. red-figure she is shown flying with a hydria, to the right, as if to award it to someone: Oxford, Ash on at least ten Attic three of these On no. 89; Addenda2 192; Paralipo Beazley mena 342); Warsaw, National Museum

357). Nikai are associatedwith hydriai

and figurai scene except that is excluded from the the Komos figure

example. are not unusual 27. Boy musicians on choes. Some examples of lyre players on choes are: New of Art York, Metropolitan 49.11.2 (Boiotian, of the 5th van Hoorn

(see n. 26) may help us comparandum reconstruct the actual appearance of the kithara player on the platform. 29. The except are lost, mostly wings for part of the right wing;

moleanMuseum 1930.36 {ARV2202,

Slehoferova (1991, no. 18) suggeststhat

the contour of the leftwing, above the left shoulder, is barely visible on the

142288 {ARV2496, no. 8; Beazley Addenda2 250; Paralipomena 380); New 07.286.67 {ARV2641, no. 90; Beazley Addenda2 274). 32. See Diehl 1964, p. 176, for this
inscribed prize hydriai group of bronze A fragment from the from the Heraion. tondo of a cup, Jena, Friedrich-Schiller seems to Nike conversing with depict a torch racer over the hydria that may have been his prize. For Greek athletic prizes, see also Kyle 1994. York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Museum

but from the last quarter (from Greece, 410-400:

century)andUtrechtUniversity 38

which 1951, no. 971, fig. 156), each of Athens, depicts a boywith a lyre; National Museum 1230 (fromthe
Kerameikos,

edge of the fragment. 30. Van Hoorn 1951, p. 38. at a musical 31. A Nike event, 2471 as a Antikensammlung (see n. 26), uses a hydria in an identical manner. Nike uses a cauldron shown on Munich,

Universit?t 820 {ARV21513, no. 27),

to the Akestorides Painter {ARV2 782,

a

ca. 470-460),

attributed a on a

no. 12), depicts Cerveteri,

T stool;Leipzig, University 3945 (from

ca. 440-430), attributed

boy putting

lyre

for a lyre victory on a calyx prize krater attributed to theMarlay Painter, 1942.3 Museum Oxford, Ashmolean {ARV21276, no. 2; Addenda2 Beazley

KOMOS

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CHILDREN

163

other boys,with Nike(?), on a chous attributed to the Manner of the Meidias Painter. Basel, Collection of
Herbert A. Cahn 649. Photo author

Figure

8.8. Komos

between

two

33. See Van Hoorn 1951, pp. 32 31,35,38,46-48 (the komos),

with animals), and 38 (musical

(playing

gather for a detailed analysis ings/contests) and references to particular vases. 34. See Hamilton 1992, pp. 5-62, for a review of the testimonia. festival was a life-stage for boys in their third year. For a survey of the Greek sources for stages in the lives of Greek youths, see Golden that the Choes

second day of theAnthesteria, that is, the twelfth day of themonth called Anthesterion,34 was a necessary preliminary to a young male's attainment of citizenship at around the age of eighteen. It could have occurred,

scenes found on choes that have long been contest)?are comparable to associated with theChoes ritualmarking an important transition in boys' lives.33This event, which is generally thought to have occurred on the

35. Beaumont (1994, p. 83) accepts

marker

therefore, at one ofmany stages in a boy sfife?paidion (a nurseling),/w/V arion (a toddler learning towalk and ta\k)>paidiskos or pais (an educable several sources indicate that it occurred at the age of three.35 child)?but

2003, p. 15; Slater 1968, pp. 37-66.

36. PL 793e-794a. See also PL Leg. Lac. 2.1. 808e and Prt. 325c-d;Xen. Leg.

1992, p. 57, n. 150, s that this inscription and Philostratos are (too) late, I am in discussion of Ajax and Hamilton agreement they both with Ham 1999, p. 204, that to much earlier clearly refer individuals and ritual practices. Ham ephebeia, politeia, "family celebrations" and marriage (ones that estate).

