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.