Ancient Society and History
1 total work
In private and in public life, the ancient Greeks danced to express divine adoration and human festivity. They danced at feasts and choral competitions, at weddings and funerals, in observance of the cycles of both nature and human existence. Formal and informal dances marked the rhythms of life and death. In "Dance and Ritual Play in Greek Religion", Steven Lonsdale looks at how the Greeks themselves regarded the act of dance, and how dance and related forms of ritual play in Greek religious festivals served a wide variety of functions in Greek society. The act of worship, he explains, often implied engaging in collective rites regulated by playful behaviour, the most common forms of which were group hymns and choral dances. Dance became a vital part of participation in the cults of divinities like Artemis and Apollo, who oversaw the emergence of young men and women into adult society, and in festivals, where groups of all ages came into contact with one another and with their own youthful, playful nature. As a result, dance satisfied several vital objectives: training the young for marriage and for battle; maintaining the morale of the population at large; and honouring the gods.