Comus1.0000_OGCMA

Comus.
An obscure Greek deity, Comus was a winged god of mirth and feasting who led processions of Dionysus and was associated with the early history of comedy. He gained prominence under the Romans, still in his role as leader of singing and dancing, revelry, and drunkenness. He was often depicted wearing roses and carrying a torch.
In John Milton’s masque Comus, the seminal post-classical treatment of the figure, Comus is said to have descended from Bacchus and Circe. Milton took a puritanical stance against the god’s dissolute behavior, which has nevertheless remained his greatest attraction.

Classical Source. Philostratus, Imagines 1.2.

OGCMA slides are designed by Roger T. Macfarlane for use in Classical Civilization 241 courses at Brigham Young University.
The present resource contains information assembled for The Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts, 1300 - 1990's, edited by J. Davidson Reid (Oxford 1994), and it is used with express permission from Oxford University press.
Address concerns or inquiries to macfarlane@byu.edu.