Performances of girls at the Spartan Festival of the Hyakinthia

This paper aims to investigate the role of the girls at the Spartan festival of the Hyakinthia at Amyklai and, particularly, the choral performances that might have involved them. It is commonly assumed that the Hyakinthia had an important initiatic function both for girls and boys, but I will now try to show that the initiation of girls was enacted through the musical performance. I will also try to elucidate the relevant role that the cult of Dionysus played at this festival and to what extent this cult might be connected with the choruses of girls.