The hyporchema ( el, ὑπόρχημα) was a lively kind of mimic dance which accompanied the songs used in the worship of

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

, especially among the

Dorians The Dorians (; el, Δωριεῖς, ''Dōrieîs'', singular , ''Dōrieús'') were one of the four major ethnic groups into which the Hellenes (or Greeks) of Classical Greece divided themselves (along with the Aeolians, Achaeans, and Ionians) ...

. It was performed by men and women. It is comparable to the ''geranos'' (γερανός), the ritual "crane dance" associated with

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describe ...

. A chorus of singers at the festivals of Apollo usually danced around the altar, while several other persons were appointed to accompany the action of the song with an appropriate mimic performance. Hyporchema was thus a lyric dance, and often passed into the playful and comic, whence

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...

compares it with the

cordax The cordax ( grc, κόρδαξ), was a provocative, licentious, and often obscene mask dance of ancient Greek comedy. In his play ''The Clouds'', Aristophanes complains that other playwrights of his time try to hide the feebleness of their plays b ...

of comedy. It had, according to the supposition of Müller, like all the music and poetry of the Dorians, originated in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

, but was at an early period introduced in the island of

Delos The island of Delos (; el, Δήλος ; Attic: , Doric: ), near Mykonos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island are ...

, where it seems to have continued to be performed down to the time of

Lucian Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer Pamphleteer is a historical term for someone who creates or distributes pamphlets, unbound (and therefore ...

. A similar kind of dance was the '' geranos'' (crane dance), which

on his return from Crete was said to have performed in Delos, and which was customary in this island as late as the time of

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

. The leader of this dance was called ''geranoulkos''. It was performed with blows, and with various turnings and windings, and was said to be an imitation of the windings of the Cretan

labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

. When the chorus was at rest, it formed a semicircle, with leaders at the two wings. The poems or songs which were accompanied by the hyporchema were likewise called hyporchemata. The first poet to whom such poems are ascribed was

Thaletas Thaletas or Thales of Crete (Greek: Θαλῆς or Θαλήτας) was an early Greek musician and lyric poet. Biography Historicity The position of Thaletas is one of the most interesting, and at the same time most difficult points, in that ...

of Crete: their character must have been in accordance with the playfulness of the dance which bore the same name, and by which they were accompanied. The fragments of the hyporchemata of

Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar is ...

confirm this supposition, for their rhythms are peculiarly light, and have a very imitative and graphic character.Bockh, de Meir. Find. p. 201, &c., and p. 270. These characteristics must have existed in a much higher degree in the hyporchematic songs of Thaletas.

Notes

References

* {{Greek dances Ancient Greek dances Apollo Dorian Crete Dorians