Culture of Greece

The Culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, beginning in the Mycenaean and Minoan Civilizations, continuing most notably into Classical Greece, through the influence of the Roman Empire and its Greek Eastern successor the Byzantine Empire. The Ottoman Empire significantly influenced Greek culture, but historians credit the Greek war of independence with revitalizing Greece and giving birth to a single entity of its multi-faceted culture.

The architecture and purpose of the Parthenon in Athens epitomises many facets of Greek culture, both ancient and modern

Arts
Because of the ravages of history, only a minor assortment of ancient Greek art has survived - most frequently in the form of sculpture and architecture and minor arts, including coin design, pottery and gem engraving. Greece also has a rich history of contemporary art from the revolution onwards. It emphasized a Grecian cross layout, the Byzantine capitol style of column (a mixture of Ionic and Corinthian capitols) and a central dome surrounded by several smaller domes. Greece also experienced something of a Neo-Byzantine revival following the Greek Revolution, and unsurprisingly, also experienced a growth in Neo-Classical Architecture in the years following the Revolution; this came into a contact and interaction with traditional Byzantine villa architecture to produce a form specific to modern Greece. Modern Greek architecture has followed international architectural trends. Like other modern capitals, Athens also has its fair share of Neoclassic, Modernist and Postmodernist architecture. Important Greek and international architects have designed many buildings of Athens such as Dimitris Pikionis, Stamatis Kleanthis, Ernst Ziller, Theophil Freiherr von Hansen, Patroklos Karantinos, Walter Gropius, Eero Saarinen and Mario Botta. Several new buildings were also constructed by Santiago Calatrava for the 2004 Athens Olympics, while Bernard Tschumi designed the New Acropolis Museum.

Art in ancient Greece

The arts of ancient Greece has exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries from ancient times until the present, particularly in the areas of sculpture and architecture. In the West, the art of the Roman Empire was largely derived from Greek models. In the East, Alexander the Great's conquests initiated several centuries of exchange between Greek, Central Asian and Indian cultures, resulting in GrecoBuddhist art, with ramifications as far as Japan. Following the Renaissance in Europe, the humanist aesthetic and the high technical standards of Greek art inspired generations of European artists. Well into the 19th century, the classical tradition derived from Greece dominated the art of the western world. The art of Ancient Greece is usually divided stylistically into four periods: the Geometric, Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic. As noted above, the Geometric age is usually dated from about 1000 BC, although in reality little is known about art in Greece during the preceding 200 years (traditionally known as the Dark Ages), the period of the 7th century BC witnessed the slow development of the Archaic style as exemplified by the black-figure style of vase painting. The onset of the Persian Wars (480 BC to 448 BC) is usually taken as the dividing line between the Archaic and the Classical periods, and the reign of Alexander the Great (336 BC to 323 BC) is taken as separating the Classical from the Hellenistic periods. In reality, there was no sharp transition from one period to another. Forms of art developed at different speeds in different parts of the Greek world, and as in any age some artists worked in more innovative styles than others. Strong local traditions, conservative in character, and the requirements of local cults, enable historians to locate the origins even of displaced works of art.

Survivals

The Charioteer of Delphi (Delphi Archaeological Museum). One of the greatest surviving works of Greek sculpture, dating from about 470 B.C. Part of a larger group of statuary given to the

Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi by Polyzalos, brother of the tyrant of Syracuse, this bronze in the Early Classical style is one of the few Greek statues to retain its inlaid glass eyes

Ancient Greek art has survived most successfully in the forms of sculpture and architecture, as well as in such minor arts as coin design, pottery and gem engraving. From the Archaic period a great deal of painted pottery survives, but these remnants give a misleading impression of the range of Greek artistic expression. The Greeks, like most European cultures, regarded painting as the highest form of art. The painter Polygnotus of Thasos, who worked in the mid 5th century BC, was regarded by later Greeks in much the same way that people today regard Leonardo or Michelangelo, and his works were still being admired 600 years after his death. Today none survive, even as copies. Even in the fields of sculpture and architecture, only a fragment of the total output of Greek artists survives. Many sculptures of pagan gods were destroyed during the early Christian era. When marble is burned, lime is produced, and that was the unfortunate fate of the great bulk of Greek marble statuary during the Middle Ages. Likewise, the acute shortage of metal during the Middle Ages led to the majority of Greek bronze statues being melted down. Those statues which survived did so primarily because they were buried and forgotten, or in the case of bronzes, lost in the sea. The great majority of Greek buildings have not survived: they were either pillaged in war, looted for building materials or destroyed in Greece's many earthquakes. Much was systematically destroyed in the fourth and fifth centuries by fanatical Christians who resented the pagan associations of many buildings and shrines. Only a handful of temples, such as the Parthenon and the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, have been spared. Of the five Wonders of the World created by Greeks (the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus and the Lighthouse of Alexandria), only fragments survive. From the Archaic period of Greek art, painted pottery and sculpture are almost the only forms of art which have survived in any quantity. Only very few examples of painting have survived from this period. Although coins were invented in the mid 7th century BC, they were not common in most of Greece until the 5th century. The Greeks believed that Man is the measure of all things and sought to recognize this in every statue to capture the natural essence of humanity.