37. IG IF 1368.127-36. Despite the objections ofGolden 1990, pp. 41-42,

(Her. 12.2.720) discusses theAtticization of Salaminian Ajax in the the crowning of his three-year-old son at the Dionysia through Anthesterion (i.e., theAnthesteria), surely on the occasion of the Choes. And Aristophanes (Thes. 746) contains a punning joke thatwould also suggest the significance of this age group for the Choes rites: after taking Philostratus hostage a

1999, p. 203, accordinglylistsbirth,

Choes, as the

at least in Athens, this transition occurred pedagogue. Plato confirms that when the child had begun to talk and walk (i.e., by the age of three) and thus supports the view that this is the transition celebrated by three

a asks of its baby (who turns out to be wineskin), Mnesilochos old is [the mother?who calls it apaidion?"How entreating (substitute) child]? Three choesor four?" Greta Ham rightly associates this age with the occasion of a boy s emergence from the gynaikeion to the care of a

concerned

the kleros or heritable

A.D. A inscription further year-olds at the Choes festival.36 2nd-century that the celebration of the Choes was one of several legitimizing suggests events in the life of a citizen.37

164 Only

AMY

C.

SMITH

scene on this chous, the one in London (No. 18; contains six ofHam's eight constituent elements in the ico Figs. 8.6, 8.7), wreathed boys (1) with amulets (2), bracelets, nography ofminiature choes: or anklets (3); wreathed choes (4); a small animal (5); and a (three-legged) in the Choes The rites.39

one of our Komos choes is of the size (shorter than 13 cm in thatwarrants its classification as aminiature chous,the type of vase height)38 thatHam has now convincingly identified as the ritual vessel actually used

stool (6).40 Both Nos. 11 and 18 also match Richard Hamilton's criteria for association with the Choes festival, namely the inclusion ofmore than one of the ten features he considers characteristic ofwhat he describes as Hamilton believes that "tableau scenes": naked boys, headbands, and choes.41 such scenes illustrate activities of the Choes festival but further suggests

as

other than the Choes The

that even "non-tableau" small choes, such asNo. 12,might have been given to children, albeit at different times and in celebration of events gifts festival.42

our larger choes (Nos. 11, 12; Figs. 8.5 specific iconography of in more adult activities?might either suggest and 8.8)?boys engaged the future accomplishments of the boys who are now embarking on their education or commemorate on the occasion of the Choes sibly celebrated further transitional stages in childhood pos festival. Like most festivals,

and certainly those in theAnthesteria, the Choes would have involved the Athenian community as a whole and would have served as a good oppor tunity to reinforce the status and development of older boys.

keeps. How

vase seem to represent boys at several paintings young? The The white skin of the two smaller boys on theLon developmental stages.43 don chous,as contrasted with that of the larger boys, must surely class them among paidaria, that is, those who have been secluded with thewomen inside the house and away from the sun, and who are just about tomove out of the home into society under the tutelage of a pedagogue.44 of the other human children with whom our Komos plays? The What two sizes of boys on choes such as No. 18 (Figs. 8.6-8.7), aswell as the in

it is Regardless of any association with the Choes festival, however, clear that Komos is young in these depictions because of the company he

38.Thirteen cm is thedividing line providedbyHam 1999, p. 201. Fifteen

by Green observes not cut-off point provided 1971, p. 225, where he or not this that whether figure or 12 cm is used as the cut-off does the statistics. The strongly affect cm is a second

miniature

to types belong exclusively the period 425-375. 39. Ham 1997; 1999, p. 201. Hamil ton 1992, Bazant 1975, and Stern 1978 rather than argued for secular vases. religious functions of these

omphalos

Iwould agree with Bentz 1999 that

cake, grapes,

and pet animal."

