Dance, choros, was one of the most important elements in Sparta religious ceremonies in honour of Apollo. According Plato, to start with, Gods provided to humans a way to feel better and lesser pain from their sufferings, which is the riotous behavior with co-celebrators the Muses, Dionysus and Apollo, whose deed was to re-establishing the, by time, diminishing culture of men. (Laws 653c-d, 665a)

The word χορός, “dance”, by Plato is related to the word χαρά, “joy” – wrong etymology, but not irrelevant with the mimetic character, which can be introduced, by the Athenian philosopher, in the choric-dancing act. (Laws 653b-e, 673c-d, 816a-b: The verb play, “παίζω”, means also in ancient Greek language that I m dancing, “χορεύω”.) Dance, “Χορεία”, is a mimetic way of attitudes and different moods, which their existence is a great educational-cultural magnitude (Laws 655d), in fact, the first teaching was related with Apollo and the Muses, who also are relating with the dance. The “αχόρευτος” – the non-dancing individual – according Plato, can be connected with the non-educated man (Laws 654a).

Sparta was one of the most important centres of music elegancy, especially of the choric tradition from the 7^th and 6^th century. It was fractured as the prototype for dance as Plato articulates in his Laws (II and VII books). In the most important celebrations in honour of Apollo, Carnea, Yakinthia, and the Gymnopaediae, music and dance were the most essential element.

Dance was used as admission of the youths to the age-period of manhood in Sparta society. In Gymnopaediae the educational role of dance is well understandable because of the different categories of ages in dance groups; children’s dance, men and orders’ song groups, whose composition was by well known poets/composers, such as Alcam, Thalitas, Dionysodoton (Athenaeus, 15.678 b-c)

For the political importance of dance in Sparta Pausanias stated, “On their market-place the Spartans have images of Apollo Pythaeus, of Artemis and of Leto. The whole of this region is called Choros, because at the Gymnopaediae, a festival which the Lacedaemonians take more seriously than any other, the lads perform dances in honour of Apollo.” (Pausanias, Description of Greece, 3.11.9)

The choric events of the Yakinthia, in honour of Yakinthos and of Apollo Ameklaiou, had, also, an initiating role, which presented the Spartan youth in the Sparta’s society. The celebrations were for three days. Their socio-political and cultural purpose was to address the youth in Spartan society. At the first day, of the celebration, did not exist dance or other choric performance, because of the chthonic character of the festival.

Dance and music could be met also in the third create religious festivity in Sparta, the Carnea, which as the Gymnopaediae had a militaristic character. In Carnea we have music competitions from the 7^th century BCE. (Plutarch, For Music, 1134b) Also Euripides said “Poets shall sing often in your praise both on the seven-stringed mountain tortoise-shell and in songs unaccompanied by the lyre when at Sparta the month of Carnea comes circling round and the moon is aloft the whole night long, and also in rich, gleaming Athens. Such is the theme for song that you have left for poets by your death.” (Alcestis, 445-451) Dance in honour of the Karneīou Apollo was produced except in Sparta, also, in the Doric Thera; “ê rh' echarê mega Phoibos, hote zôstêres Enuous // aneres ôrchêsanto meta xanthêisi Libussais, // tethmiai eute sphin Karneiades êluthon hôrai.” and “ou keinou choron eide theôteron allon Apollôn, // oude polei tos' eneimen ophelsima, tossa Kurênêi, // mnôomenos proterês harpaktuos. oude men autoi // Battiadai Phoiboio pleon theon allon eteisan. // hiê hiê paiêon akouomen, houneka touto // Delphos toi prôtiston ephumnion heureto laos, // êmos hekêboliên chruseôn epedeiknuso toxôn.” (Callimachus, For Apollo, 85-87, 93-99) Additionally, in the South Italian red figurine crater (ερυθρόμορφος ελικωτός κρατήρας) from Taranda, was been pictured a choric liturgy, which is a link with the Carnea. (LIMC 7, Perseus 32)