Painting and sculpture

In contrast to other illustrated forms, surviving ancient Greek paintings are very rare. Greek painters worked mainly on wooden panels, and their finest works were admired for hundreds of years after their creation. However, these paintings rapidly disappeared after the 4th century AD when they were no longer adequately protected. In addition to substandard Roman copies, for example in Pompeii, rare surviving examples have been found in the tombs of the kings of Macedon at Vergina, at Lefcadia also in ancient Macedon, as well as Kazanlak in ancient Thrace. Surviving examples of the ancient Greek sculpture are more common, particularly the works of the Greek master sculptors, such as Phidias and Praxiteles. These artists and their followers were frequently emulated by the Romans. However, the Christians of the 4th and 5th centuries viewed the destruction of pagan idols as an act of piety. Many ancient marble sculptures were burned to form lime in the Middle Ages, and most bronze statues were melted down for their metal. The marble statues that escaped destruction were spared as they were either buried and forgotten, or in the case of bronzes, lost at sea. In the Byzantine period, religious art was the dominant theme, with highly decorated mosaics and icons adorning religious buildings. The Renaissance artist, El Greco (Domenikos Theotocopoulos), responded to Byzantine and 16th century Mannerist art, producing sculpture and paintings with a liberated form, light and colour that inspired 20th century artists such as Pablo Picasso, Amanda Martini and Jackson Pollock. Moreover, an important and often pioneering role was played by artists from Ionian Islands in the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, who exploited developments of the Italian Renaissance and Baroque ateliers. As efforts persisted with new directions and objectives, Greek artists emerging in the world during the first decades of the 19th century reconnected Greek art with its ancient tradition, as well as with the quests of the European ateliers, especially those of the Munich School, with defining examples of the Greek contemporary art of the period including the work of Theodoros Vryzakis and Nikiphoros Lytras. The British-Greek Marie Spartali became the pre-eminent female artist of the Pre-Raphaelite era. In the early twentieth century Demetrios Galanis, a contemporary and friend of Picasso, achieved wide recognition in France and lifelong membership of the Acadmie Franaise following his acclaim by the critic Andr Malraux as an artist capable "of stirring emotions as powerful as those of Giotto" . Later in the century Nikos Engonopoulos achieved international recognition with his surrealist conceptions both of painting and poetry, while in the late 1960s Dimitris Mytaras and Yiannis Psychopedis became associated with European critical realism.

Greece has continued an ancient sculptural tradition well into the Modernist and Post-Modernist eras, with contributors including philosopher Costas Axelos and the more famous Constantine Andreou, recipient of the French Legion of Honor.

Painting
There were several interconnected traditions of painting in ancient Greece. Due to their technical differences, they underwent somewhat differentiated developments. Not all painting techniques are equally well represented in the archaeological record.

Panel painting
List of known Ancient Greek painters

One of the Pitsa panels, the only surviving panel paintings from Archaic Greece

The most respected form of art, according to authors like Pliny or Pausanias, were individual, mobile paintings on wooden boards, technically described as panel paintings. The techniques used were encaustic (wax) painting and tempera. Such paintings normally depicted figural scenes, including portraits and still-lifes; we have descriptions of many compositions. They were collected and often displayed in public spaces. Pausanias describes such exhibitions at Athens and Delphi. We know the names of many famous painters, mainly of the Classical and Hellenistic periods, from literature (see expandable list to the right). Unfortunately, due to the perishable nature of the materials used and the major upheavals at the end of antiquity, not one of the famous works of Greek panel painting has survived, nor even any of the copies that doubtlessly existed, and which give us most of our knowledge of Greek sculpture. The most important surviving Greek examples are the fairly lowquality Pitsa panels from circa 530 BC, and a large group of much later Graeco-Roman archaeological survivals from the dry conditions of Egypt, the

Fayum mummy portraits, together with the similar Severan Tondo. Byzantine icons are also derived from the encaustic panel painting tradition.

Wall painting

Symposium scene in the Tomb of the Diver at Paestum, circa 480 BC

The tradition of wall painting in Greece goes back at least to the Minoan and Mycenaean Bronze Age, with the lavish fresco decoration of sites like Knossos, Tiryns and Mycenae. It is not clear, whether there is any continuity between these antecedents and later Greek wall paintings. Wall paintings are frequently described in Pausanias, and many appear to have been produced in the Classical and Hellenistic periods. Due to the lack of architecture surviving intact, not many are preserved. The most notable examples are a monumental Archaic 7th century BC scene of hoplite combat from inside a temple at Kalapodi (near Thebes), and the elaborate frescoes from the 4th century "Grave of Phillipp" and the "Tomb of Persephone" at Vergina in Macedonia, sometimes suggested to be closely linked to the high-quality panel paintings mentioned above. Greek wall painting tradition is also reflected in contemporary grave decorations in the Greek colonies in Italy, eg the famous Tomb of the Diver at Paestum. Some scholars suggest that the celebrated Roman frescoes at sites like Pompeii are the direct descendants of Greek tradition, and that some of them copy famous panel paintings.

Reconstructed colour scheme of the entablature on a Doric temple

Polychromy: painting on statuary and architecture

Much of the figural or architectural sculpture of ancient Greece was painted colourfully. This aspect of Greek stonework is described as polychrome (from Greek , = many and = colour). Due to intensive weathering, polychromy on sculpture and architecture has substantially or totally faded in most cases.

Architecture
Painting was also used to enhance the visual aspects of architecture. Certain parts of the superstructure of Greek temples were habitually painted since the Archaic period. Such architectural polychromy could take the form of bright colours directly applied to the stone (evidenced eg. on the Parthenon, or of elaborate patterns, frequently architectural members made of terracotta (Archaic examples at Olympia and Delphi). Sometimes, the terracottas also depicted figural scenes, as do the 7th century BC terracotta metopes from Thermon.

Traces of paint depicting embroidered patterns on the a peplos of an Archaic kore, Acropolis Museum

Reconstructed color scheme on a Trojan archer from the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina

Sculpture
Most Greek sculptures were painted in strong colors. The paint was frequently limited to parts depicting clothing, hair, and so on, with the skin left in the natural color of the stone, but it could also cover sculptures in their totality. The painting of Greek sculpture should not merely be seen as an enhancement of their sculpted form, but has the characteristics of a distinct style of art. For example, the pedimental sculptures from the Temple of Aphaia on Aegina have recently been demonstrated to have been painted with bold and elaborate patterns, depicting, amongst other details, patterned clothing. The polychromy of stone statues was paralleled by the use of different materials to distinguish skin, clothing and other details in chryselephantine sculptures, and by the use of different metals to depict lips, nipples, etc, on high-quality bronzes like the Riace Warriors.

Vase painting
The most copious evidence of ancient Greek painting survives in the form of vase paintings. These are described in the "pottery" section above. They give at least some sense of the aesthetics of Greek painting. The techniques involved, however, were very different from those used in largeformat painting. The same probably applies to the subject matters depicted. It should be noted that strictly speaking, vase painting was a separate skill or art from potting. It should also be kept in mind that vase painting, albeit by far the most conspicuous surviving source on ancient Greek painting, was not held in the highest ever regard in antiquity, and is never mentioned in Classical literature.

