Red-Figure Column Krater (Mixing Vessel): Komos (Revel)

Used for mixing wine and water at a symposium (drinking party), this vase bears images of <em>komasts</em>, or revelers, potentially mirroring the actions of its users. The three bearded men on side A stand out for their earrings, long drapery, and Eastern-style headdresses, and for the parasol held by one. Similar features have been noticed on numerous other red-figure vases, now called “Anakreontic” by scholars. This name refers to Anakreon, a 6th-century BC lyric poet from East Greece sometimes credited with inventing the <em>barbitos</em>, the long-stringed lyre played by the central figure on side A. The youths on side B, one draped, two nude and dancing, are less unusual.