“Greece is one of the few countries in the world where the folk dances are as alive today as they were in ancient times. Dance has always played an important role in the life of a Greek, as an expression of human feelings and everyday life. The Greeks danced at religious festivals, they danced to ensure fertility, they danced to prepare for war and to celebrate victories, they danced at weddings, they danced to overcome depression and to cure physical illness. Almost every dance has a story to tell. Dance was regarded as one of the highest forms of art. Plato agreed with his mentor Socrates that, ‘every educated man should know how to dance gracefully,’ by which he meant the manly exercises that kept the body strong and supple and ready to do its duty on the battlefield.”

The above was written by Anne Leonidou, of Nostos,  which is a UK-based Hellenic Information Society. 

Ms. Leonidou says it well. Expression through dance is a big part of the Greek way of living.  But perhaps more eloquent of its meaning to them is that it has at least twice during their long history, featured as a big part of their way of dying.  During the War of Independence from the Turks, the Greek women and children of Messolonghi are famed for their dance, “Zallogos.” It was a dance of defiance, in which one by one as they danced, they jumped off the cliff near their home, choosing to dance to their death, rather than endure capture by their enemies.

During the German occupation of Greece in World War II, the Gestapo routinely carried out their orders to execute the Greek occupants of the military camp of Haidari, which was on the outskirts of Athens, at the foothills of Dafní. Lela Karayannis, a daring fighter of the Greek Resistance and the heroic leader of the Greek underground intelligence organization known as "Bouboulina," was executed there on September 8, 1944, along with more than 70 of her followers and freedom fighters. Witnesses observing from the tops of the hills in the distance tell the story that, just before the execution, the group of compatriots with Lela Karayannis, began to sing in sedition and that Lela led them  in the dance of "Zallogos," the same dance that the women and children at Messolonghi had danced a century before.

So, while there are those of us who will dance joyfully in celebration of life,  to a Hellene, even death, in its courage, can be danced.

Each region and locale of Greece has its own traditional dances and costumes and type of dance, be it “springing and leaping,” or “shuffling and dragging,” which have evolved through the centuries, yet remain delightfully a part of the Greek heritage.  Many Greek-Orthodox churches and Hellenic societies in Greece and abroad offer dance lessons and will explain the history behind each of the dances. Try them. They’re a very big part of Greek history and… they’re fun!

Click here to see Greek Dance (Just for Fun)