The Role of Dance in Ancient Greece

Video

Kelly Macquire
by
published on 26 April 2022

There were many occasions in ancient Greece where people danced, especially since rhythmic physical exercise and pall playing were also considered dance. The ancient Greeks would dance at weddings, symposiums (which were all male drinking parties), and events like Greek theatre which saw choreographed performances by the chorus. Dance is an element of the mousike in ancient Greek literature, which is a term that includes all types of performing arts from music and dance to singing and recitation, but there is evidence that suggests it was also practised as an independent skill.

We have evidence of ancient Greek dance all the way back to the second millennium BCE on Crete from the Minoan civilisation. Classical Greek writers attribute the birthplace of several kinds of dance to Knossos and the island of Crete. Seals and gold rings found across the island at sites like Isopata and Hagia Triada show depictions of dancing women, usually in a religious context, along with wall paintings at Knossos and female dancing figurines that were found at Palaikastro. Dancers were commonly depicted in both historical and mythological ancient Greek literature with the most infamous dancers being the satyrs and maenads who were companions of the god of wine and revelry, Dionysus. The satyrs are mischievous and merry half-men-half-goats who were more often than not dancing and chasing young women (usually Maenads).

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— CHAPTERS —
0:00​ Introduction
1:11 Dance in Ancient Greece
2:08 The History of Dance in Greece
2:56 Types of Dance in Ancient Greece
4:20 Dancing in Greek Mythology
5:36 Outro

— WANT TO KNOW MORE? —
Ancient Greek Dance https://www.worldhistory.org/Greek_Dance/
Ancient Greek Theatre https://www.worldhistory.org/Greek_Theatre/
Ancient Greek Music https://www.worldhistory.org/Greek_Music/
Symposium https://www.worldhistory.org/Symposium/
Dionysos https://www.worldhistory.org/Dionysos/

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— ATTRIBUTIONS —
You can find all attribution and credits for images, animations, graphics and music here - https://worldhistory.typehut.com/the-role-of-dance-in-ancient-greece-images-and-attributions-9294

The music used in this recording is the intellectual copyright of Michael Levy, a prolific composer for the recreated lyres of antiquity, and used with the creator's permission. Michael Levy's music is available to stream at all the major digital music platforms. Find out more on:
https://www.ancientlyre.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v?si=emacIH9CRieFNGXRUyJ9
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ1X6F7lGMEadnNETSzTv8A

— THUMBNAIL IMAGE —
https://member.worldhistory.org/image/4482/maenad-relief-capitoline-museums/
Mark Cartwright
CC BY NC SA 4.0 - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/248660?ft=symposium&offset=0&rpp=40&pos=18
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Open Access - https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/policies-and-documents/open-access
CC0 - https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en

World History Encyclopedia
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About the Author

Kelly Macquire
Kelly is a graduate from Monash University who has completed her BA (Honours) in Ancient History and Archaeology, focussing on iconography and status in Pylos burials. She has a passion for mythology and the Aegean Bronze Age.

The video and its description text are provided by Youtube. This website claims no authorship of this content; we are republishing it for educational purposes.

Cite This Work

APA Style

Macquire, K. (2022, April 26). The Role of Dance in Ancient Greece. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/video/2769/the-role-of-dance-in-ancient-greece/

Chicago Style

Macquire, Kelly. "The Role of Dance in Ancient Greece." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified April 26, 2022. https://www.worldhistory.org/video/2769/the-role-of-dance-in-ancient-greece/.

MLA Style

Macquire, Kelly. "The Role of Dance in Ancient Greece." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 26 Apr 2022. Web. 25 Apr 2024.

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