Hamilton's adds

have

heavily statistical analysis little to his overall arguments, and I would further suggest that his ten are no less tableau elements arbitrary than any system of iconographie analy sis that he seeks to replace. 42. Hamilton 1992, p. 121. 43. See Beaumont cautionary remarks 1994 for the

Komos heights (in cm) of the three

or other

are as follows: No. choes in question No. 12 11, 18, 8.2; No. (pr?s.), 10.8; latter 13.5. The is, (in Berlin) example chous: such therefore, to be a midsized tend to illustrate boys, adolescent as n. 17). or as well

toys, the other two constituent illustrated here, but the elements, were state of of the surface of preservation this vase did not allow identification of either of these elements in my firsthand elements of the scene. investigation 41. Hamilton's tableau

40.There is a possibilitythatfood

Attic of recognition childhood stages in

iconography. 44. See also Ham or p. 208. moving with 1999,

concerning

vases

pr?adolescent

mythical

figures (Ham 1999, p. 215, Ham 1999, p. 201, notes that while over a the larger choeswere produced of time, the small and longer period

on

of amulets, ground, with string table sometimes wreath or headband, or stool, chous, cart or roller, streptos or

(1992, p. 83) consistof "nakedboy,

Similarly, crawling indicate this rollers or "walkers" might on a of stage, as depicted large number miniature choes (Ham 1999, p. 206).

KOMOS

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165

elusion of girls on others,might argue for the idea that brothers and sisters would play with siblings on such an occasion. Though it seems clear that theChoes activities specifically celebrated the transition of three-year-olds, no sources suggest that the events, ritual or otherwise, were restricted to a particular age group. If the purpose of this day within the larger festival was towelcome the child to a life stage that others (older boys and men) had already attained or passed through, these others would surelywish to an active role in thatwelcome. In such a context a human play perhaps Komos was thought to be more appropriate than a satyrKomos.45 Do these human Komoi satyrKomoi besides youth? share anything in common with the slightly earlier

KOMOS AND THE KOMOS ATHENS

IN CLASSICAL

As we have seen with the preceding examples of Komoi in processions, ? k?jllo? refersnot only to the carouse, revel, and merrymaking, but also to the band of revelers,who sometimes organized themselves into a festive as to the ode that one of these proces procession, aswell might be sung in sions. We find all of these aspects in the personification of Komos. When

making fun of themselves. Robert Sutton has suggested that representa tions of "the Base and theUgly" (usually at drunken orgies) constituted a visual experiment "to express an individualistic, non-elitist aesthetic dur ing the Archaic struggle to define the values and self-image of the new

as a satyr,the predominantly male Athenian audience for this iconography distances itself from the truth that drunkenness, revelers, and the carouse are all too common occurrences in the human world. They avoid directly

he is represented as a satyr, Komos is clearly in the unreal world ofDionysos, not the realworld of humans. Through the depiction ofKomos

As Sutton notes, the experiment was abandoned once plutocratic state."46 was established political equality during the Early Classical period.47 And throughout the Classical period it remained taboo for an Athenian male to be shown in a derogatory manner or conducting base activities. But the in the ritual komoi associated with the day of theChoes, boys participating primarily in the procession to theLimnaion, could not be considered guilty of the drunkenness or other such base behavior illustrated in adult komoi.

are

45. Although

represented scenes on as predominate larger choes, indicated by Hamilton's statistics (1992, 2000, 2000, p. 181. p. 181. nature see Ham of

scenes Dionysiac on other choes, such

marks the Choes or

as as the ritual context, the were exempt By virtue of their youth well boys from such concerns. For the boys theChoes is a proto-symposium?a taste of the life to come. For the community at large the inclusion of children peculiarly democratic subversion of the (normally elitist) symposium.48 previously A thorough consideration of audience suggests a further explanation as a

p. 85). 46. Sutton 47. Sutton 48. For celebrated pp. 310-312. similarities and squat chous decoration

