that the most ancient dances were born in. Crete and taught by Rea, the mother of Zeus. â» Crete was conquered by Greece in 1500 BC, and many of thei...
According to Greek mythology, It is believed that the most ancient dances were born in Crete and taught by Rea, the mother of Zeus. Crete was conquered by Greece in 1500 BC, and many of their dances were taken into Greek culture. Dance was a part of everyday life in Crete.
It intertwined religion, myths, and symbols. In the ceremonies and fertility dances, it was believed that a deity took possession of the body.
Dance themes included military training, healing, religious rituals, and entertainment.
Men performed weapon dances to perfect their training. These were called Orsites, epikredios,
and telesias.
Men would perform leaping, frenzied movements accompanied by clapping hands, beating sticks, and clashing swords. In funeral dances (prylis), men wore armor and danced in processions or around the corpse.
The sons of the Earth was a hereditary family of medicine men who performed magical dances.
Women danced in religious rituals and ceremonies. They danced a skirt dance that evolved into garland or animal dances, where women would carry animals or snakes. Priestess and worshippers performed snake handling rituals in honor of the snake goddess.
Circle dances: the symbol of the circle was to purify what was at the center. ◦ These were performed in an open or closed circle and contained some whirling.
Labyrinth Dances: men or women performed these. ◦ The maze mirrored the architecture of the palace of Knossos.
Snake dances: This was part of the Minoan religion and were performed by the Cretan women.
Harvest dances: These were ecstatic dances where processionals would bear the first crops of the harvest to the goddess of fertility.
Acrobatic dances: Here tumblers and jugglers would somersault, leap, kick, and do handstands. ◦ It also included walking on the hands or forearms.
◦ Men and women would wear animal masks and headdresses.
Bull dances: This was a dangerous and lifethreatening dance. ◦ Both men and women performed this dance and spent three years in training. ◦ It was performed for both religious rites and entertainment.