Pottery and coins

A black figure krater (mixing bowl), from the 6th century BC

Ancient Greece was also renowned for its pottery, which included everything from drinking vessels to urns. Black-figure pottery, in which the decorations appear as black silhouettes over a red background, are highly representative of early Greek craftsmanship. Later forms include red- and white-figure pottery. The Greeks did not view coin design as a major art form. Nevertheless, the durability and abundance of coins have designated them as one of the most important sources of knowledge about Greek aesthetics. Coins were invented in Lydia during the 7th century BC, but were first extensively used by the Greeks, who set the canon of coin design which has been followed ever since, this form of art is of particular importance when studying the Byzantine era. The Ancient Greeks made pottery for everyday use, not for display; the trophies won at games, such as the Panathenaic Amphorae (wine decanters), are the exception. Most surviving pottery consists of drinking vessels such as amphorae, kraters (bowls for mixing wine and water), hydria (water jars), libation bowls, jugs and cups. Painted funeral urns have also been found. Miniatures were also produced in large numbers, mainly for use as offerings at temples. In the Hellenistic period a wider range of pottery was produced, but most of it is of little artistic importance.

At the end of the Geometric phased, the Orientalizing phase of vase painting, saw the abstract geometric designs replaced by the more rounded, realistic forms of Eastern motifs, such as the lotus, palmette, lion, and sphinx. Ornament increased in amount and intricacy. In earlier periods even quite small Greek cities produced pottery for their own locale. These varied widely in style and standards. Distinctive pottery that ranks as art was produced on some of the Aegean islands, in Crete, and in the wealthy Greek colonies of southern Italy and Sicily. By the later Archaic and early Classical period, however, the two great commercial powers, Corinth and Athens, came to dominate. Their pottery was exported all over the Greek world, driving out the local varieties. Pots from Corinth and Athens are found as far afield as Spain and Ukraine, and are so common in Italy that they were first collected in the 18th century as "Etruscan vases". Many of these pots are mass-produced products of low quality. In fact, by the 5th century BC, pottery had become an industry and pottery painting ceased to be an important art form. The history of Ancient Greek pottery is divided stylistically into periods:

the Protogeometric from about 1050 BC; the Geometric from about 900 BC; the Late Geometric or Archaic from about 750 BC; the Black Figure from the early 7th century BC; and the Red Figure from about 530 BC.

The range of colours which could be used on pots was restricted by the technology of firing: black, white, red, and yellow were the most common. In the three earlier periods, the pots were left their natural light colour, and were decorated with slip that turned black in the kiln. The fully mature black-figure technique, with added red and white details and incising for outlines and details, originated in Corinth during the early 7th century BC and was introduced into Attica about a generation later; it flourished until the end of the 6th century BC. The red-figure technique, invented in about 530 BC, reversed this tradition, with the pots being painted black and the figures painted in red. Red-figure vases slowly replaced the black-figure style. Sometimes larger vessels were engraved as well as painted. During the Protogeometric and Geometric periods, Greek pottery was decorated with abstract designs. In later periods, as the aesthetic shifted and the technical proficiency of potters improved, decorations took the form of human figures, usually representing the gods or the heroes of Greek history and mythology. Battle and hunting scenes were also popular, since they allowed the depiction of the horse, which the Greeks held in high esteem. In

later periods erotic themes, both heterosexual and male homosexual, became common. Greek pottery is frequently signed, sometimes by the potter or the master of the pottery, but only occasionally by the painter. Hundreds of painters are, however, identifiable by their artistic personalities: where their signatures haven't survived they are named for their subject choices, as "the Achilles Painter", by the potter they worked for, such as the Late Archaic "Kleophrades Painter", or even by their modern locations, such as the Late Archaic "Berlin Painter".

Late Geometric pyxis, British Museum

Corinthian orientalising jug, circa 620 BC, Antikensammlungen Munich

7th century BC plate with sphinx from Rhodes, Louvre

Black-figure olpe by the Amasis Painter, depiciting Herakles and Athena, circa 540 BC, Louvre

Interior (tondo) of a red Detail of a red-figure figure kylix, depicting Hellenistic relief bowl Herakles and Athena, by amphora depicting a White-ground lekythos with the head of a with a scene of satyr assaulting a Phoinix (potter) and maenad, 2nd century Douris (painter), circa maenad, by Pamphaios mourning by the Reed BC (?), British painter, circa 420-410 (potter) and Oltos 480-470 BC, Museum (painter), circa 520 BC, BC, British Museum Antikensammlungen Louvre Munich

Metal vessels
Especially during the Geometric and Archaic phases, the production of large metal vessels was an important expression of Greek creativity, and an important stage in the development of bronzeworking techniques, such as casting and repousse hammering. Early sanctuaries, especially Olympia, yielded many hundreds of such vessels, deposited as votives. During the orientalising period, such tripods were frequently decorated with figural protomes, in the shape of griffins, sphinxes and other fantastic creatures. Although large metal vessels became less important during the Archaic and

Classical periods, their production did not cease entirely. The Vix crater is a famous example dating to circa 530 BC.

Figurines
Terracotta figurines

Bell Idol 7th C. BC, Louvre

Clay is a material frequently used for the making of votive statuettes or idols, since well before Minoan civilization until the Hellenistic era and beyond. During the 8th century BC., in Boeotia, one finds manufactured "Bell Idols", female statuettes with mobile legs: the head, small compared to the remainder of the body, is perched at the end of a long neck, while the body is very full, in the shape of bell. At the beginning of 8 th century BC., tombs known as "hero's" receive hundreds, even thousands of small figurines, with rudimentary figuration, generally representing characters with the raised arms, i.e. gods in apotheosis. In later periods the terracotta figurines lose their religious nature, representing from then on characters from everyday life. With 4 th and 3rd centuries BC., a type known as Tanagra figurines shows a refined art. Tanagra figurines often preserve extensive traces of surface paint. At the same time, cities like Alexandria, Smyrna or Tarsus produced an abundance of grotesque figurines, representing individuals with deformed members, eyes bulging and contorting themselves. Such figurines were also made from bronze.

Metal figurines

8th century BC votive horse from Olympia (Louvre)

Figurines made of metal, primarily bronze, are an extremely common find at early Greek sanctuaries like Olympia, where thousands of such

objects, mostly depicting animals, have been found. They are usually produced in the lost wax technique and can be considered the initials stage in the development of Greek bronze sculpture. The most common motifs during the Geometric period were horses and deer, but dogs, cattle and other animals are also depicted. Human figures occur occasionally. The production of small metal votives continued throughout Greek antiquity. In the Classical and Hellenistic periods, more elaborate bronze statuettes, closely connected with monumental sculpture, also became common.