the democratic at the Choes,

and the ritual activities 1997,

49. Hamilton (1992, p. 63) notes

in the lekythoi. iconography of choes

the satyr and Komos the human boy, namely, that satyricKomoi might never have been intended for anAthenian audience. Our ignorance concerning the findspots ofmany of our Komos a vases prohibits definitive conclusion, yet some broad generalizations may be garnered from a glance atTable 8.1. With the exception of the choesand one squat all "Komos" vases with attested findspots were lekythos (No. 8),49 were found in south or central Italy; that is to say, they eventually exported,

for the difference between Komos

i66

AMY

SMITH

or would have Dionysiac activities in Magna Graecia simply into burial rites, been entirely appropriate to their decoration. This observation supports Juliette de laGeni?re's suggestion that particular Attic images or types of

ifnot originally produced for the export market. They are drinking ves sels, kraters and cups, appropriately decorated with Dionysiac thiasoi.The functions of these vessels, whether they found theirway into burgeoning

of squat lekythoi and choesfound inAthens.52

for the domestic market?which is not surprising as were used in most were eventually buried Athenian festivals?and thus they Our three Komos choes (Nos. 11,12, and 18) are all attributed to locally.51 the Circle of the Meidias Painter, whose output contains a large number to have been made

on the "Lenaia vases," were images, such as those generated specifically for were made for export the export market.50 Perhaps all of our Komos satyrs to and the Italian peninsula. Choes and squat lekythoi, however, seem Sicily

KOMOS THE PERSONIFICATION

The role of Komos as a "personification" in the variety of contexts noted above warrants further comment, because he is one of a few symbolic fig

to Pollitt, these personifications.53 According figures, which expressed contemporary historical and political ideas, functioned inmuch the same way as true personifications, although their names or forms do not cor

is accepted or dismissed as a personification, depending on his form alone. In a groundbreaking although little-known article, J. J.Pollitt pioneered the discussion of symbolic figures, which he termed quasi ures who

are quasi-personifications whose identities barely distinguishable from those of true personifications:54 Eirene (Peace), a maenad found in 5th-century
vase-paintings, for example, shares attributes and much else with the en

as personifications. In my studies of respond to those generally considered true personifications, which I have defined as the representations of things, events, places, or abstractions in human form, I have encountered several

tirelyhuman mother Eirene, who, with Ploutos 50.De

speculates

(Wealth), constitutes the

is a mode expression. Personification that can be detected of Greek thought in many aspects of ancient Greek culture. Personifications and used and foremost, were created in the visual arts, first

laGeni?re 1987, p. 48,

that the "Lenaia created market vases," exclusively for because they have elsewhere.

stamnoi, were found

not have average ancient Greek would drawn a sharp line between differ ent types of symbolic characters. To the ancients and meaning, as semi-divine or every entity had spirit and could be regarded or divine, inhuman on the depending in fact, no ancient is,

the Etruscan not been vases 51. For

the export of Athenian and even customs abroad, how 1999, p. 93,

ever, see Collin-Bouffier pp. 206-231. Komos in

superhuman, context. There

Bottini andTagliente 1990, following of 52.The attribution all of the

choes to one "circle" is significant to the range of individual groups, and circles to whom of the satyr Komos are

Greek

term for personification, and npooco7to7coua, "the putting of into the mouths [faces] of speeches characters" (LSJ, s.v. npooco7i;o7toua), cited as the ancient term near

as of representations or not specific entities, whether they served other purposes: they may have or other taken on mythical, religious, case the status of the roles, inwhich

is

comparison

painters, the paintings attributed.

usually est in more

53. Pollitt 1987.

54. Such modern distinctions are, of course, The scholarly constructs.

to For meaning personification. on this see A. Smith 1999, topic, Yet modern scholars may pp. 128-132. to identify impose such distinctions in and analyze the different ways Greek artists achieved symbolic

might

as must be personifications regarded true if the however, personifications, artists them in a employed symbolic mode that is not directly relevant to a mythical role (as in the case of Komos).

