Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

SALTATIO. SALTATIO. 1 03'
vwhole day to witness it, forgetful of everything &Wpoaic. p. 698, Reiske.) In the mountainous
else. The Corybantian was of a very wild cha- parts of Thessaly and Macedon dances are perracter: it was chiefly danced in Phrygia anid in formed at the present day by men armed with
Crete; the dancers were armed, struck tlheir muskets and swords. (Dodwell, Tour tilroegh
swords against their shields, and displayed the Greece, vol. ii. pp. 21, 22.)
most extravagant fury; it was accompanied chiefly The following woodcut, taken from Sir WV.
by the flute. (Lucian, lb. 83; Strab. x. p. 473; Hamilton's vases (ed. Tischbein, vol. i. pl. 60),
represents three Pyrrhicists, two of whom with
shield and sword are engaged in the dance, while
C the third is standing with a sword. Above thein
is a female balancing herself on the head of one,
~;'-1,U /t3., I({s~tce. lland apparently in the act of performing a solnerset
Aa~~~~ t~ \4 \ \J she no doubt is taking part in the dance, and performilng a very artistic kind of 1cvi-r7lJTs or. ______ 9 \ tumbling, for the Greek performances of this kind. surpass any thing we can imagine in modern times.
HIer danger is increased by the person below, who
holds a sword pointing towards her. A female specPlat. Crit. p. 54.) The preceding woodcut from tator sitting looks on astonished at the exhibition.
the Museo Pio Clementino (vol. iv. p1. 2) is supposed to represent a Corybantian dance. Respect- s o
ing the dances in the theatre, see CuHORUs.
Dancing was applied to gymnastic purposes and
to training for war, especially in the Doric states, 1
and was believed to have contributed very much Q
to the success of the Dorians in war, as it enabled
them to perform their evolutions simultaneously: [jj
xiv, p. 629. f.) says,
OL &E XopOeS ICX'l)eTa'EOVeS TuUceOW, poTOY 7; g0
There were various dances in early times, which
served as a preparation for waar: hence Homer
(I1. xi. 49, xii. 77) calls the Hoplites 7rpuXdes, a v
war-dance having been called irpS ti by the Cretans. (Miiller, Dor. iii. 12. ~ 10.) Of-such dances
the most celebrated was the Pyrrhic (~ If"l/Xo_),
of which the wrpdAts was probably only another The Pyrrhic dance was introduced in the public
name: this Plato (Leg. vii. p. 815) takes as the games at IRome l:y Julius Caesar, when it was
representative of all war dances. The invention of danced by the children of the leading men in Asia
this dance is placed in the mythical age, and is and Bithynia. (Suet. Jul. Caes. 39.) It seems
usunally assigned to one Pyrrhicos, but most of the to have been mlch liked by the Romans; it was
accounts agree in assigning it a Cretan or Spartan exhibited both by Caligula and Nero (Dion Cass.
origin; though others refer it to Pyrrhus or Neo- lx. 7; Suet. Ner. 12), and also frequently by
ptolemus, the son of Achilles, apparently misled by Hadrian. (Spartian. loadr. 19.) Athenaeus (xiv.
the name, for it was undoubtedly of Doric origin. p. 631, a) says that the Pyrrhic dance was still
(Athen. xiv. p. 630, e; Strab. x. p. 466; Plat. practised in his time (the third century A. D.) at
Leg. p. 796; Lucian, b1. 9.) It -was danced to Sparta, where it was danced by boys from the.age
the sound of the flute, and its time was very quick of fifteen, but that in other places it had become a
and light, as is shown by the name of the Pyrrhic species of Dionysiac dance, in which the history of
ibot (~'), which must be connected with this Dionysus was represented, and where the dancers
dance: and from the same source came also the instead of arms carried the thyrsus and torches.
Proceleusmatic (,W.) or challenging foot. (Miil- Another important gymnastic dance was perler, Hist. of the Literat. of' Greece, p. 161.) The formed at the festival of?yvuvosrratia at Sparta in
Pyrrhic dance was performed in different ways at commemoration of the battle at Thyrea, where the
various times and in various countries, for it -was chief object according to Miiller (Doi,. iv. 6. ~ 8)
lvy 1no means confined to the Doric states. Plato was to represent gymnastic exercises and dancingr
(Loe. vii. p. 815) describes it as representing by in intimate union: respecting the dance at this
Iapid movements of the body the way in which festival, see GYAlNOPAEDIA.
hissiles and blows from weapons were avoided, There were other dances, besides the Pyrrhic, in
and also the nmode in which the enemy were which the performers had arms, but these seem to
attacked. In the non-Doric states it was pro- have been entirely mimetic, and not practised with
bably not practised as a training for war, but any view to training for war. Such was the
only as a mimetic dance: thus we read of its being Kap'rala peculiar to the Aenianians and Magnetes,
-danced by Women to entertain a company. (Xen. which was performed by two armed men in the
Anab. vi. 1. ~ 12.) It was also performed at following manner: one lays down his arms, sows
Athens at the greater and-lesser Fanathenaea by the grouud, and ploughs with a yoke of oxen, freEphebi; who were called Pyrrhichists (IvtlLXrrorai) quently looking around as if afraid; then conmes a
and ~were trained at the expense of the Choragus. robber, whom as soon as the other sees, he snatches
(Schol. Ead Aristopl., Nb,. 98d8; Lysia, ir. alA. up his arms and fights with hinm for the oxen. All