DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4593#0161
140 THE ISLES AND SHRINES OF GREECE
of Dionysus, the wine god. This circular dance is
among the oldest Greek customs, and one which still
survives with joyful, picturesque vivacity. In early
times it was danced round an altar and was distinctly
connected with an act of worship. Dionysus has
nominally passed away, but the wine cup with a more
holy symbolism is retained in sacred ritual, and as if
to perpetuate the memory of its religious origin, the
Greeks of to-day hold their circular dance at Easter-
tide in front of the village church. I was impressed
with the survival of this circular dance when attend-
ing a Greek wedding conducted in a home. The
central table was converted into an altar. At a cer-
tain point in the service the priest took the hand of
the best man, he the hand of the groom, and he the
hand of the bride, and together they swung three
times round the altar, while the spectators stood in
a circle round the dancers.
On Holy Monday, icaOapa Sevre'pa in the calendar
of the Greek Church, on the threshold of Lent,
observed with a formal asceticism by abstinence from
flesh, the paganism in the blood breaks out in a hila-
rious revival of the ancient dance. A large number
of the people of Athens may be found on that holiday
dancing on the Pnyx, some hundred yards from the
spot where Paul gave his Athenian address.
Similarly in ancient times, the large body of the
inhabitants at first took part in these dances. Later
it became customary for a certain number, that is the
chorus, to act as dancers,' while a circle of spectators
was formed around them just as at Eleusis and
Megara to-day. The Greeks not only preserve this
ancient institution of the choral dance but they keep
of Dionysus, the wine god. This circular dance is
among the oldest Greek customs, and one which still
survives with joyful, picturesque vivacity. In early
times it was danced round an altar and was distinctly
connected with an act of worship. Dionysus has
nominally passed away, but the wine cup with a more
holy symbolism is retained in sacred ritual, and as if
to perpetuate the memory of its religious origin, the
Greeks of to-day hold their circular dance at Easter-
tide in front of the village church. I was impressed
with the survival of this circular dance when attend-
ing a Greek wedding conducted in a home. The
central table was converted into an altar. At a cer-
tain point in the service the priest took the hand of
the best man, he the hand of the groom, and he the
hand of the bride, and together they swung three
times round the altar, while the spectators stood in
a circle round the dancers.
On Holy Monday, icaOapa Sevre'pa in the calendar
of the Greek Church, on the threshold of Lent,
observed with a formal asceticism by abstinence from
flesh, the paganism in the blood breaks out in a hila-
rious revival of the ancient dance. A large number
of the people of Athens may be found on that holiday
dancing on the Pnyx, some hundred yards from the
spot where Paul gave his Athenian address.
Similarly in ancient times, the large body of the
inhabitants at first took part in these dances. Later
it became customary for a certain number, that is the
chorus, to act as dancers,' while a circle of spectators
was formed around them just as at Eleusis and
Megara to-day. The Greeks not only preserve this
ancient institution of the choral dance but they keep