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| Tragic | Gymnopaedic | Emmeleia |
| Comic | Hyporchematic | Kordax |
| Satyric | Pyrrhic | Sikinnis |
There are three types of dances in stage poetry: tragic, comic, and satyric. Likewise, there are also three in lyric poetry: the pyrrhic, the gymnopaedic, and the hyporchematic. The pyrrhic is considered similar to the satyric, for both are characterized by speed. The pyrrhic is thought to be a martial dance, for it is performed by armed youths. Speed is necessary in war, both for pursuing and for fleeing when defeated. The satyric dance is called the sikinnis a rapid dance of satyrs, named after the Cretan Sikinnos. The gymnopaedic is similar to the tragic dance, which is called the emmeleia a solemn, graceful dance; in both, one observes gravity and solemnity. The hyporchematic is related to the comic dance, which is called the kordax a licentious comic dance, as both are playful. Aristoxenus says that the pyrrhic dance received its name from Pyrrhichos the Laconian, and "Pyrrhichos" is still a Laconian name to this day.
Regarding those called hilarodoi comic singers/performers—whom some call simodoi buffoonish singers, as Aristocles says in his work On Choruses—the simos flat-nosed or buffoonish character is mocked by the hilarodos poet. Aristocles also addresses these figures in his work On Music, writing as follows: a magodos a performer of farcical/mimetic pieces is the same as a hilarodos. Aristoxenus, however, says that the one who performs both male and female roles is called a magodos, while the one who performs female roles with male ones is a lysiodos a singer of relaxed/effeminate songs. They sing the same melodies, and everything else about them is similar.
The so-called hilarodos is more solemn than the simodoi.
From Book XIV of Athenaeus.