Canentes et rite saltantes solebant. Suoni perduti di danze in armi tra mondo greco e romano

The aim of this paper is to introduce the main features of the armed dancers in Greek and Roman world. In the first part of this paper we shall present some characters of the Greek mythology connected with apotropaic dance with shields and swords (Kouretes and Korybantes), involved in the birth-stories of Zeus and Dionysos. The next step of this analysis is to show the cultic context of the Pyrrhic dance and to define his meaning in the greek religion. The second part of the article concerns, more specifically, the representation of Salii dance in Roman world. This ritual is known by literary descriptions and epigraphic sources, but its iconographical and archaeological evidence is controversial. This apparent dichotomy is interpreted by a socio-cultural perspective.