Monumental Sculpture
Those who practiced the visual arts, including sculpture, were held in low regard in ancient Greece, viewed as mere manual labourers. Plutarch (Life of Pericles, II) said "we admire the work of art but despise the maker of it"; this was a common view in the ancient world. Ancient Greek art today is often categorised in three epochs: "Archaic", "Classical" and "Hellenic".

Materials, forms
Ancient Greek sculptures were mostly made of two types of material. Stone, especially marble or other high-quality limestones was used most frequently and carved by hand with metal tools. Stone sculptures could be free-standing fully carved in the round (statues), or only partially carved reliefs still attached to a background plaque, for example in architectural friezes or grave stelai. Bronze statues were of higher status, but have survived in far smaller numbers, due to the reusability of metals. They were usually made in the lost wax technique. Chryselephantine, or gold-and-ivory, statues often adorned temples and were regarded as the highest form of sculpture, but virtually none have survived.

Late Archaic terracotta statue of Zeus and Ganymede, Olympia Archaeological Museum

Terracotta was occasionally employed, for large statuary. Few examples of this survived, at least partially due to the fragility of such statues. The best known exception to this is a statue of Zeus carrying Ganymede found at Olympia, executed around 470 BC. In this case, the terracotta is painted.

Archaic

Kleobis and Biton, kouroi of the Archaic period, c. 580 B.C. Held at the Delphi Archaeological Museum

Sculpture is by far the most important surviving form of Ancient Greek art, although only a small fragment of Greek sculptural output has survived. Greek sculpture, often in the form of Roman copies, was immensely influential during the Italian Renaissance, and remained the "classic" model for European sculpture until the advent of modernism in the late 19th century time period. Inspired by the monumental stone sculpture of Egypt and Mesopotamia, during the Archaic period the Greeks began again to carve in stone. Free-standing figures share the solidity and frontal stance characteristic of Eastern models, but their forms are more dynamic than those of Egyptian sculpture, as for example the Lady of Auxerre and Torso of Hera (Early Archaic period, c. 660-580 BC, both in the Louvre, Paris). After about 575 BC, figures, such as these, both male and female, wore the socalled archaic smile. This expression, which has no specific appropriateness to the person or situation depicted, may have been a device to give the figures a distinctive human characteristic. Three types of figures prevailedthe standing nude youth (kouros), the standing draped girl (kore), and the seated woman. All emphasize and generalize the essential features of the human figure and show an increasingly accurate comprehension of human anatomy. The youths were either sepulchral or votive statues. Examples are Apollo (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), an early work; the Strangford Apollo from Anafi (British Museum, London), a much later work; and the Anavyssos Kouros (National Archaeological Museum of Athens). More of the musculature and skeletal structure is visible in this statue than in earlier works. The standing,

draped girls have a wide range of expression, as in the sculptures in the Acropolis Museum of Athens. Their drapery is carved and painted with the delicacy and meticulousness common in the details of sculpture of this period. The Greeks thus decided very early on that the human form was the most important subject for artistic endeavour. Seeing their gods as having human form, there was no distinction between the sacred and the secular in artthe human body was both secular and sacred. A male nude could just as easily be Apollo or Heracles as that year's Olympic boxing champion. In the Archaic Period the most important sculptural form was the kouros (plural kouroi), the standing male nude (See for example Biton and Kleobis). The kore (plural korai), or standing clothed female figure, was also common, but since Greek society did not permit the public display of female nudity until the 4th century BC, the kore is considered to be of less importance in the development of sculpture. As with pottery, the Greeks did not produce sculpture merely for artistic display. Statues were commissioned either by aristocratic individuals or by the state, and used for public memorials, as offerings to temples, oracles and sanctuaries (as is frequently shown by inscriptions on the statues), or as markers for graves. Statues in the Archaic period were not all intended to represent specific individuals. They were depictions of an ideal beauty, piety, honor or sacrifice. These were always depictions of young men, ranging in age from adolescence to early maturity, even when placed on the graves of (presumably) elderly citizens. Kouroi were all stylistically similar. Graduations in the social stature of the person commissioning the statue were indicated by size rather than artistic innovations.

Dipylon Kouros, circa 600 BC, Athens, Kerameikos Museum

The Moschophoros or calf-bearer, circa 570 BC, Athens, Acropolis Museum

Peplos kore, circa 530 BC, Athens, Acropolis Museum

Frieze of the Siphnian Treasury, Delphi, depicting a Gigantomachy, circa 525 BC, Delphi Archaeological Museum

Classical

Bronze Sculpture, thought to be either, Poseidon or Zeus, c. 460 B.C, National Archaeological Museum, Athens. This masterpiece of classical sculpture was found by fishermen in their nets off the coast of Cape Artemisium in 1928. The figure is more than 2 m in height.

In the Classical period there was a revolution in Greek statuary, usually associated with the introduction of democracy and the end of the aristocratic culture associated with the kouroi. The Classical period saw changes in the style and function of sculpture. Poses became more naturalistic (see the Charioteer of Delphi for an example of the transition to more naturalistic sculpture), and the technical skill of Greek sculptors in depicting the human form in a variety of poses greatly increased. From about 500 BC statues began to depict real people. The statues of Harmodius and Aristogeiton set up in Athens to mark the overthrow of the tyranny were said to be the first public monuments to actual people. At the same time sculpture and statues were put to wider uses. The great temples of the Classical era such as the Parthenon in Athens, and the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, required relief sculpture for decorative friezes, and sculpture in the round to fill the triangular fields of the pediments. The difficult aesthetic and technical challenge stimulated much in the way of sculptural innovation. Unfortunately these works survive only in fragments, the most famous of which are the Parthenon Marbles, half of which are in the British Museum.

