DANCING IN ANCIENT GREECE
Homeric testimony; importance of the dance in Greek life;
Xenophon’s description; Greek religion and the dance;
Terpsichore--Dancing of youths, educational value; Greek dance
music; Hyporchema and Saltation; Gymnopœdia; the Pyrrhic dance; the
Dipoda and the Babasis; the Emmeleia; the Cordax; the Hormos--Greek
theatres; comparison of periods; the Eleusinian mysteries; the
Dionysian mysteries; the Heteræ; technique.
I
Best known to us of all the ancient and exotic dances are those of the
Greeks. In Greece dancing was an actual language, interpreting all
sentiments and passions. Aristotle speaks of Saltators whose dances
mirrored the manners, the passions and the actions of men. About three
hundred years before the Augustan era dancing in Greece had reached
an apotheosis that it has never reached in any other country in the
history of ancient civilization. Accurate information about the ancient
Greek dances is given not only in numerous fresco paintings, reliefs
and sculptures, but in the works of Homer, Aristotle, Plato, Lucian,
Aristophanes, Hesiod and many others.
That dancing was highly esteemed as an accomplishment for young
ladies in the Heroic Age we may gather from the sixth book of the
Odyssey, when gentle white-armed Nausicaa, the daughter of a king, is
represented as leading her companions in the choral lay after they had
washed their linen in the stream, and amused themselves awhile with
a game of ball. Ulysses compliments her especially upon her choric
skill, saying that if she should chance to be one of those mortals
who dwell on earth her brother and venerable mother must be ever
delighted when they behold her entering the dance. We read how Ulysses
was entertained at the court of Alcinous, the father of the young lady
who had befriended him, and whose dancing he had so greatly admired.
The admiration of the wanderer was excited by the rapid and skillful
movements of the dancers, who were not maidens only, but youths in the
prime of life. Presently two of the most accomplished youths, Halius
and Laodamus, were selected by Alcinous to exhibit their skill in a
dance, during which one performer threw a ball high in the air while
the other caught it between his feet before it reached the ground. From
the further description it appears that this was a true dance and not
a mere acrobatic performance, and that the purple ball was used by the
participants simply as an accessory.
The twenty-third book of the same poem tells us that dancing among the
guests at wedding festivals formed in these early times an essential
part of the ceremonies. The wanderer, having been recognized by the
faithful Penelope, tells his son, Telemachus, to let the divine bard
who has the tuneful harp lead the sportive dance, so that anyone
hearing it from without may say it is a marriage. Homer thought so
highly of dancing that in the ‘Iliad’ he calls it ‘irreproachable.’
In describing various scenes which Vulcan wrought on the shield of
Achilles, he associates dancing with hymeneal festivities. No Athenian
festivals were ever celebrated without dancing. The design with which
the gods used to adorn the shields of heroes represented the dance
contrived by Dædalus for fair-haired Ariadne. In this dance youths
with tunics and golden swords suspended from silver belts, and virgins
clothed in fine linen robes and wearing beautiful garlands, danced
together, holding each other by the wrists. They danced in a circle,
bounding nimbly with skilled feet, as when a potter, sitting, shall
make trial of a wheel fitted to his hands, whether it will run; and at
other times they ran back to their places between one another.
Galen complained that ‘so much do they give themselves up to this
pleasure, with such activity do they pursue it, that the necessary arts
are neglected.’ The Greek festivals in which dancing was a feature
were innumerable. The Pythian, Marathon, Olympic and all other great
national games opened with and ended with dancing. The funeral feats
of Androgeonia and Pollux, the festivals of Bacchus, Jupiter, Minerva,
Diana, Apollo, and the Feasts of the Muses and of Naxos were celebrated
predominantly with dancing ceremonies. According to Scaliger dancing
played an important part in the Pythian games, representations which
may be looked upon as the first utterances of the dramatic Muse, as
they were divided into five acts, and were composed of poetic narrative
with imitative music performed by choruses and dances. Lucian assures
us that if dancing formed no part of the program in the Olympian games,
it was because the Greeks thought no prizes could adequately reward it.
