{"id":228,"date":"2021-07-14T17:58:54","date_gmt":"2021-07-14T16:58:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/ancient-dance\/?page_id=228"},"modified":"2022-03-03T17:40:16","modified_gmt":"2022-03-03T17:40:16","slug":"researching-ancient-greek-dance-how-do-we-know","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/ancient-dance\/ancient-greek-dance\/researching-ancient-greek-dance-how-do-we-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Ancient Greek Dance: How do we know?"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Ancient Greek dance was an ephemeral art: it left no dance notation, no record about the precise succession of steps \u2013 neither in writing nor in images \u2013, no technical literature of dancing has been recovered \u2013 so far.[1]<\/a> All in all, the ancient world was predominantly an oral culture.<\/p>\n

There is, however, a great number and wide variety of written sources that evidence the social importance of dancing, sometimes linked to music and poetry \u2013 what the ancient Greeks called mousik\u0113. Plato, Lucian, Athenaeus \u2013 just to name a few \u2013 regarded dancing as a key element in the education of good citizens, and even considered that it had an important role in the ordered disposition of planets and stars around the universe. [2]<\/a> Epigraphy has rendered partial evidence and is still understudied, just like papyrology[3]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The decoration on ancient Greek vases, wall-paintings, terracotta figurines, sculptures and reliefs provide us with a visual catalogue of dancers \u2013 mortals and divine – accompanied by wreaths, ribbons, flowers, thyrsus, torches, etc.[4]<\/a> Although these representations cannot be understood as a faithful rendition of ancient dancing \u2013 they\u2019re part of the ancient Greek visual repertoire, a series of graphic conventions that were part of long-established iconographic tradition \u2013 they still convey certain information about the role of music in ancient Greece.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

The kinetic element of dancing is usually overlooked: dancing occurred in a 3-dimensional space, indoors and outdoors. It was performed in theatres, sanctuaries, and banqueting halls, while larger crowds were drawn to fairs, horse racing, athletics, and processions in the streets.[6]<\/a> Thanks to archaeological excavations of these places – their layout, building materials, and interconnection with other spaces – we can analyse the interaction among dancers and between dancers and the audience.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Naerebout 2003:140.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Barker 1984-1989.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Naerebout 2003:154.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Poursat 1968: 550-615.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Roebuck & Roebuck 1955.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Naerebout 2003:149.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Written sources<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/td>\n\u00a0Archaeological finds<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/td>\n\u00a0Early scholarship<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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