Cordax

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Cordax (lat.) Or κόρδαξ (old Gr .) Is the name for a dance of obscene character in ancient comedy.

Etymology and word meaning

Greek

The origin of the ancient Greek word κόρδαξ is not clear. It is part of the poetic vocabulary. The derivation of (old Gr.) Χορδή (rope) would be conceivable, albeit vague, which is why the Cordax is sometimes also viewed as a tightrope walk in which the dancers held onto a rope together.

Latin

The relevant literature naturally refers to the origin of the word from the Greek. The word cordax has a metonymic meaning as a trochaeus because of its hopping rhythm. This is where the phrase cordaces sententiae comes from , which is initially trochaic = staggering , then unsteady thoughts etc. Almost unanimously, Cicero (Cic. Orat. 193) and Quintilian (Quint. Inst. IX 4, 87) report that Aristotle calls the trochee cordax .

Literary sources

Essence of the Cordax

It is believed that the Cordax, like other dances, was accompanied by instruments such as flutes, hand drums, harps, castanets, cymbals, etc. In this context, Juvenal speaks of a rattling caused by a kind of broken glass (Iuv. XI, 172). This undoubtedly alludes to an accompaniment by castanets or the like. Lukian also reports on these instruments and goes on to state that the satyrs invented this dance (Lukian. Salt. 22 & 26).

Dance for pleasure

Contrary to the assumption that the Cordax is solely a dance from the theater, the writer Petronius leaves his main character Trimalchio, his wife Fortunata, in the story Das Gastmahl des Trimalchio from the novel Satyricon at a feeding and drinking orgy that he organizes designate the best cordax dancer (Petron. LII 8). In Theophrastus there is the remark that only people with a lighthearted character dance this dance (Theophr. Char. VI, 3).

Even Johann Gottfried Seume reported in his book Promenade to Syracuse in 1802 in the chapter Schottwien The Dance of '... the most exuberant, ungezogensten Kordax' ... where '... ran away the girls and even stopped the bagpipers.'.

Cultic meaning

In Pausanias ' Perihegese (Paus. VI 22,1) there is the note that the Cordax was consecrated to the goddess Artemis. It is said to have originated in Elis due to a military victory in her honor . That is why the goddess bears the cultic nickname κόρδαξ .

Archaeological evidence

In an essay, Karl August Böttiger describes a picture of a vase that presumably shows the cordax dance. Unfortunately, it is not possible to understand which figure Böttiger is referring to. However, he speaks of the fact that the actors in this dance wear masks and an oversized, red, erect and infibulated penis tied in front of them, which is supposed to have served to amuse the female audience in particular. Böttiger refers to literary mentions in Aristophanes (Aristoph. Nub. 530 ff.).

Further development

Perhaps because of its accompaniment by castanets, the fandango may be considered a modern descendant of the cordax . An offshoot of the cordax is also seen in places in the tarantella . From literary mentions by Rabelais , Holobolos, Metochites and Kokkinos , one can conclude that the cordax was (still) danced in the Middle Ages and was still frowned upon because of its profanity.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lexicon of the Old World. 2001, col. 1597.
  2. ↑ W. Gemoll et al. (Ed.): Gemoll. Greek-German school and manual dictionary. 10th edition. Oldenbourg-Verlag 2006, p. 475.
  3. ^ Sillig (ed.): CA Böttiger`s small writings of archaeological and antiquarian content. 2nd volume. Dresden / Leipzig 1838, p. 281.
  4. ↑ M. Stowasser et al. (Ed.): Stowasser. Latin-German school dictionary. Oldenbourg-Verlag 2007, p. 126.
  5. ↑ Georges (Ed.): Comprehensive Latin-German concise dictionary. Volume 1. Darmstadt 1998, column 1692.
  6. ^ Carnaval.com Greek and Bacchanalian Dance
  7. ^ Full text of the work Walk to Syracuse in 1802 [1]
  8. ↑ Theoi.com Artemis Titles
  9. ↑ Julius Sillig (ed.): CA Böttiger`s small writings of archaeological and antiquarian content. 2nd volume. Dresden / Leipzig 1838, p. 279 ff.
  10. ↑ Böttiger: Ideas for the archeology of painting. 1811, p. 200.
  11. ↑ http://www.reitz-kassel.de/Leichnam/Fandango-Kordax.html  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.reitz-kassel.de  

literature

  • Carl August Böttiger: Ideas on the archeology of painting. Volume 1. Dresden 1811.
  • W. Gemoll et al. (Ed.): Gemoll. Greek-German school and manual dictionary. 10th edition. Oldenbourg-Verlag 2006, ISBN 3-637-00234-5 .
  • Karl Ernst Georges (Ed.): Comprehensive Latin-German dictionary. Darmstadt 1998.
  • Old World Lexicon . Vol. 2: HQ. Patmos and Albatros publishing house 2001, ISBN 3-491-96036-3 .
  • Julius Sillig (Ed.): CA Böttiger`s small writings of archaeological and antiquarian content. 2nd volume. Dresden / Leipzig 1838.
  • JM Stowasser et al. (Ed.): Stowasser. Latin-German school dictionary. Oldenbourg-Verlag, 2007, ISBN 978-3-637-13405-8 .

Web links