Ancient Greek Arts

The Ancient Greeks were very proud of their art so it’s not surprising that it is one of the most valued things today. Art influenced the everyday activities of the Ancient Greeks so its very common to hear arts referenced throughout Ancient Greek history. The Ancient Greek culture was greatly influenced by the arts, like dance, theater, music and poetry. One of the most influential arts in Ancient Greek history is dance. It was quoted by Lawler that, "no people ever appreciated the dance more than did the ancient Greeks" (Lawler 11). Dance was used on a day to day basis including in the daily schedule at a Greek school (Leonidou). The Greeks believed that dance taught communication skills to the students as well was improving their health because it was a way to express themselves and rid of negative energy. Many students staged an annual display of accomplished skills in their dancing which all citizens attended. Religion was probably the area in which dance was most common for the Ancient Greeks. In the religious ceremonies they would use the ecstatic dance because it became a dance that dancers would be able to connect to and get lost in showing a lot of emotion. "Nearly everything the ancients did while dancing was pleasing to the gods," claims DeMille (DeMille 40). The god being worshiped is said to take control of the performer’s body (called enthusiamos meaning ‘possessed by the god’) (Staub 621). Dance was an intricate part of theater in the ancient world. The relation between theater and dance is better illustrated than anywhere else in the large performing circle, found in most Greek theaters, known as the orchestra or dancing circle (Staub 625). The Ancient Greeks took their entertainment very seriously and used genres of drama in order to investigate the world they lived in (Greek Drama). The three most common genres of drama were comedy, satyr plays, and most important, tragedy. The first comedies were mainly satirical and mocked men in