Ancient Greece Flashcards
List the Greek divinities associated with dance in Ancient Greece.
Apollo
Dionysus
Terpsichore
Explain the difference between Apollonian vs. Dionysian elements in art and dance.
Apollonian represented offer and reason. It was formal and self-controlled.
Dionysian was associated with drunkenness, chaotic, irrational, passionate, and ecstatic
Who were the Maenads?
Female followers of Dionysus
What’s a thyrus?
Staff with a pine cone. Symbolized fertility
Who were the Satyrs?
Male followers of Dionysius
What is a dithyramb?
Choral hymn performed in honor of Dionysus
Who is a choregos?
Person who financed the play and trained the chorus
What does the word tragedy mean?
“Goat song”
Who was Thespis and what did he do?
The father of Greek Theater
Name three important Greek playwrights who wrote tragedies.
Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles
What were the choral dances like?
Lyrics and meter influenced the movement
Music ,poetry, gestures and dance
What were the chorus members wearing?
Wore masks, soft shoes or boots
What were masks like?
Linen, wood or leather
What is cheironomia?
A vocabulary of drama
What is emmelia?
Stately dignified choral dance associated with tragedy
What were satyr plays?
Burlesque versions of well known myths and legends
What is a sikinni?
Lewd dance associated with satyr plays
Explain how comedies differed from tragedy
Comedies satirized contemporary events and/ or the techniques of tragic poets while satyrs were burlesque versions of well-known myths and legends
What is the kordax?
Lewd dance associated with comedies
Did women do pyrrhic dance? If so, why?
Yes, it made them fit for childbirth
What is gymnopedia?
Dance performed nude based on wrestling and boxing
What is a symposium?
Fancy dinner party
How were children trained to dance?
Different for boys and girl. Girls had dancing mistresses
What did the Greeks value?
- Affirmation of life
- Acrete (Excellence; living up to ones potential)
- Humanim
- Balance , harmony, and proportion
- Dionysian and Apollonian elements in art
Describe Plato’s classifications of dance
Noble and Ignoble