qua personification personification or obscure. Such be marginal

which

KOMOS

GROWING

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167

best-known personification in 4th-century statuary.55 Komos, like Eirene, in both the inhuman and human worlds. And like Ploutos clearly figures he is youthful, usually a child. When Komos is shown as a satyrhe is not, a strictly speaking, personification, for he is not shown in human form, but in the form of a satyr.56Satyrs are neither real nor human; theywere theatrical impersonations ofmythical characters.57 It is not my purpose here to determine whether Komos as a satyr should

be considered a quasi-personification or a true personification; he is both, yet when one considers the human Komos one cannot ignore his satyric alter ego. While themiddle part of this chapter identified and contextual a handful ofClassical choesthat ized depict human boys named Komos, the

first section treated the satyrKomos. That satyr plays his part in thewider of giving maenads and satyrs the names of phenomenon objects, events,
places, or abstractions, as well as their use as

follows here is a brief discussion of how Komos

quasi-personifications.58

What

tion despite his changing form. Satyrs named forDionysiac events are known from the beginning of Attic red figure in theLate Archaic period. The painter Oltos (ca. 530-510) began to label satyrs and maenads with names that both evoked theDiony they participated and matched the names of objects, or and his events, phenomena associated with the worship of Dionysos festivals,59for example, Sikinnis/Sikinnos (named for a satyrdance)60 and siac thiasoi inwhich

functions as a personifica

Thaleia/Thalia with Komos

14, Fig. 8.9), attributed to theDinos Painter.62 In the 450s theVilla Giulia Painter began to give satyrs and maenads more names.While Iwould gladly concede thatOltos's named meaningful satyrs and maenads were pure whimsy, asHeinrich Heydemann, Charlotte

(Bounty).61 This practice persisted: Sikinnis is even found and others on a late 5th-century calyx krater inOxford (No.

aswell as other Fr?nkel, and her successor,Anneliese Kossatz-Deissmann, commentators on named maenads and satyrs have suggested,63 the Villa

55.1 maenads A. Smith maenads

discuss used 2005.

Eirene as

and other in to

Sch?ne 1987, p. 7.A similar distinction

between nads satyrs and the reality of mae ismade in Keuls 1985, pp. 27-28. on this complex topic, see

market):

Kossatz-Deissmann

1991, V.l.

personifications For a review of from the Archaic

p. 168; Munich, Sikinnos

on vases

For more 58. A

122 (cat.nos. 2606, J 1087), onwhich

has been

Antikensammlung

the Classical

ignores nads on these vases, 56. This

periods which, however, the names often to mae given seeMoraw 1998. out by distinction is borne

A. Smith 2005.

review of lists of named 1991 is the most

in Kossatz-Deissmann that Komos name Komos after Simos. Unlike is known

satyrs indicates satyr

on that personifications scholarship exclude satyrs (and maenads) largely or lists of from discussions personi fications. See, e.g., 1993, Shapiro pp. 45-50, who, however, blurs the distinction between human Eirene and as a more 57. Maenads, are

popular

59. Silens were as 570 early

only labeled

Simos, on Attic vases. as such as Vase,

Antikenmuseen F 4220: ARV2 61, no. 76,1700; BeazleyAddenda216; CVA Berlin 2 [Germany 21], pi. 52 [981]:2. Mus?e Vivenel 1093:^^ 64, pi?gne, no. 105; BeazleyAddenda2166; 0AAEIA
61. 0[A]AIA on a cup in Com

incorrectly read hith ARV2 64, no. 102,1622; 166; with Ianthe, Beazley Addenda2 and Chiron, Berlin, attending Achilles erto as OINOI:

as a maenad

Museo Archeologico 4209: Florence, ABV76.1; BeazleyAddenda2 21; Parali

pomena 29), and Tyrrhenian amphoras as as 550. included named satyrs early See Kossatz-Deissmann 1991, p. 131. For the Bruhn complete 1943. oeuvre of Oltos,

