The Pyrrhichios or Pyrrhike dance ("Pyrrhic dance";

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: πυρρίχιος or πυρρίχη, but often misspelled as πυρρίχειος or πυρήχειος) was the best known

war dance A war dance is a dance involving mock combat, usually in reference to tribal warrior societies where such dances were performed as a ritual connected with endemic warfare. Martial arts in various cultures can be performed in dance-like setting ...

of the Greeks. It was probably of Dorian origin and practiced at first solely as a training for war. According to ancient sources, it was a

weapon dance A weapon dance employs weapons—or stylized versions of weapons—traditionally used in combat in order to simulate, recall, or reenact combat or the moves of combat in the form of dance, usually for some ceremony, ceremonial purpose. Such dancing ...

.Pyrrhic Dance and Female Pyrrhic Dancers, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Spring 1996), p. 3
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Overview

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

('' Leges'', 815a) describes it as imitating by quick movements the ways in which blows and darts are to be avoided and also the modes in which an enemy is to be attacked. It was danced to the sound of the

aulos An ''aulos'' (plural ''auloi''; , plural ) or ''tibia'' (Latin) was a wind instrument in ancient Greece, often depicted in art and also attested by archaeology. Though the word ''aulos'' is often translated as "flute" or as " double flute", ...

; its time was quick and light, as is also shown by the metric foot called pyrrhic. It was described by

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been ...

in his work the ''

Anabasis Anabasis (from Greek ''ana'' = "upward", ''bainein'' = "to step or march") is an expedition from a coastline into the interior of a country. Anabase and Anabasis may also refer to: History * '' Anabasis Alexandri'' (''Anabasis of Alexander''), ...

''. In that work he writes that the dance was performed at a banquet held in Kotyora during which Greek and Paphalagonian forces settled their differences. The following is the part in which the Pyrrhic dance is mentioned: According to a tradition reported by

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

, the originator of the ''pyrriche'' was

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

, who danced it around the funeral pyre of

Patroclus In Greek mythology, Patroclus (generally pronounced ; ) was a Greek hero of the Trojan War and an important character in Homer's ''Iliad''. Born in Opus, Patroclus was the son of the Argonaut Menoetius. When he was a child, he was exiled from ...

.Aristotle, frag. 519 (V. Rose
''Aristotelis qui ferebantur librorum fragmenta''
Leipzig 1886, p. 325). The dance was loved in all of Greece and especially by the

Spartans Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the valley of Evrotas river in Laconia, in southeastern P ...

, who considered it light war training. This belief led the Spartans to teach the dance to their children while they were still young. Athenian youth performed the dance in the

palaestra A palaestra ( or ; also (chiefly British) palestra; ) was any site of a Greek wrestling school in antiquity. Events requiring little space, such as boxing and wrestling, occurred there. ''Palaistrai'' functioned both independently and as a part ...

as part of training in gymnastics. The dance was also performed in the

Panathenaic Games The Panathenaic Games () were held every four years in Athens in Ancient Greece from 566 BC to the 3rd century AD. These Games incorporated religious festival, ceremony (including prize-giving), athletic competitions, and cultural events hosted ...

. There were three classes of competitors: men, youth, and boys.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyrrhichios (Dance) Ancient Greek dances Greek war dances Anabasis (Xenophon)

Overview

See also

References