OΡΦΙΚΟΣ ΥΜΝΟΣ ΕΙΣ ΚΟΥΡΗΤΕΣ
ORPHIC HYMN TO KOURITES
(Greek and English context)

Κουρῆτες, ποῦ σκιρτάτε χορεύοντας μὲ ἐνόπλια βήματα καὶ χτυπάτε τὰ πόδια στρεφόμενοι σὰν σβοῦρες, ὀρεσίβιοι, βακχευτές, λυράρηδες, εὔρυθμοι, ποὺ βαδίζετε χωρὶς να ἀφήνετε ἴχνη, ὁπλοφόροι, φύλακες κοσμήτορες, περίφημοι, σύνοδοι τῆς βουνίσιας Μητέρας, ὀργιοφάντες. Ἐλᾶτε ἀνταποκρινόμενοι μὲ εὐμένεια στα ἐγκωμιαστικὰ
λόγια μας, καταδεκτικοὶ στο βουκόλο καὶ μὲ χαρούμενη διάθεση πάντα.

Orphic Hymn to Kourites
Leaping Kouretes, who with dancing feet
And circling measures, armed footsteps beat:
Whose bosom's mad, fanatic transports fire,
Who move in rhythm to the founding lyre:
Who traces deaf when lightly leaping tread,
Arm bearers, strong defenders, rulers dread:
Propitious omens, guards of Proserpine,
Preserving rites, mysterious and divine
Come, and benevolent my words attend,
In herds rejoicing, and my life defend.

This dance is from a performance in Thessaloniki Garden Theater 23.juli 2007. The group is called Kyklos.
The leader of the group is Kyriakos Moisidis.
More Info @: kyklos-dance.gr/kyklos/

Mythology:
Ancient Greek dance first time danced by the Idaean Dactyls in Crete when Rhea left Mt Lycaeon to hide Zeus, the only true living God who creates life (zen-living, zoe-life, zoo-animal) in Idaean Antrum at Mt Ida.
The Idaean Dactyls dances the Pyrrhichic Dance, the Dance of Dances tio cover Zeus cry from Kronos (chronos-time) who wanted to gobble him.

Later Achilles in the Trojan War danced the Pyrrhichic dance at the funural games of Patroclus.
Also his son Neoptolemus danced this dance when hi killed the Trojan hero Eurypylos. Neoptolemos nickname was Pyrroos because of his blond-fire red hair.

Historicaly:
The dance is mentioned by Xenophon in his Kathodos Myrion 401-399 BC when the Greeks came to Tonya (Thoania) outside Trapezous.

The ancient Spartans forced their children at age of seven to learn fighting Pankraeion and dancing The Pyrrichic, the dance of dances. What more worthy to the most glorious Greek warriors, The Spartans to dance the War Dance O CHORON PYRRICHEIOS known as Serra in Pontos.

It was danced by the Kouretes, the Athenians at the Panathenian procession, and the Spartans and Lakones at Diskoureia.
O Aristophanes says that this dance was a military and armed, and the Plato describes Pyrricheios as war dance with phases of the defense and attack with the dancers lined up with their weapons in a military formation.

Formerly called Pyrricheios, in Cyprus "prolis" in Macedonia "Telestias [celebration]" in Crete "orditis or epikridios" in Thracia "klavrismos".

Today in Crete Pentozalis is a variations of Pyrricheios

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