Family group on a grave marker from Athens, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Funeral statuary evolved during this period from the rigid and impersonal kouros of the Archaic period to the highly personal family groups of the Classical period. These monuments are commonly found in the suburbs of Athens, which in ancient times were cemeteries on the outskirts of the city. Although some of them depict "ideal" types the mourning mother, the dutiful son they increasingly depicted real people, typically showing the departed taking his dignified leave from his family. They are among the most intimate and affecting remains of the Ancient Greeks. In the Classical period for the first time we know the names of individual sculptors. Phidias oversaw the design and building of the Parthenon. Praxiteles made the female nude respectable for the first time in the Late Classical period (mid 4th century): his Aphrodite of Knidos, which survives in copies, was said by Pliny to be the greatest statue in the world. The greatest works of the Classical period, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia and the Statue of Athena Parthenos (both chryselephantine and executed by Phidias or under his direction), are lost, although smaller copies (in other materials) and good descriptions of both still exist. Their size and magnificence prompted emperors to seize them in the Byzantine period, and both were removed to Constantinople, where they were later destroyed in fire.

Copy of Polyclitus' Diadumenos, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

So-called Venus Braschi by Praxiteles, type of the Knidian Aphrodite, Munich Glyptothek

The Marathon Youth, 4th century BC bronze statue, possibly by Praxiteles, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Hermes, possibly by Lysippos, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Hellenistic
The transition from the Classical to the Hellenistic period occurred during the 4th century BC. Following the conquests of Alexander the Great (336 BC to 323 BC), Greek culture spread as far as India, as revealed by the excavations of Ai-Khanoum in eastern Afghanistan, and the civilization of the Greco-Bactrians and the Indo-Greeks. Greco-Buddhist art represented a syncretism between Greek art and the visual expression of Buddhism.

Greco-Buddhist frieze of Gandhara with devotees, holding plantain leaves, in Hellenistic style, inside Corinthian columns, 1st-2nd century CE. Buner, Swat, Pakistan. Victoria and Albert Museum

Thus Greek art became more diverse and more influenced by the cultures of the peoples drawn into the Greek orbit. In the view of some art historians, it also declined in quality and originality; this, however, is a subjective judgement which artists and art-lovers of the time would not have shared. Indeed, many sculptures previously considered as classical masterpieces have turned out to be of the Hellenistic age. Also, the technical ability of the Hellenistic sculptors are clearly in evidence in such major works as the Winged Victory of Samothrace, and the Pergamon Altar. New centres of Greek culture, particularly in sculpture, developed in Alexandria, Antioch, Pergamum, and other cities. By the 2nd century the rising power of Rome had also absorbed much of the Greek tradition and an increasing proportion of its products as well. During this period sculpture became more and more naturalistic. Common people, women, children, animals and domestic scenes became acceptable subjects for sculpture, which was commissioned by wealthy families for the adornment of their homes and gardens. Realistic portraits of men and women of all ages were produced, and sculptors no longer felt obliged to depict people as ideals of beauty or physical perfection. At the same time, the new Hellenistic cities springing up all over Egypt, Syria, and Anatolia required statues depicting the gods and heroes of Greece for their temples and public places. This made sculpture, like pottery, an industry, with the consequent standardisation and some lowering of quality. For these reasons many more Hellenistic statues have survived than is the case with the Classical period. Some of the best known Hellenistic sculptures are the Winged Victory of Samothrace (2nd or 1st century BC), the statue of Aphrodite from the island of Melos known as the Venus de Milo (mid 2nd century BC), the Dying Gaul (about 230 BC), and the monumental group Laocon and His Sons (late 1st century BC). All these statues depict Classical themes, but their treatment is far more sensuous and emotional than the austere taste of the Classical period would have allowed or its technical skills permitted. Discoveries made since the end of the 19th century surrounding the (now submerged) ancient Egyptian city of Heracleum include a 4th century

BC, unusually sensual, detailed and feministic (as opposed to deified) depiction of Isis, marking a combination of Egyptian and Hellenistic forms beginning around the time of Egypt's conquest by Alexander the Great. Hellenistic sculpture was also marked by an increase in scale, which culminated in the Colossus of Rhodes (late 3rd century), which was the same size as the Statue of Liberty. The combined effect of earthquakes and looting have destroyed this as well as other very large works of this period.

Antinous (Roman Hellenistic), Delphi Archaeological Museum

The Winged Victory of Samothrace (Hellenistic), The Louvre, Paris

Laocon and His Sons (Late Hellenistic), Vatican Museum

Late Hellenistic bronze statue of a mounted jockey, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Architecture

The restored Stoa of Attalus, Athens

Architecture (building executed to an aesthetically considered design) was extinct in Greece from the end of the Mycenaean period (about 1200 BC) until the 7th century, when urban life and prosperity recovered to a point where public building could be undertaken. But since most Greek buildings in the Archaic and Early Classical periods were made of wood or mud-brick, nothing remains of them except a few ground-plans, and there are almost no written sources on early architecture or descriptions of buildings. Most of our knowledge of Greek architecture comes from the few surviving buildings of the Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods (since Roman architecture heavily copied Greek), and from late written sources such as Vitruvius (1st

century AD). This means that there is a strong bias towards temples, the only buildings which survive in any number. The standard format of Greek public buildings is well known from surviving examples such as the Parthenon, and even more so from Roman buildings built partly on the Greek model, such as the Pantheon in Rome. The building was usually either a cube or a rectangle made from limestone, of which Greece has an abundance, and which was cut into large blocks and dressed. Marble was an expensive building material in Greece: high quality marble came only from Mt Pentelus in Attica and from a few islands such as Paros, and its transportation in large blocks was difficult. It was used mainly for sculptural decoration, not structurally, except in the very grandest buildings of the Classical period such as the Parthenon. There were two main styles (or "orders") of Greek architecture, the Doric and the Ionic. These names were used by the Greeks themselves, and reflected their belief that the styles descended from the Dorian and Ionian Greeks of the Dark Ages, but this is unlikely to be true. The Doric style was used in mainland Greece and spread from there to the Greek colonies in Italy. The Ionic style was used in the cities of Ionia (now the west coast of Turkey) and some of the Aegean islands. The Doric style was more formal and austere, the Ionic more relaxed and decorative. The more ornate Corinthian style was a later development of the Ionic. These styles are best known through the three orders of column capitals, but there are differences in most points of design and decoration between the orders. See the separate article on Classical orders. Most of the best known surviving Greek buildings, such as the Parthenon and the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, are Doric. The Erechtheum, next to the Parthenon, however, is Ionic. The Ionic order became dominant in the Hellenistic period, since its more decorative style suited the aesthetic of the period better than the more restrained Doric. Some of the best surviving Hellenistic buildings, such as the Library of Celsus, can be seen in Turkey, at cities such as Ephesus and Pergamum. But in the greatest of Hellenistic cities, Alexandria in Egypt, almost nothing survives.

