In Greek mythology, the Curetes or Kouretes (Ancient Greek: Κουρῆτες) are the armed dancers of Crete who guarded the infant Zeus for Rhea, drowning his cries with the clash of spear on shield so that Cronus would not hear him. They are often compared or confused with the Phrygian Korybantes of Cybele, with the Idaean Dactyls, and with other ecstatic male confraternities. Later tradition also links their armed dance to initiatory rites of young men.
Adapted from Wikipedia, "Korybantes" · CC BY-SA 4.0
I.Guardians of Zeus
When Rhea hid the newborn Zeus in a Cretan cave, the Kouretes clashed their spears and shields in ritual dance so that Cronus would not hear the child's crying. Hellenic tradition read this as protection of the Divine Child; archaeologists have noted dedicated weapons and Near Eastern-style bronzes from Cretan caves that may relate to the cult underlying the myth. Ovid says the Kouretes were born from rainwater (Uranus fertilizing Gaia). Oppian has Cronus turn the Curetes into lions, after which Zeus made them kings of animals and Rhea yoked them to her chariot.
II.Kouretes and Korybantes
Greek writers often identified or confused the Cretan Kouretes with the Phrygian Korybantes who worshipped Cybele with drumming and armed dance, and with the Cabeiri, Idaean Dactyls, and related groups. Strabo records the uncertainty among the uninitiated. The Korybantes were also said to preside over the infancy of Dionysus or Zagreus. Jane Ellen Harrison and others connected both confraternities with coming-of-age initiation and the warrior pyrrhic dance.