Socrates danced with Aspasia and Aristides danced at a banquet given by
Dionysius of Syracuse.
The Greeks danced always and everywhere. They danced in the temples,
in the woods and in the fields. Every social or family event, birth,
marriage and death, gave occasion for a dance. Cybele, the mother of
the Immortals, taught dancing to the Corybantes upon Mount Ida and
to the Curetes in the island of Crete. Apollo dictated choreographic
laws through the mouths of his priestesses. Priapus, one of the
Titans, taught the god of war how to dance before instructing him
in strategics. The heroes followed the example of the gods. Theseus
celebrated his victory over the Minotaur with dances. Castor and Pollux
created the Caryatis, a nude dance performed by Spartan maids on the
banks of the Eurotas.
It is written that Æschylus and Aristophanes danced in public in their
own plays. Philip of Macedonia married a dancer by whom he had a son
who succeeded Alexander. Nicomedes, King of Pithynia, was the son of a
dancing girl. This art was so esteemed that great dancers and ballet
masters were chosen to act as public men. The best Greek dancers came
from the Arcadians. The main aim of the Greek dancers was to contrive
the most perfect plastic lines in the various poses of the human body,
and in this sculpture was their ideal. It is said that the divine
sculpture of Greece was inspired by the high standard of national
choreography.
Though we know little of the Greek dance music, yet occasional
allusions inform us that it was instrumental and vocal. Thus Athenæus
says: ‘The Hyporchematic Dance is that in which the chorus dances while
singing.’ Xenophon writes in his sixth book of ‘Anabasis’ as follows:
‘After libations were made, and the guests had sung a pæan, there rose
up first the Thracians, and danced in arms to the music of a flute,
and jumped up very high with light jumps, and used their swords. And
at last one of them strikes another, so that it seemed to everyone
that the man was wounded; and he fell down in a very clever manner,
and all the bystanders raised an outcry. And he who struck him, having
stripped him of his arms, went out singing _sitacles_; and others of
the Thracians carried out his antagonist as if he were dead, but in
reality he was not hurt. After this some Ænianians and Magnesians rose
up, who danced the dance called Carpæa, they, too, being in armor. And
the fashion of the dance was like this: One man, having laid aside his
arms, is sowing and driving a yoke of oxen, constantly looking around,
as if he were afraid. Then comes up a robber; but the sower, as soon
as he sees him, snatches up his arms, and fights in defence of his
team in regular time to the music of the flute, and at last the robber,
having bound the man, carries off the team; but sometimes the sower
conquers the robber, and then, binding him alongside his oxen, he ties
his hands behind him and drives him forward.’
Another ancient Greek dance is graphically described by Xenophon as it
was given by Callias to entertain his guests, among whom was Socrates.
The dance represented the marriage of Dionysos and Ariadne. ‘Ariadne,
dressed like a bride, comes in and takes her place. Dionysos enters,
dancing to the music. The spectators did all admire the young man’s
carriage, and Ariadne herself is so affected with the sight that
she may hardly sit. After a while Dionysos, beholding Ariadne, and,
incensed with love, bowing to her knees, embraces and kisses her first,
and kisses her with grace. She embraces him again, and kisses him with
the like affection.’
The nature of the Greek religion was such that many of their sacred
dances would, according to our conventions, be far more shocking than
those which they performed socially. In the Homeric hymn to Apollo we
read how the Ionians with their wives and children were accustomed to
assemble in honor of the god, and delight him with their singing and
dancing. The poet describes that dancing was at that time an art in
which everybody could join, and that it was by no means cultivated only
by professional artists. Though the Ionians contributed much to the
development of the art of dancing, yet in later years these degenerated
into voluptuous gesticulations and sensuous poses known by the Romans
as ‘Ionic Movements.’ In another part of the same poem Homer depicts
‘the fair-haired Graces, the wise Hours and Harmony, and Hebe and
Venus, the daughter of Jove, dance, holding each other by the wrists.