(on the Fran?ois

Greeks to be real thought the by

women, indistinguishable and function

figure. on the other hand, in form

on a cup in Brussels, R 253 and Vati 306: ARV2 can, Astarita Collection 64, no. 104,1600.30. 8.9.

see

62. Komos is thefigureat the leftin

attributes), serve as who figures personifications on art works: see Joyce 1997, p. 2;

(except through their from (other) human female

Fig.

60.On the followingcups byOltos, datable between 520 and 510: with a
maenad, Chans, now lost (once Basel

63.Heydemann 1880; Fr?nkel 1912;

entries 1991; in LIMC and most

Kossatz-Deissmann relevant

i68

AMY

SMITH

seems to have endowed their names Giulia Painter s workshop figureswith of things, events, places, or abstractions that correspond to their appear ances, attributes, and actions. The names put the figures on a higher level of symbolic importance, perhaps even beyond theworld ofDionysos. For one maenad towhom Hermes entrusts the example, while baby Dionysos Moscow64 is named Methyse (Drunkenness), her coun calyx krater in on a similar krater in London65 is named terpart Tethys (Sea).66 Perhaps

Komos (left) Figure 8.9. Two satyrs, and Sikinnis (withPrometheus),

each with

of sideA of a calyx krater attrib uted to theDinos Painter. Oxford, Ashmolean Museum 1937.983. Photo
author

a torch, on

the lower

frieze

on a

appropriate embodiments of unrestrained behavior in humans: "[T]he wildness of satyrs designates not a prehumanity, rather a subhumanity," as Lillian according toFran?ois Lissarague.68 And Joyce has rightlypointed

thisTethys, who is otherwise unexpected in a Dionysiac thiasos, ismeant or to advertise the widespread cosmopolitan importance ofDionysos.67 The combination of animal and human forms in satyrs renders them

an by the bestial appearance of the satyr."69 entitywith subhu Similarly, if or otherwise connotations is represented in the man, exaggerated, negative form of a satyr,rather than as a human (i.e., a truepersonification), the satyr form safely distances masculine
same case cannot, alas,

out inher study ofmaenads, "[T]he comic mimicking of human behavior by ishumorous and successful because it is safelydistanced fromScanty' satyrs

humanity from the negative associations.

for maenads, who are normal women

The

be made

in form and appearance. Whereas

64. Side A The of a calyx krater attrib State Museum

maenads

are

barely distinguishable from

270. of Okeanos 2005, p. 214, although Jeremy Rut now ter plausibly (pers. comm.) has motivated Methyse. 68. the pairing of Tethys

Addenda2

uted to the Villa Giulia Painter, in

Moscow, Pushkin

the consort came

was initially 66.Tethys (TnG?c)

(//. 14.201,

ofFine Arts II lb 732:ARV2 618,

270; Paralipo

no. 4; Addenda2 Beazley mena 398. 65. London,

302;Hes. Theog. 136,337), and later

to mean the sea itself:Anth. Pal. 109; Nonnus 335. Dion. 7.214.6; 31.187; Lycoph. Orph.

suggestedthat wordplaymight have

and

Lissarague

1993,

p. 220.

British Museum

E 492: ARV2 619, no. 16;Beazley

67.1 published this idea inSmith

Argonautica

69.Joycel997,p.36.

