Dance and Ritual Play in Greek Religion

by Steven H. Lonsdale

Overview

In private and in public life, the ancient Greeks danced to express divine adoration and human festivity. They danced at feasts and choral competitions, at weddings and funerals, in observance of the cycles of both nature and human existence. Formal and informal dances marked the rhythms of life and death.

In Dance and Ritual Play in Greek Religion, Steven Lonsdale looks at how the Greeks themselves regarded the act of dance, and how dance and related forms of ritual play in Greek religious festivals served a wide variety of functions in Greek society. The act of worship, he explains, often implied engaging in collective rites regulated by playful behavior, the most common forms of which were group hymns and choral dances.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801867590
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	07/01/2001
Series:	Ancient Society and History
Edition description:	REPRINT
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.85(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Stephen H. Lonsdale was educated at Harvard University and Cambridge Universities. He is the author of Animals and the Origins of Dance and Creatures of Speech: Lion, Herding, and Hunting Similies in the "Iliad."

Table of Contents

	List of Figures	xi
	Preface	xv
	Introduction: Problems and Sources	1
1	Dance and Play in Plato's Laws: Anticipating an Anthropological Paradigm	21
2	Origins and Divine Prototypes: Dance as an Ordering Force	44
3	Further Divine Prototypes: Dance as a Disruptive Force	76
4	Divine Prototypes and Their Human Realizations	111
5	Preparations for Manhood: Zeus, Athena, and the Weapon Dance	137
6	Rehearsals for Womanhood: Dance and Ritual Play in Female Transition Rites	169
7	Dance in Courtship and Marriage	206
8	The Dance of Death: Privileges of the Dead	234
9	Change: Pan and Private Worship	261
	List of Abbreviations	277
	Notes	279
	Select Bibliography	325
	Index of Passages	335
	General Index	343

Editorial Reviews

This book offers a thorough and detailed review of the evidence for the function of dance to 'express divine adoration and human festivity in Greek culture.'.
—New England Classical Newsletter and Journal

From the Publisher

"This book offers a thorough and detailed review of the evidence for the function of dance to 'express divine adoration and human festivity in Greek culture.'."

New England Classical Newsletter and Journal

Explores in detail the vital role of dance in ancient Greece as a means of training the young for marriage and for battle, maintaining the morale of the population at large, and honoring the gods. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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