Apollo strikes the harp, taking grand and lofty steps, and a shining
haze surrounds him, and the light glitters on his feet and on his
well-fitted tunic.’ Pan, who was considered by the Greeks as well as by
the Egyptians one of the greater gods, is represented by Homer as going
hither and thither in the midst of the dancers moving rapidly with his
feet. However, his dancing must have been singularly devoid of grace,
as most of the designs known to us depict him as a patron of shepherds
in Arcadia, gay and old-fashioned. All other gods and goddesses of the
first order were supposed to be accomplished artists in dancing. The
recently found bronze vase in a Phœnician sarcophagus, on the island of
Crete, contains designs of unusually soft forms of naked dancing girls
following Apollo. This best illustration of the Apollo ceremony goes
to show that the Phœnicians had learned dancing from the Greeks and
imitated them successfully.
As thorough as were all the Greek gods and goddesses in their knowledge
and talent of dancing, yet they were far surpassed by Terpsichore, the
real goddess of dancing and one of the nine Muses who always surrounded
Apollo. Most of the recovered Greek drawings and sculptures represent
Terpsichore either sitting or standing, but always with a lyre in her
hand. The invention of the lyre was attributed to her. A painting,
discovered in the excavated city, Herculaneum, represents her standing
with the lyre in her uplifted hand. Another smaller drawing describes
her with a wreath on her head while executing a graceful dance with
other Muses. Various mediæval artists represented in their works
Terpsichore dancing with a flower in her hand and an ethereal veil
floating around her head. One of the Greek legends tells us that she
was the mother of the singing Sirens.
II
All records indicate that dances in Greece were performed by men and
women alike. In some of these dances they wore a loose garment, keeping
their arms and legs bare; in others they danced perfectly naked. Some
dances were performed by girls alone and others by boys, but often
they mingled freely. The Greek customs generally permitted the freest
intercourse between young people of both sexes, who were specially
brought into contact at the great religious festivals and choruses. It
seems that the youths who had distinguished themselves at the public
dances expected no other reward than smiles of appreciation from the
girls present, and dreaded nothing so much as their indifference.
The constant practice of dancing by youths of both sexes from their
earliest years was meant to impart to them precision of movement,
suppleness of body, pliant and firm action of limbs, celerity of
motion and all those physical qualities that would be advantageous in
warfare and elevating or ennobling in everyday life. Plato praises
the quickness of the body as the most reliable medium of warfare. The
Greeks developed such beautiful bodies that they disliked to hide their
plastic lines with any garments, therefore they preferred to appear
naked, and more so in the temples and theaters than in their homes
or in society. The fact that all the Greek sculpture is nude can be
attributed, not to any abstract art ideals, but to the actual custom of
the time.
The first form of the Greek dance music was vocal, sung by a chorus;
in later times they began to use as accompaniment to singing certain
_chrotals_, or castañets. During the Homeric era, the lyre was used
predominately. In later centuries the flute (_aulos_) was introduced.
The vocal music was produced by soloists and by male or mixed
choruses. Frequently the dancers themselves sang or played the music
and danced at the same time. However, the dancers of the fourth century
never furnished their own music. According to the three principal
divisions of the Greek mythology (the cult of Earth and Heaven, the
cult of Chronos, Titans and Cyclops, and the cult of Zeus and the 12
Olympic divinities) the sacred dances of Greece can be divided into
similar groups. All the Greek deities, even Zeus, were considered
accomplished dancers. Since they enjoyed dancing themselves it was only
natural that they should like to see dancing included as part of their
worship. Cupid, the naughty little god of love, is depicted in most
cases dancing. The fourth century figurine of a Bacchante in thin and
supple draperies, whirling around on one foot, looks very much like a
ballet dancer of to-day.
