Komast figures (literally "revellers") on black-figure vases have long been associated with the worship of Dionysos and the origins of Greek drama. In this fully illustrated study, Tyler Jo Smith takes a fresh look at the evidence for komasts, both on vases and in other artistic media produced throughout Archaic Greece. She concludes that the meaning of the dancing figures differs between different regions, such as Corinth, Athens, and Laconia. Komasts are instrumental to the spread of the human figure in early Archaic Greek art and a vital link in the story of both visual and festival...

A comprehensive, authoritative account of the development Greek Art through the 1st millennium BC.

• An invaluable resource for scholars dealing with the art, material culture and history of the post-classical world
• Includes voices from such diverse fields as art history, classical studies, and archaeology and offers a diversity of views to the topic
• Features an innovative group of chapters dealing with the reception of Greek art from the Middle Ages to the present
• Includes chapters on Chronology and Topography, as well as Workshops and Technology
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