CURETES. - Minor Greek deities; believed to be autochthonous or sons of Zeus, especially venerated in Crete, where they were said to have founded many cities. They were benevolent daemons, protectors of cities and flocks, tamers of animals, endowed with the gift of prophecy, and inventors of weapons.
Their number varies from one to ten. Rhea entrusted the infant Zeus to them, and they muffled his cries by clashing their weapons together and dancing the pyrrhic dance, of which they were the inventors. Principal centres of their cult were Crete, Euboea, Messene, and Ephesus, where they were linked to the rivalry between Hera and Leto. They were identified with the Telchines, the Dactyls, the Corybantes, etc.
Bibl.: J. Harrison, The Kouretes and Zeus Kouros, in Annual of the British School at Athens, 15 (1908-1909), p. 308 ff.; M. Nilsson, The Minoan-Mycenaean Religion, Oxford 1927, p. 472 ff. Luisa Banti