The oldest of the Greek dances was probably the _Hyporchema_, which
was accompanied by the chorus. Though developed in different styles,
it always kept a religious character and was looked upon as the first
Greek attempts at saltation, in which, as the name betrays, song and
dance were intermingled. The earliest use made of saltation was in
connection with poetry. Athenæus says, however, that the early poets
had resource to the figures of saltation only as symbols of images and
ideas depicted in their verse. All dances of the _Hyporchema_ class
were dignified and elevated, men and women alike taking part in them.
Some attribute their origin to the Delians, who sang them around the
altars of Apollo. Others ascribe their invention to the Cretans, taught
by Thales.
Of later descent, but more practiced than the _Hyporchema_, were
the _Gymnopædia_, favored especially by the Lacedæmonians in their
festivals of Apollo. This was considered one of the most noble and
praiseworthy of the ancient dances. At the festivals the Gymnopædias
were at first performed by large choruses of men and boys, but later
the maidens were permitted to join them also. Then the men and women
danced in separate choirs. The _choragus_, or leader, was crowned with
palm leaves, and it was his privilege to defray the expenses of the
chorus. All who took part in this had to be well-trained dancers, as it
was the custom in Sparta that all children should commence to receive
choreographic instruction from the age of five. Max Müller says, though
this dance was performed perfectly nude, it enjoyed a high reputation.
Müller is of opinion that music was generally cultivated by the Dorians
and Arcadians owing to the circumstance that ‘women took part in it,
and sang and danced in public, both with men and by themselves.’ Music
and dancing were taught to the females at the Laconian capital, while
housekeeping was regarded as a degrading occupation.
One of the public dances most favored by the Lacedæmonians was the
Pyrrhic Dance. Lucian attributes its invention to Neoptolemus, the son
of Achilles, who so much excelled in this that he enriched it with a
fine new species, which from his surname Pyrrhicus received its title.
The influence of this dance must have extended to the remotest and most
barbarous nations, for not only the Romans but the Mongolians practiced
it. That it underwent considerable modification in later times is
evident from what Athenæus says: ‘The Pyrrhic Dance as it exists in
our own time appears to be a sort of Bacchic dance, and a little
more pacific than the old one; for the dancers carry thyrsi instead
of spears, and they point and dart canes at one another, and carry
torches. And they dance figures having reference to Bacchus and the
Indians, and to the story of Pentheus; and they require for the Pyrrhic
Dance the most beautiful airs.’
The Pyrrhic Dance in its early stage was a kind of war dance, as
the performers employed every type of arms. The figures of the dance
represented a kind of mimic battle, and the movements of the dancers
were generally light, rapid, and eminently characteristic. There were
figures representing the pursuit or retreat of an enemy; then again
there were movements and positions of the body by which spear thrusts,
darts, and wounds generally could be avoided. Other kind of movements
suggested aggressive actions, striking with the sword or using the
arrow. All these movements were performed in the most accurate rhythm
to the music of flutes.
The number of the ancient Greek dances is so large that we can count on
this occasion only those which are already known more or less through
classic literature. Wide popularity was enjoyed by the _Lysistrata_,
_Dipoda_, _Bibasis_, _Hymnea_, and the stage dances, _Cordax_,
_Emmeleia_, _Hormos_, _Endymatia_ and the celebrated religious
Mysteries of Aphrodite, Apollo, Demetrius, Dionysius, etc.
Most of those elegant female dancers whom we find represented on
ancient bas-reliefs, with their heads crowned, reeds in their hands
raised above them, are executing the _Dipoda_, which Aristophanes has
used as the climax in his celebrated comedy _Lysistrata_. This is what
the author himself writes of the dance: ‘Come here to celebrate Sparta,
where there are choruses in honor of the gods and the noise of dancing,
where, like young horses, the maidens on the banks of the Eurotas
rapidly move their feet, and their dresses are agitated like those
of bacchanals, brandishing the thyrsus and sporting, and the chaste
daughter of Leda, the lovely leader of the chorus, directs them. Now
come, bind up your hair, and leap like fawns; now strike the measured
tune which cheers the chorus.’ It is said that the simple, flowing
chitons which they wore as garments flowed freely with the movements of
their limbs, or fell in naturally graceful lines appropriate to the
poses they assumed.
