The Role of Dance in Ancient Greece



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).

— THIS VIDEO WAS SPONSORED BY HISTORY HIT —
This video was kindly sponsored by History Hit, the “Netflix for History.” Sign up with the voucher code WORLDHISTORY to receive 50% off your first three months: https://access.historyhit.com/?utm_source=whencyclopedia&utm_medium=Youtube&utm_campaign=whe

— SUPPORT US VIA OUR PATREON—
https://www.patreon.com/join/whencyclopedia

— BUY OUR MERCH —
https://www.worldhistory.store​/​

— 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/

— WATCH NEXT —
History of the Iliad and the Trojan War https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38xMffvYdAo
Ares the God of War in Greek Mythology https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaGHa0G41VA
The Roles, Rights and Lives of Women in Ancient Greece https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-ASzrpGZ-k
Origin and History of the Ancient Olympic Games https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v2Oh84rGIQ
Ancient Greek Pottery: History, Development and Designs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lWyqbYITQw

— 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://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
www.worldhistory.org

#ancientgreekdance #ancientdance #ancientgreece

source

9 Comments

  1. @WorldHistoryEncyclopedia August 13, 2025
  2. @clivesmith9377 August 13, 2025
  3. @hellasboy900 August 13, 2025
  4. @kittentmv4820 August 13, 2025
  5. @olorin4317 August 13, 2025
  6. @Tekmirion August 13, 2025
  7. @Davlavi August 13, 2025
  8. @jonykled5762 August 13, 2025
  9. @stevenbrown9275 August 13, 2025

Add Comment