The walls of Messene: The Erechtheion on the The Temple of The theatre of Acropolis of Athens, late Hephaistos at Athens, Epidauros, 4th century Hellenistic defensive architecture 5th century BC late 5th century BC BC

Coin design
Coins were invented in Lydia in the 7th century BC, but they were first extensively used by the Greeks, and the Greeks set the canon of coin design which has been followed ever since. Coin design today still recognisably follows patterns descended from Ancient Greece. The Greeks did not see coin design as a major art form, although some, especially outside Greece itself, among the Central Asian kingdoms and in Sicilian cities keen to promote themselves, were expensively designed by leading goldsmiths, but the durability and abundance of coins have made them one of the most important sources of knowledge about Greek aesthetics. Greek coins are, incidentally, the only art form from the ancient Greek world which can still be bought and owned by private collectors of modest means. Greek designers began the practice of putting a profile portrait on the obverse of coins. This was initially a symbolic portrait of the patron god or goddess of the city issuing the coin: Athena for Athens, Apollo at Corinth, Demeter at Thebes and so on. Later, heads of heroes of Greek mythology were used, such as Heracles on the coins of Alexander the Great. The first human portraits on coins were those of Persian satraps in Asia Minor. Greek cities in Italy such as Syracuse began to put the heads of real people on coins in the 4th century BC, as did the Hellenistic successors of Alexander the Great in Egypt, Syria and elsewhere. On the reverse of their coins the Greek cities often put a symbol of the city: an owl for Athens, a dolphin for Syracuse and so on. The placing of inscriptions on coins also began in Greek times. All these customs were later continued by the Romans.

Drachm of Aegina with Athenian tetradrachm with head tortoise and stamp, after 404 of Athena and owl, after 449 BC. BC.

Macedonian tetradrachm with image of Heracles, after 330 BC.

Cinema
Cinema first appeared in Greece in 1897 but the first actual theater was built later in 1907. The first production began in 1914 as the Asty Film company was founded and the production of long films begun. Golfo (), a well known traditional love story, is the first Greek long movie, although there were several minor productions such as newscasts before this point.

Cinema
Greek cinema has had a varied history, going from points of relative stagnation to some very memorable productions. The 1920s to the end of the 1940s were host to some relatively notable films, such as (1928 directed by D. Gaziadis), and Applause () (1944, directed by G. Tzavelas), and most notably in 1944 Katina Paxinou was honoured with the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for For Whom the Bell Tolls. The Golden age of Greek cinema is universally considered to be the 1950s - in which production rose to a height of 60 films a year, and in which productions such as Stella, directed by one of Greece's most famous directors Michael Cacoyannis, shot to prominence internationally as well in Greece and Cyprus. Notable actors and directors from this period include Alekos Sakelarios, Nikos Tsiforos, Ellie Lambeti, Dinos Iliopoulos and Irene Papas. Cacoyannis in particular continued this tradition well into the 1960s with his production of Alexis Zorbas, becoming a winner of three Academy Awards. Since this period Greek cinema has been relatively stop and go in its consistency, apart from films such as Loafing and Camouflage ( ), which hit a popular nerve of the continual Greek and Turkish standoffs in the Aegean using comedy. Other political themes touched on in recent film include immigration from Albania, for example " , " (1991) (in English: The Suspended Step of the Stork) directed by Theo Angelopoulos. Theo Angelopoulos is widely regarded as one of the greatest cinematographers of our time. He has won a number of international film awards including the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1998 for his movie (Mia aioniotita kai mia mera). Most recently, films such as (A Touch of Spice in English) and the sex taboo comedy 'Safe Sex' have signalled an upward trend in the quality of Greek cinema; this can be largely correlated to an unmatched period of economic prosperity in Greece, which has led to an increased cultural output acrss all parts of the Arts, both physical and visual.

Language

Papyrus fragment of Alcibiades by Plato

The Greek language is the official language of the Hellenic Republic and has a total of 15 million speakers worldwide; it is an Indo-European language. The Greek language is particularly remarkable in the depth of its continuity from its beginnings in pre-history as the Linear A script associated with Minoan civilization, on to the more recognizable Linear B script, and then eventually the dialects of Ancient Greek, of which Attic Greek bears the most resemblance to Modern Greek. The history of the language spans 3000 years. Greek has had enormous impact on other languages both directly on the Romance languages, and indirectly through its influence on the emerging Latin language during the early days of Rome. Signs of this influence, and its many developments, can be seen throughout the family of Western European languages.

Internet and "Greeklish"

More recently, the rise of internet-based communication services as well as cell phones have caused a distinctive form of Greek written partially, and sometimes fully in Latin characters to emerge; this is known as Greeklish, a form that has spread across the Greek diaspora and even to the two nations with majority Greek speaking populations, Cyprus and Greece. To date there have been no publications in "Greeklish."

Katharvousa
Katharvousa is a purified form of the Greek Language midway between modern and ancient forms set in train during the early nineteenth century by Greek intellectual and revolutionary leader Adamantios Korais, intended to return the Greek language closer to its ancient form. Its influence, in recent years, evolved toward a more formal role, and it came to be used primarily for official purposes such as diplomacy, politics, and other

forms of official documentation. It has nevertheless had significant effects on the Greek language as it is still written and spoken today, and both vocabulary and grammatical and syntactical forms have re-entered Modern Greek via Katharevousa.

Dialects
There are a variety of dialects of the Greek language; the most notable include Cappadocian, Cypriot Greek, Pontic Greek, the Griko language spoken in Southern Italy, and Tsakonian, still spoken in the modern prefecture of Arcadia and widely noted as a surviving regional dialect of Doric Greek.

Literature
Greece has a remarkably rich and resilient literary tradition, extending over 2800 years and through several eras. The Classical era is that most commonly associated with Greek Literature, beginning in 800 BCE and maintaining its influence through to the beginnings of Byzantine period, whereafter the influence of Christianity began to spawn a new development of the Greek written word. The many elements of a millennia-old tradition are reflected in Modern Greek literature, including the works of the Nobel laureates Odysseus Elytis and George Seferis.