A dance of wonderful agility was that of the _Bibasis_. According to
Max Müller, a Laconian maiden danced the _Bibasis_ a thousand times
more than any other girl had done. The peculiarity of this dance was
to spring upward from the ground and perform a _cabriole en arrière_,
striking the feet together behind before alighting. The _cabriole_ is
executed by the modern dancers with both feet in the air; and both legs
act in the beating movement, rapidly separating and closing. To this a
leap, called _jetté_, in the modern terminology, was probably added.
The upward spring was made first from one foot and then from the other
and striking the heels behind. The number of the successful strokes was
counted, and the most skillful performer received the prize. It is said
that Æschylus and Sophocles improved considerably the _Bibasis Dance_,
musically and choreographically, for both authors were accomplished
musicians and dance authorities.
The _Emmeleia_ was one of the most respected and popular dramatic
dances of the Greek stage. Plato speaks of it as a dance of
extraordinary gentleness, gravity and nobility, appropriate to the
highest sentiments. It possessed extraordinary mobility and dramatic
vigor, and yet was graceful, majestic and impressive. This dance, as it
was produced on the Athenian stage, is said to have been so terribly
realistic that many of the spectators rushed shocked from the theatre,
imagining that they really beheld the incarnated sisters of sorrow
whose very names they did not dare to mention. These awful ministers
of divine vengeance, who were supposed to punish the guilty both on
earth and in the infernal regions, appeared in black and blood-stained
garments. Their aspect was frightful and their poses emanated an air of
death. On their heads they carried wreathed serpents, while in their
hands were wriggling scorpions and a burning torch.
The music used for the _Emmeleia_ was supplied by an ‘orchestra’[B]
and chorus. Both the musicians and the singers were divided into
two groups, one of which was to the right, the other to the left
of the dancers. This gives an idea of the so-called ‘strophic’
principle. There are allusions to the fact that the Egyptians used
music to the Astral Dances in this form. Though we do not know the
character of the Greek dance music, particularly of the _Emmeleia_,
yet fragmentary allusions here and there give an idea that they were
mostly in a minor key and of very changeable measure. Kirchoff, who
made a special study of this dance, came to the theoretic conclusion
that this was predominantly recitative and resembled partly the later
operas of Wagner--of course, only melodically--and partly the Finnish
_Rune_ tunes. As there was much action that could not be danced, the
_Emmeleia_ required a perfect mimic technique and thorough knowledge of
‘eurhythmic’ rules. A few of the old Greek writers speak of dance music
as dignified and stately, which attributed seriousness or sorrow to the
grave steps, gracefulness and modesty to the gay and joyful poses.
[B] As to the significance of this word, see Vol. I, pp. 120ff.
Of a very opposite character was the _Cordax_ Dance. According to most
accounts it lacked in respectability and some writers speak of it as an
‘indecorous dance.’ Lucian says it was considered a shame to dance it
when sober. In some parts of Greece it took a comic character and was
often marred by buffoonery. According to Burette, people had recourse
to this dance when excited by wine. _Cordax_ was a Satyr who gave his
name to it. Since it was frivolous and comic, it was performed only
by less reputable female dancers. It is said that in its first phase
the _Cordax_ was an extremely comic dance and the people enjoyed its
refreshing humor and burlesque style. Like the Spanish _Zarzuelas_,
the _Cordax_ dances were small local comic pantomimes. In it the
dancers ridiculed public men whom no one dared to criticize otherwise.
Like every other stage art of this kind the _Cordax_ dances grew
indecent and were later abolished.
