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This articel is about the Greek God. For the progressive rock band, see Comus (band).
In Greek mythology, Comus or Komus is the god of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances. He was a god of anarchy and chaos. During his festivals in Ancient Greece, men and women exchanged clothes. Visually, he was depicted as a young man on the point of unconsciousness from drink. He had a wreath of flowers on his head and carried a torch that was in the process of being dropped. Unlike the purely carnal Pan or the more purely drunken Bacchus, Comus was a god of parties at their excess. He is a son of Dionysos.
Compare Lord of Misrule.
Other things named after Comus include:
The Masque at Ludlow
Comus (also known as Comus: A masque and The Masque of Comus and The Masque at Ludlow) is a masque written by John Milton and first presented on Michaelmas, 1634, before the Earl of Bridgewater at Ludlow Castle.
The plot concerns two brothers and their sister lost in the wood. The sister becomes fatigued, and the brothers wander off in search of berries. The sister is deceived by Comus, the god of mockery, brought to his palace, and is rescued from his seductions by The Attendant Spirit.
The music, in a baroque style, was composed by Henry Lawes, who also played the part of The Attendant Spirit.
Poetically, the composition is not to be confused with a play. Masques were not dramas, and the whole could be seen as a step toward the later recitative of opera.
Comus, Mardi Gras Krewe
In the Mardi Gras celebrations of New Orleans, Louisiana, one of the most historically important New Orleans Mardi Gras Krewes is also named after Comus. See: Mystick Krewe of Comus
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