The Wonderful Greek Music
Have you ever been to a Greek Wedding? I have. And it’s been a wonderful experience for me. I’ve never seen the Greek Dance before that wedding and have never heard their music. The moment I heard that music it amazed me so much, that I still think it’s the most brilliant and astonishing music.
At that wedding I observed the level of importance music and dance had
upon Greek Culture. After changing my topic for our final project for
Music248 three times, I decided to concentrate my expository paper on
ancient and modern Greek dance. I asked myself: ” How has Greek
Culture effect Greek dance?”, “What role does gender play in Greek
dance?” Utilizing a widespread of sources for research, I found that
the history, religion, and gender have played key roles in shaping
Greek dance. Moreover, stability in Greek culture has enabled Greek
dance to stay alive for nearly 2500 years.
Greeks often dance to poetry by using their body in rhythmic manners
in way that they can express themselves without speaking. Hence,
Greeks use dance as a way to symbolically express themselves.
What roles do women play in the Greek musical world? According to
Kimberly Marshall, author of “Rediscovering the Muses”, Greek society
was inclined not to recognize women. However, women were always active
in the musical life of Greece. The most renown women in music were
educated women, usually from the upper-class of society. Other
well-known females in ancient Greek music were the “hetairai”, who
were the high-class prostitutes. The hetairai were considered to be
companions to men and were physically stunning. Moreover, these women
had artistic talents for singing, dance and musical instruments.
Amazingly enough, some of these women had better educations than that
of their male (high-class) patrons. Wives and reputable women were
left at home during festivals and dances because the hetairai were of
high demand, though never respected for their talents in music.
Hermes first invented or discovered music in Greece. Moreover, Hermes
was the first to examine the precise arrangement of the stars and the
harmony of music. In addition, the Greeks connected music with
astronomy through Pythagoras’ theory of the harmony of the spheres.
Greek mythology had deep impact on Greek music and dance. Dance in
Ancient Greece has been fundamentally linked to religion and culture.
The word music was derived from the Greek word mousike or muse which
then became “music.”
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