A dance of distinctly sexual nature was the _Hormos_, which was
dedicated to Artemis. Lucian tells us that the _Hormos_ was commenced
by a youth, absolutely unclad, and started with steps in military
nature, such as he was afterwards to practice in the field. Then
followed a maiden, who, leading up her companions, danced in a gentle
and graceful manner. Finally, ‘the whole formed a chain of masculine
vigor and feminine modesty entwined together.’ Sometimes the dance went
in a circle, sometimes in pairs of a maiden and a youth. Sometimes
passionate and sensuous gestures were made by both sexes, though only
for a moment, and the dance ended with a floating, graceful adagio.
It was an allegorical playlet in dance of human passions and their
control. The music for the youths was twice as rapid as that for the
maidens.
Lucian writes that at some of the festivals three great choruses
were formed for the dancers: of boys, of young men, and of old men.
The old men danced, singing of their life of valor and wisdom. The
chorus of the young men took up the theme and answered that they could
accomplish deeds greater than any that had been achieved. The boys
finished the song boasting that they would surpass both in deeds of
glory. The _choragos_, who acted at the same time as a conductor and
ballet-master, was regarded a man of the highest standing.
III
The Greek theatres, in which the dances and dramas were performed
regularly, were of vast dimensions. The Theatre of Dionysius at
Athens, being built in the shape of a horseshoe, could accommodate an
audience of 30,000 spectators. A deep and wide stage was constructed
for the dramatic performances. The theatre was not merely, as with
us, a place of entertainment, but also a temple of the god whose
altar was the central part of the semicircle of seats, where the
worshippers sat, during the festival days, from sunrise to sunset. The
stage decorations were of three sorts: for tragedies, the front of a
palace, with five doors; for comedy, a street with houses; for satire,
rocks and trees. There were no accessories of any kind on the stage.
Instead of a roof there was the blue sky. The front part of the stage
was used for the chorus, instruments and dancing. Lucian mentions how
even the Bacchanalian dance was treated so seriously on the stage that
the people would sit whole days in the theatre to view the Titans and
Corybantes, Satyrs and shepherds. ‘The most curious part of it is,’ he
writes, ‘that the noblest and greatest personages in every city are
the dancers, and so little are they ashamed of it that they applaud
themselves more upon their dexterity in that species of talent than
on their nobility, their posts of honor, or the dignities of their
forefathers.’
How learned the public dancers were in Greece is best illustrated by
a dialogue that occurred between Lucian and Croton. In this one of
the speakers maintains that any person desiring to become a public
dancer should know by heart Homer and Hesiod, should know the national
mythology and legends, should be acquainted with the history of Egypt,
should have a good voice and know how to sing well, and should be a man
of high personal character. A dancer should be neither too tall or too
short, too thin or too fat. If a dancer ever failed in his efforts to
please the audience he ran the risk of being pelted with stones. The
Greek audiences were accustomed to express their disapprobation in a
very decided manner.
It is interesting to compare the Greek dancing figures of various
periods, which actually give an idea of the development of their
choreography, and also of the change which took place in their costumes
and styles. In the first half of the sixth century the Ionic style
prevailed in garments. The feminine body was heavily draped. Later,
until the Persian War, a costume of a chiton, with wide sleeves and
sharply cut was in fashion. This century is rich in reproductions of
dancing figures, which have a tendency to keep one another’s hands and
strive to be decorative. The fifth century figures give an impression
of poised grace and plastic perfection of the body. The fourth century
figures show dancers with great individuality and perfection in the use
of the arms. Numerous bas-reliefs of this era represent women dancing
with veils which give to them a peculiar magic of motion. Like all the
Orientals, the Greek women used to wear veils while outside of their
homes. The veil was a natural medium of decoration and a symbol for the
pantomime of the dance. Frequently the dancing garments of this era
are so slight that they add only a mystifying charm to the apparently
nude dancers. The poses of their limbs and arms give evidence of rhythm
and technique. The mimic expressions play seemingly a foremost rôle,
as their smiling faces and bashful looks betray the power of their
fascination. They show expert skill in the use of the veils, with which
they now seemingly cover their bodies, opening them again to give a
glimpse of their great beauty. The exquisitely artistic statuettes
found at Tanagra give some idea of the beauty of motion as practised
by young women dancers, when, in the marvellous setting of the antique
theatres, under the blue skies of Greece, they gave performances to
audiences with whom the love of beauty was a passion.