Classical Greece
The first recorded works in the western literary tradition are the epic poems of Homer and Hesiod. Early Greek lyric poetry, as represented by poets such as Sappho and Pindar, was responsible for defining the lyric genre as it is understood today in western literature. Aesop wrote his Fables in the 6th century BC. These innovations were to have a profound influence not only on Roman poets, most notably Virgil in his epic poem on the founding of Rome, the Aeneid, but one that flourished throughout Europe. Classical Greece is also judged the birthplace of theatre. Aeschylus introduced the ideas of dialogue and interacting characters to playwriting and in doing so, he effectively invented "drama": his Oresteia trilogy of plays is judged his crowning achievement. Other refiners of playwriting were Sophocles and Euripides. Aristophanes, a comic playwright, defined and shaped the idea of comedy as a theatrical form.

An 11th century Byzantine Gospel, its beautiful presentation perfectly illustrates the decorative style employed by scholars of that age

Herodotus and Thucydides are often attributed with developing the modern study of history into a field worthy of philosophical, literary, and scientific pursuit. Polybius first introduced into study the concept of military history. Philosophy entered literature in the dialogues of Plato, while his pupil Aristotle, in his work the Poetics, formulated the first set criteria for literary criticism. Both these literary figures, in the context of the broader contributions of Greek philosophy in the Classical and Hellenistic eras, were to give rise to idea of Political Science, the study of political evolution and the critique of governmental systems.

Byzantine Greece
The growth of Christianity throughout the Greco-Roman world in the 4th, 5th and 6th centuries, together with the Hellenization of the Byzantine Empire of the period, would lead to the formation of a unique literary form, combining Christian, Greek, Roman and Oriental (such as the Persian Empire) influences. In its turn, this would promote developments such as Cretan poetry, the growth of poetic satire in the Greek East, and the several pre-eminent historians of the period.

Modern Greece
Modern Greek Literature was born out of the Greek Revolution of 1821 and the subsequent independence of Greece in 1831, and as such, Greek literature of the period is heavily influenced by revolutionary themes, although the impact of the Greek literature of the Enlightenment could also be highlighted, as well as the influence of the Byzantine Empire's Acritic songs and romance. Moving into the twentieth century, the modern Greek literary tradition spans the work of Constantine P. Cavafy, considered a key figure of twentieth century poetry, Giorgos Seferis (whose works and poems aimed to fuse the literature of Ancient and Modern Greece) and Odysseas Elytis, both of whom won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Nikos Kazantzakis is also considered a dominant figure, with works such as The Last Temptation of Christ and The Greek Passion receiving international recognition.

Religion

The Temple of Hephaestus in Athens is the best-preserved of all ancient Greek temples

Classical Greece
The pantheon of classical Greece, with its origins in Mycenean Greece, maintains its fascination in modern Greece, not only as a consequence of what are, for inhabitants, the inescapable physical remnants of the temples that dot the landscape and defined western architecture until early in the twentieth century, but more directly because there remain, according to Greek interior ministry figures, around 30,000 adherents living in Greece today. The legacy of Greek mythology continues to exert a profound hold not only on the wider modern western popular imagination, but on modern Greek literature.

History
Classical Greece
Pagan Athens, may be suggested to have heralded some of the same religious ideas that would later be promoted by Christianity, such as Aristotle's invocation of a perfect God, and Heraclitus' Logos. Plato considered there were rewards for the virtuous in the heavens and punishment for the wicked under the earth; the soul was valued more highly than the material body, and the material world was understood to be imperfect and not fully real (illustrated in Socrates's allegory of the cave).

Hellenistic Greece
Alexander's conquests spread classical concepts about the divine, the afterlife, and much else across the eastern Mediterranean area. Jews and early Christians alike adopted the name "hades" when writing about "sheol" in Greek. Greco-Buddhism was the cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism, which developed in the Indo-Greek Kingdoms. By the advent of Christianity, the four original patriarchates beyond Rome used Greek as their church language.

Modern Greece
The Greek Orthodox Church, largely because of the importance of Byzantium in Greek history, as well as its role in the revolution, is a major institution in modern Greece. Its roles in society and larger role in overarching Greek culture are very important; a number of Greeks attend Church at least once a month or more and the Orthodox Easter holiday holds special significance. The Church of Greece also retains limited political influence through the fact the Greek constitution does not have an explicit separation of Church and State; a debate suggested by more conservative elements of the church in the early 2000s about identification cards and whether religious affiliation might be added to them highlights the friction between state and church on some issues; the proposal unsurprisingly was not accepted. A widely publicised set of corruption scandals in 2004 implicating a small group of senior churchmen also increased national debate on introducing a greater transparency to the church-state relationship. Greek Orthodox Churches dot both the villages and towns of Greece and come in a variety of architectural forms, from older Byzantine churches, to more modern white brick churches, to newer cathedral-like structures with evident Byzantine influence. Greece (as well as Cyprus), also polled as, ostensibly, one of the most religious countries in Europe, according to Eurostat; however, while the church has wide respect as a moral and cultural institution, a contrast in religious belief with Protestant northern Europe is more obvious than one with Catholic Mediterranean Europe. Greece also has a significant minority of Muslims in Eastern Thrace (numbering around 100-150,000), with their places of worship guaranteed since the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. The Greek state has fully approved the construction a main mosque for the more recent muslim community of Athens under the freedom of religion provisions of the Greek constitution.

Philosophy, science and mathematics

The Greek world is widely regarded as having given birth to scientific thought by means of observation, thought, and development of a theory without the intervention of a supernatural force. Thales, Anaximander and Democritus were amongst those contributing significantly to the establishment of this tradition. It is also, and perhaps more commonly in the western imagination, identified with the dawn of Western Philosophy, as well as a mapping out of the Natural Sciences. Greek developments of mathematics continued well up until the decline of the Byzantine Empire. In the modern era Greeks continue to contribute to the fields of Science, Mathematics and Philosophy.

Classical Greece
The tradition of philosophy in Ancient Greece accompanied its literary development. Greek learning had a profound influence on Western and Middle Eastern civilizations. The works of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and other Greek philosophers profoundly influenced Classical thought, the Islamic Golden Age, and the Renaissance.

