[Illustration: Fig. 13.--A military dance, supposed
to be the _Corybantum_. From a Greek bas-relief in the Vatican
Museum.]

The _G[)e]r[)a]n[)o]s_, originally from Delos, is said to have been
originated by Theseus in memory of his escape from the labyrinth of
Crete (fig. 12). It was a hand-in-hand dance alternately of males and
females. The dance was led by the representative of Theseus playing
the lyre.

[Illustration: Fig. 14.--Greek dancer with castanets. (British
Museum.) See also Castanet dance by Myron, fig. 63a.]

Of the second class, the gymnastic, the most important were military
dances, the invention of which was attributed to Minerva; of these the
_Corybantum_ was the most remarkable. It was of Phrygian origin and of
a mixed religious, military, and mimetic character; the performers
were armed, and bounded about, springing and clashing their arms and
shields to imitate the Corybantes endeavouring to stifle the cries of
the infant Zeus, in Crete. The Pyrrhic (fig. 13), a war dance of Doric
origin, was a rapid dance to the double flute, and made to resemble
an action in battle; the _Hoplites_ of Homer is thought to have been
of this kind. The Dorians were very partial to this dance and
considered their success in battle due to the celerity and training of
the dance. In subsequent periods it was imitated by female dancers and
as a _pas seul_. It was also performed in the Panathenaea by Ephebi at
the expense of the Choragus, but this was probably only a mimetic
performance and not warlike.