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Greek artists depict satyrs as nude and sexually aroused to emphasize their unrestrained natures. Chorillos, for example, is literally caught in the act, playing with a woman named Paidia on the tondo of an early 4th (Play) in attributed to the Jena Painter.70 In the case of century cup W?rzburg named satyrs from themiddle of the 5 th century, these inherent attributes

other human females, except through their held attributes (thyrsos, animal skins, and ivy wreath), the satyr'sphysical characteristics (receding hairline, ears, snub nose, horse and later goat tail), aswell as his nudity and pointed (occasional) state of sexual arousal, become his primary attributes. In fact,

might combine with the substances, objects, and activitieswith which they involved themselves to refer to the unrestrained entities they represented: orOinos (Wine), (SweetWine) Hybris (Insolence), and Kissos Hedyoinos name a few. (Ivy), to The named satyrs from this time on, which Iwill call quasi-personifi cations, are personifications in every respect except perhaps form, because their attributes indicate their natures and thus reinforce their symbolic

on the bell krater in Vienna attributed to the purpose.71 For example, of the Dinos Painter (No. 16, Fig. 8.2), Hedyoinos is shown Manner wine that he represents will be mixed (tempered) with water before the a symposium. Over the handle of calyx krater inVienna attributed to the Dinos Painter (No. 17),Hedyoinos, surely at a later stage of the symposium, holds Dionysos's kantharos in a typical satyrical inversion: the vase painter here shows thewine (Hedyoinos) holding the drinking vessel. It is interest to note, however, that the one instance of a satyr labeled "Oinos," on a ing bell krater in Providence attributed to the Pothos Painter (No. 10), is not
standing next to a hydria, a water jar?a natural association, as the sweet

associated with wine vessels. Perhaps the painter was reluctant to include such objects so close to the label OINOE, lest the viewer interpret the label as was common in theArchaic pertaining to the object (as period) rather names of humans on Komos choes Similarly, all of the identifiable seem to suit the particular figures according to their appearances and at tributes?for example, Kalos is Beautiful, Neanias isYouthful, Chrysos isGold, and Kallinikos bears the victory branch. Although they all serve as symbolically quasi-personifications, the adjectival form ofNeanias, the form ofKallinikos, and the generic nature of thewords kalos and composite me from as true discourage identifying these four chrysos personifications. than to the personification.

Museum H 4663 (L 492): ARV21512,

mena no. 18; Beazley Addenda2 499. 71. Unlike Renaissance painters were their Roman successors, inconsistent 384; Paralipo and vase about which

70.W?rzburg,

Martin

von

Wagner

But the human boys, Komos and Paian, should be taken as truepersonifica tions, representations of entities inhuman form.Each represents a particular ode, on themusical level at least, so these two personifications should and

the Attic

Komos

attributes,

if any, they used. no. 1 (A. Kossatz

72.LIMCV11,1996,
no. 1, s.v. Paian Deissmann).

p. 140,

and other leaders of processions have carried previously.73 As a youthful satyr, Komos has the inherent attributes that come with his physical form,which evoke his animalistic and unrestrained tenden

do look alike. Paian, who is otherwise unparalleled in the form of either satyror human,72 appears in one case (No. 11, Fig. 8.5) with the torch that

73. See Nos. 5 and 14 (Fig. 8.9) for

with a torch.

cies. But, just as the attribute of youth is optional, so is the attribute of the form of the satyr,and in his latest appearances he is a true personification in form as well as function and name. Yet the attributes that he holds as a emphasizes

the satyr Komos

human are nearly identical to those that he holds as a satyr. He

170

AMY

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SMITH

the importance ofwine at or before the komos by holding awreathed chous on Nos. 11 and 18 is also inherent to the komos, (Figs. 8.5 and 8.7). Music and so he plays the lyre (on No. 12, Fig. 8.8, and No. 15), the double aulos (onNos. 1,9, and 13), and the barbitos (onNo. 7), and he otherwise shares the company ofmusicians, as on Nos. 11 and 12 (Figs. 8.5 and 8.8). One of these musical companions, Paian (on No. 11) has borrowed the torch that

Komos held on No.