At some of the religious ceremonial dances only boys and girls
appeared, at others young men or girls, or both together, danced. Of
a rather voluptuous nature were the dances performed in the temples of
Aphrodite and Dionysos. Of special importance were the dances connected
with the Eleusinian Mysteries, always celebrated in Athens. Their
performance and the form of their construction were surrounded with
greatest secrecy. Plato, who was initiated into them, spoke very highly
of their meaning. It is evident that their real influence upon the
people began in the sixth century. In the beginning the Mysteries were
performed once every five years. Later they became annual performances.
According to Desrat, they had much in common with the _Rondes_ of the
Middle Ages. The procession of the Mysteries proceeded from the temple
of Demetrius, in Attica, and passed along a wooded road to Athens.
A special resting place was the Fountain of Magic Dances, where the
girls performed dances of unusual poetic grace. Late in the evening the
procession entered the temple with a dance of torches. Here, on a stage
specially erected for this purpose, were performed the dances of the
Mysteries. Very little is known of the character of these dances. It is
likely that they were dramatized legends of Demetrius, who was depicted
as a pilgrim, wandering from place to place, in search of his lost
daughter. Another phase of the Mysteries was to produce in symbolic
gestures and poses and by proper staging, episodes of the life beyond.
The performance began in twilight, the first scene being the pantomime
in Hell, whither the soul of Demetrius was carried by infernal powers.
It represented the utmost horror. During all the performance no word
was spoken. After the scene in Hell came another in Heaven. The most
impressive of all the dances was the ‘Leap with Torches,’ in which only
the women appeared. It was said to be the most fantastic and acrobatic
of all the Greek religious dances. Plutarch says that the impression
was that of spectral ghosts playing perpetually with flames. It was
meant to act as a purgatory fire that cleansed all the souls from their
wickedness. The Mysteries ended in the night of the fourth day with a
Dance of Baskets, in which the women appeared with covered baskets on
their heads in a solemn march rhythm and vanished into the darkening
temple. The Eleusinian Mysteries were abolished by an imperial decree
in 381 A. D.
Not less popular than the Eleusinian were the Dionysian Mysteries.
It is said that these developed as the festival of the first-fruits,
but were later dedicated to the god Dionysos, the patron of wine and
pleasure. To him is ascribed the invention of enthusiasm and ecstasy,
the essential element of all beauty. The symbol of all the Dionysian
dances was the goat, which also figured in the Mysteries. It was one
of the most sensuous performances that imagination could invent. In
it men and women took part, but men wore usually women’s dresses and
the women men’s. In the centre of the dancers, before the statue of
Dionysos, stood a huge cup filled with wine. The ceremony lasted
three days and was performed in every town and hamlet of the country.
According to the Greek mythology, Dionysos is represented in a group of
dancing women and men. As Satyrs were supposed to be daily companions
of Dionysos, the Satyr Dance was a feature of the Mysteries. Of one of
the Dionysian dances we read in ‘Daphnis and Chloë’: ‘Meanwhile Dryas
danced a vintage dance, making believe to gather grapes, to carry them
in baskets, to tread them down in the vat, to pour the juice into tubs,
and then to drink the new wine: all of which he did so naturally and so
featly that they deemed they saw before their eyes the vines, the vats,
the tubs, and Dryas drinking in good health.’
[Illustration: Greek and Roman Dances as Depicted on Ancient Vases]
Other features of the Dionysian Mysteries were the Dances of Nymphs,
the Dances of the Knees, and the _Skoliasmos_, in the nature of
gymnastics, in which the performers hopped on inflated wine-skins,
rubbed over with oil to make them slippery. The ancient writers
describe these dances as lascivious and comic. In the Satyr Dance
the dancers wore goat-skins and appeared as Satyrs. Several of these
dances consisted of graceful and more modest movements, measured to the
sound of flutes. Some of them were accompanied by light songs, daring
sarcasm, and licentiously suggestive poems. Dances in which animals
were imitated were numerous. There was a Crane Dance, supposed to be
invented by Theseus, and Owl, Vulture, and Fox Dances.
