Have you ever been to a Greek Wedding? I have. And its been a wonderful experience for me. Ive never seen the Greek Dance before that wedding and have never heard their music. The moment I heard that music it amazed me so much, that I still think its the most brilliant and astonishing music.

At that wedding I observed the level of importance music and dance had upon Greek Culture. After changing my topic for our final project for Music248 three times, I decided to concentrate my expository paper on ancient and modern Greek dance. I asked myself: How has Greek Culture effect Greek dance?, What role does gender play in Greek dance? Utilizing a widespread of sources for research, I found that the history, religion, and gender have played key roles in shaping Greek dance. Moreover, stability in Greek culture has enabled Greek dance to stay alive for nearly 2500 years.

Greeks often dance to poetry by using their body in rhythmic manners in way that they can express themselves without speaking. Hence, Greeks use dance as a way to symbolically express themselves.

What roles do women play in the Greek musical world? According to Kimberly Marshall, author of Rediscovering the Muses, Greek society was inclined not to recognize women. However, women were always active in the musical life of Greece. The most renown women in music were educated women, usually from the upper-class of society. Other well-known females in ancient Greek music were the hetairai, who were the high-class prostitutes. The hetairai were considered to be companions to men and were physically stunning. Moreover, these women had artistic talents for singing, dance and musical instruments. Amazingly enough, some of these women had better educations than that of their male (high-class) patrons. Wives and reputable women were left at home during festivals and dances because the hetairai were of high demand, though never respected for their talents in music.

Hermes first invented or discovered music in Greece. Moreover, Hermes was the first to examine the precise arrangement of the stars and the harmony of music. In addition, the Greeks connected music with astronomy through Pythagoras’ theory of the harmony of the spheres. Greek mythology had deep impact on Greek music and dance. Dance in Ancient Greece has been fundamentally linked to religion and culture.

The word music was derived from the Greek word mousike or muse which then became music.

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