14 (Fig. 8.9). The procession is the best-known aspect of the komos but one that ismost difficult to discern in images because of the disorganized nature of intoxicated KC?jia?ovTe?. Yet Komos is clearly seen to participate in processions on No. 11 (Fig. 8.5) as well as No. 10. as satyror human, Komos does indeed serve as a Whether personifica

tion in these 5th-century vase images because the actions and attributes with which he is endowed are relevant to the noun forwhich he is named. Consequently his labeling by the range of artists in question considered arbitrary but must be interpreted as purposeful. cannot be

CONCLUSION
While Komos century, I would himself might seem no serious matter to us in the 21st suggest that the rare (if not unique) phenomenon of his

or transition from satyr to human boy warrants attention bimorphism for two important reasons. First, it forces us towiden our understanding of personification among Greek artists as a symbolic mode thatwas not restricted to religious phenomena. Second, it indicates changing attitudes ofAthenians The distinction between Komos toward both children and satyrs. the satyr and Komos the human is

an artistic the worshipers of Dionysos, of course, phenomenon: clearly would not have marked a sharp distinction between Komos in theworld The decision on ofDionysos and Komos among men (i.e., in thepolis) JA

the part of Attic vase painters to depict komos, "the carouse," as a satyr use is, however, typical of the Archaic and Early Classical tendency to satyrs as embodiments of wild and unrestrained or subhuman behavior. This trope,whereby a satyr is a stand-in for a human in party mode, ef fectively distanced humanity from the negative behaviors induced by too much wine
ous reasons:

as portrayed satyrs quasi-personifications

to respond to earlier

that characterized the symposion. High Classical Attic artists forwhat may have been numer
representations of satyrs; to experiment

with the symbolic nature of these characters; to comment on theworld of to cater to the growing export market forDionysiac themes Dionysos; and as the at abroad. Meanwhile, importance of the elite symposium declined Athens, foww/Komos was adapted to democratized such as the Choes events at theAnthesteria. community rituals,

with human Komoi (Nos. 11,12, and 18) And what do the three choes tell us about the changing attitudes ofAthenians in the era of the Pelopon nesianWar (431-404) toward both children and satyrs? The choesprobably commemorated the initiation of children into theworld of adults,whether

these vessels served as ritual paraphernalia or as souvenirs of the Choes or some other festival event inwhich the children had been involved. While

74. This "Lenaia

sion ofPeirce 1998with regardto the

vases."

corresponds

to the conclu

KOMOS

GROWING

UP

AMONG

SATYRS

AND

CHILDREN

171

were stillverymuch in evidence at these events, Dionysos, wine, and komos in the ritual context theywere linked to important stages of transition in the maturation of Athenian citizens. Komos was, therefore, given a hu man form tomatch his role in human scenes on these development. The vases children mimicking the adult world, which is clearly shown depict in the best possible light, or so the optimistic names suggest. IfKomos is meant to represent the carouse on these choes on Nos. 11 and (particularly which the ill effects of thewine 18), then it is a perfectly sober carouse, in in the choes are neither seen nor felt by their young audience. It is for this reason, too, that Komos in the innocent and playful realm of children is unabashedly human, rather than masked in the guise of a satyr. were made atAthens at a timewhen, These Komos choes despite the disastrous effects of war and plague, the Choes rites became "a kind of ritual assurance for these boys' survival and a promise for the renewal of

75.Ham 1999, p. 201. Stern 1978

and Decocq and Raepsaet 1987 also associate these smaller choeswith the War, Peloponnesian adult escapism. but as examples of

76.As noted byGolden (1990, who died up to the age 83), children p.
of two were (deceased never described as ahoros before their time) by ancient

the citizen body."75 We are fortunate to have thematerial aswell aswritten evidence for this one (of perhaps several) festive transitions in the lives of Athenian boys. Its importance, understood by parents at all times and in all places, is that it witnesses the child's emergence from the great dangers of infantmortality in his progress toward adulthood.76

writers.