...South of Lecce toward Otranto, bits of the ancient Greek presence in the Salento still cling to the language, like the dregs of resinous wine in a cup. Just a few decades ago many people here still spoke Griko, a dialect traceable in part to Doric Greek. In the Griko funeral laments collected by the folklorist Brizio Montinaro, born in the Griko-speaking town of Calimera, the dead wrestle directly with Thanatos in an underworld untouched by Christian saints. Much like the pizzica, the time-honored local dance of seduction and sexual possession, the Griko love songs are all about hot desire.
“Oh lucky little flea, what you get to do,” goes one published by Mr. Montinaro, “my sweetheart is at your mercy. On her lovely white flesh you come and go – you pounce upon her bosom.”...