The Mysteries of Demetrius took a more centralized form than the
Mysteries of Dionysos. Each town had its individual secrets of romantic
mysteries. In Athens the cult of love turned very much around the
legend of Mænads, which, like little devils, shadowed the people day
and night. In the Museum of Naples can be seen a vase with dancing
Mænads, which represents best the ancient spirits of love. Plato
says that the Mænad Dance consisted principally of the embracing and
caressing of men and women.
Reinach believes that all Greek mythology, art and science grew out
of the Greek folk-songs and folk-dances. According to him, the rhythm
and melody of dance music changed in strict correspondence with the
theme. All the sacred dances dedicated to Demetrius and Apollo, or
to Aphrodite, were in legato form, graceful, melodious and full of
color; on the other hand, those dedicated to Bacchus and Dionysos
were of quicker tempo, syncopated style and less melodious. Reinach
succeeded in deciphering the words and music of an ancient Greek dance
song that was discovered in the ruins of the temple of Delphi. This
was presumably danced at the Delphic festivals and is dedicated to
Apollo. Since the cult of Apollo was widespread in Greece there were
not a few dances dedicated and performed to this god. We are told that
palm-leaves were given as prizes for the best of the Apollo dancers.
Besides the artists who appeared either in sacred or classic dances,
there existed in Greece a class of professional dancers called Heteræ.
These were women of flirting and coquettish type. In our sense, they
must have been a kind of _Varieté_ or professional social dancers.
During the time of Pericles there were 500 Heteræ in Athens. Thus
Sappho, Aspasia and Cleonica were trained to be Heteræ dancers. At
one time in Greek history the Heteræ became a danger to the family.
Aspasia was the mistress of Pericles until she became his wife. Being
well educated, the Heteræ were women of attractive type and most of
the great Greek thinkers, artists or statesmen felt the spell of their
charm. Sappho called her house the ‘home of the Muses,’ where plastic
beauty rivalled with poetry and music. The tragedy of Sappho has
inspired many writers, ancient and modern, to immortalize her in their
works, particularly the story according to which she sang and flung
herself down into the sea. Performed by great celebrities the dances
of the Heteræ were by no means vulgar, but lyric and suggestively
sensuous. They were performed with garments or without, with floating
veils and to the music of a flute. The dancers of this class used to
give performances at their homes or in specially established gardens.
All the Hetera dances were dedicated to Aphrodite and the ambition
of the performers was to imitate the lovely poses of the celebrated
goddess. According to most descriptions they resembled our past
century’s _minuets_, _gavottes_ and _pavanes_.
Emmanuel, who has written an interesting work on the Greek
choreography, maintains that the accuracy of rhythm was of foremost
importance. A choreographic time-marker was attached to sandals that
produced sounds modified to the changing sentiments of the action.
A little tambourine or cymbals were occasionally employed. A special
branch of dance instruction was the _Chironomia_, or the art of using
the hands. Greek dancing was by no means predominantly gesturing with
hands, as some people think, but it was the harmonious use of every
limb of the human body, in connection with the corresponding art of
pantomime. There were numerous dancing schools in Greece, and each of
them had its particular method of instruction. The first exercise in a
school was the learning of flexibility of the body, which lasted a few
years. A special school dance was the _Esclatism_, which was chiefly
a rhythmic gymnastic, on the order of Jaques-Dalcroze’s method at
Hellerau. We know comparatively little of the details of the ancient
technical mechanism of choreography. Unfortunately all the ancient
dancing figures represent merely one moment of a dance, therefore it is
extremely difficult to grasp the principal points of the vanished art.