Dances in Ancient

Crete
 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.
 CRETAN MEN
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.
 CRETAN WOMEN
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.
TYPES OF DANCES
 CIRCLE DANCE

• 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 DANCE

• Known as “ Cretan Labyrinth “ double lines

are choreographic guidance of a
dance described by Homer and Plutarch, a
ritual mating dance of the Minoan period,
the Geranos.

• The maze mirrored the architecture of

the palace of Knossos.
 Snake dance

• This was part of the Minoan religion and

were performed by the Cretan women.

• "Snake goddess" is a type of figurine

depicting a woman holding a snake in each
hand, as were found in Minoan
archaeological sites in Crete.
HARVEST DANCE

• These were ecstatic dances where

processionals would bear the first crops
of the harvest to the goddess of fertility.

• Vase depicts a celebration.

ACROBATIC DANCE

• 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 DANCE • This was a dangerous and life
threatening dance. Both men
and women performed this
dance and spent three years in
training.

• It was performed for both

religious rites and entertainment.
 Pentozali Dance

• is a vigorous dance, with high jumping

movements and allows for much
improvisation. It starts at a moderate pace
and accelerates progressively. The dancers
hold each other by the shoulders and form
an incomplete circle, which rotates
counterclockwise very slowly, or sometimes
not at all, because most of the lively steps
are semistationary.
 Maleviziotis Dance

• The dance was first danced in the province of

Malevizi in the prefecture of Heraklion
(Kastro), that's why it is called Maleviziotis or
Kastrinos. In Chania this dance is called
Kastrini Sousta. In the rest of Crete it was
propagated around the decade of 1920.
• It is the fastest and most difficult and
impressive of all Cretan dances, performed
only by men. Danced in an open circle, it is
exceptionally fast with small steps that give
the dancer a chance to show off their
stamina and agility.
 SIGANOS DANCE

• is a slow dance (σιγανός<σιγά =

slowly). The dancers dance in a
circle and they put their hands on
each other’s shoulders.
The dance consists of six or eight
steps, depending on the area in
Crete.
• Generally, it is an easy dance, it can
be learned quickly. That’s why it is
also characterized as a tourist
dance.
Ksenompasaris Dance

• This dance owes its name to the folk couplet that is sung
always first during the dance:
" My ksenompasariakaki, my ksenompasariko,
my curly little basil, wish you were mine".

• Its melody is cute, light and it makes the dance enthusiasts

want to dance. In the old days they used to danced and sing
it in every feast, especially in the mountainous villages of
Ierapetra and Merampello (where theycall it "Mana").

• It was well-known until the decade of 1960. It is a settled

and slow dance that resembles the Sigano. In the old years
in Ierapetra they didn't know the Sigano. It came over the
last years from central Crete, as the olders say. We can say
that the Ksenompasaris mighr be an old local form of the
Siganos dance.
 Sousta dance

• The Sousta is the facing dance of Crete that has a lot of

elements from the ancient pirihios. The particular way that
is danced is the evidence. The dance is being danced by
men and women, alternately holding palms all together,
shaping in the beginning a semicircle, afterwards they
separate and stand the one opposite the other making two
teams, on of the men and and one of the women. During
the dance a story is developed between the man and the
woman, the man calls and hugs, trying to invite the woman
erotically. The woman with turnings and figures resists to
the erotic call. With the movements of the hands and the
head, a discussion is developed little by little. Till in the end,
befalls the union. The development of this dance therefore
is an erotic history that each one of the dancers, depending
on his place, plays his own role.