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CLUBFEET AND KYPSELIDS: CONTEXTUALISING CORINTHIAN PADDED DANCERS IN THE ARCHAIC PERIOD

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 October 2012

Angela Ziskowski
Angela Ziskowski*
Affiliation:
Coe College
*
aziskowski@coe.edu
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Abstract

The significance behind the imagery of the padded dancer, or komast, traditionally has been connected to early drama, Dionysos, or ritual practices. Most Archaic Corinthian vases that include these figures portray them dancing, and a percentage of those dancers also illustrate a deformity of the foot. This article attempts to contextualise the clubfooted padded dancer within its political, cultural and geographic boundaries by offering an explanation for the end of production of these figures in Corinth. The lame padded dancer may have been a localised symbol offering political commentary on historical traditions of lameness within the tyrannical family of Corinth. Its production and discontinuation may be connected to the rise and fall of this family.

Ιπποποδία και Κυψελίδες: Το Ιστορικό Πλαίσιο των Κορινθίων Κωμαστών της Αρχαϊκής περιόδου

Η σημασία της εικονογραφίας του κωμαστή είναι παραδοσιακά συνδεδεμένη με το πρώιμο δράμα, το Διόνυσο, ή τελετουργικές πρακτικές. Κωμαστές απεικονίζονται στα περισσότερα κορινθιακά αγγεία της αρχαϊκής περιόδου σε χορευτικές φιγούρες και συχνά με δύσμορφα κάτω άκρα. Το παρόν άρθρο επιχειρεί να τοποθετήσει αυτές τις μορφές στα πολιτικά, πολιτισμικά και γεωγραφικά τους πλαίσια, προτείνοντας μία ερμηνεία για τη λήξη της απεικόνισης τους στην κορινθιακή αγγειογραφία. Ο χωλός κωμαστής ίσως υπήρξε ένα τοπικό σύμβολο που πρόσφερε τη δυνατότητα πολιτικού σχολιασμού σε ιστορικές παραδόσεις δυσμορφίας στην οικογένεια των τυράννων της Κορίνθου. Η απεικόνιση αυτών των μορφών και η διακοπή της ίσως σχετίζονται χρονικά με την άνοδο και την πτώση, αντίστοιχα, των Κυψελιδών.

Type
Articles
Information
Annual of the British School at Athens , Volume 107 , November 2012 , pp. 211 - 232
Copyright
Copyright © The Council, British School at Athens 2012

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