The Greek philosopher Socrates

In medicine, doctors still refer to the Hippocratic oath, instituted by Hippocrates, regarded as foremost in laying the foundations of medicine as a science. Galen built on Hippocrates' theory of the four humours, and his writings became the foundation of medicine in Europe and the Middle East for centuries. The physicians Herophilos and Paulus Aegineta were pioneers in the study of anatomy, while Pedanius Dioscorides wrote an extensive treatise on the practice of pharmacology. The period of Classical Greece (from 800BC until the rise of Macedon, a Greek state in the north) is that most often associated with Greek advances in science. Thales of Miletus is regarded by many as the father of science; he was the first of the ancient philosophers to seek to explain the physical world in terms of natural rather than supernatural causes. Pythagoras was a mathematician often described as the "father of numbers"; it is believed that he had the pioneering insight into the numerical ratios that determine the musical scale, and the Pythagorean theorem is commonly attributed to him. Diophantus of Alexandria, in turn, was the "father of algebra". Many parts of modern geometry are based on the work of Euclid, while Eratosthenes was one of the first scientific geographers, calculating the circumference of the earth and conceiving the first maps based on scientific principles. The Hellenistic period, following Alexander's conquests, continued and built upon this knowledge. Hipparchus is considered the pre-eminent astronomical observer of the ancient world, and was probably the first to develop an accurate method for the prediction of solar eclipse, while Aristarchus of Samos was the first known astronomer to propose a heliocentric model of the solar system, though the geocentric model of

Ptolemy was more commonly accepted until the seventeenth century. Ptolemy also contributed substantially to cartography and to the science of optics. For his part Archimedes was the first to calculate the value of and a geometric series, and also the earliest known mathematical physicist discovering the law of buoyancy, as well as conceiving the irrigation device known as Archimedes' screw.

Byzantine Greece
The Byzantine period remained largely a period of preservation in terms of classical Greco-Roman texts; there were, however, significant advances made in the fields of medicine and historical scholarship. Theological philosophy also remained an area of study, and there was, while not matching the achievements of preceding ages, a certain increase in the professionalism of study of these subjects, epitomized by the founding of the University of Constantinople. Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles, the architects of the famous Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, also contributed towards mathematical theories concerning architectural form, and the perceived mathematical harmony needed to create a multi-domed structure. These ideas were to prove a heavy influence on the Ottoman architect Sinan in his creation of the Blue Mosque, also in Constantinople. Tralles in particular produced several treatises on the Natural Sciences, as well as his other forays into mathematics such as Conic Sections. The gradual migration of Greeks from Byzantium to the Italian city states following the decline of the Byzantine Empire, and the texts they brought with them combined with the academic positions they held, was a major factor in lighting the first sparks of the Italian Renaissance.

Modern Greece
Greeks continue to contribute to science and technology in the modern world. John Argyris, a Greek mathematician and engineer, is responsible for the invention of finite element analysis and the direct stiffness method, relative to physics. Mathematician Constantin Carathodory worked in the fields of real analysis, the calculus of variations, and measure theory in the early 20th century, and went on to assist Albert Einstein in the mathematical part of his theory of relativity. Biologist Fotis Kafatos pioneers in the field of molecular cloning and genomics; Dimitris Nanopoulos is a noted theoretical physicist, having made significant contributions to the fields of particle physics and cosmology. In medicine, Georgios Papanikolaou contributed heavily to the development of cancer screening with his Pap smear. The Greek car designer Alec Issigonis created the iconic Mini automobile, while the computer scientist Michael Dertouzos was amongst the pioneers of the internet. Nicolas Negroponte chairman of the Massachusetts Institute of

Technology Media Lab is one of the founders of the program One Laptop Per Child, a non-profit organisation aiming to extend Internet access in developing countries.

Dance
Greece has a continuous history of native dances reaching from antiquity till the modern era. It began in the Minoan period.

Classical Greece
Ancient Greeks believed that dancing was invented by the gods and therefore associated it with religious ceremony. They believed that the gods offered this gift to select mortals only, who in turn taught dancing to their fellow-men. Periodic evidence in ancient texts indicates that dance was held in high regard, in particular for its educational qualities. Dance, along with writing, music, and physical exercise, was fundamental to the education system and many classical authors extol its virtues as means of cultivating physical and spiritual wellbeing.

Byzantine Greece
Though we have only a few precise descriptions of Byzantine dances, it is known they were often "intertwined". The leader of the dance was called the koryphaios or chorolektes, and it was he who began the song and ensured that the circle was maintained. Efstathios of Thessaloniki mentions a dance which commenced in a circle and ended with the dancers facing one another. When not dancing in a circle the dancers held their hands high or waved them to left and right. They held cymbals (very like the zilia of today) or a kerchief in their hands, and their movements were emphasized by their long sleeves. As they danced, they sang, either set songs or extemporized ones, sometimes in unison, sometimes in refrain, repeating the verse sung by the lead dancer. The onlookers joined in, clapping the rhythm or singing. Professional singers, often the musicians themselves, composed lyrics to suit the occasion. Byzantine instruments included the guitar, single, double or multiple flute, sistrum, timpani (drum), psaltirio, Sirigs, lyre, cymbals, keras and kanonaki. Popular dances of this period included the Syrtos, Geranos, Mantilia , Saximos, Pyrichios, and Kordakas . Some of these dances have their origins in the ancient period and are still enacted in some form today.

Modern Greece
Greece is one of the few places in Europe where the day-to-day role of folk dance is sustained. Rather than functioning as a museum piece preserved only for performances and special events, it is a vivid expression of everyday life. Occasions for dance are usually weddings, family celebrations, and paneyeria (Patron Saints' name days). Dance has its place in ceremonial customs that are still preserved in Greek villages, such as dancing the bride during a wedding and dancing the trousseau of the bride during the wedding preparations. The carnival and Easter offer more opportunities for family gatherings and dancing. Greek taverns providing live entertainment often include folk dances in their program. Regional characteristics have developed over the years because of variances in climatic conditions, land morphology, and people's social lives. In later years, wars, international pacts and consequent movement of populations, and even movements of civil servants around the country, intermingled traditions. People learned new dances, adapted them to their environment, and included them in their feasts. Kalamatianos and Tsamikos are considered panhellenic dances and are danced all over the world in diaspora communities. Others have also crossed boundaries and are known beyond the regions where they originated; these include the Karagouna from Thessaly, the Pentozalis from Crete, the Zonaradikos from Thrace, the Tik from Pontos, and the Balos from the Aegean Islands. The avant-garde choreographer, director and dancer Dimitris Papaioannou was responsible for the critically successful Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Olympic Games, with a conception that reflected the classical influences on modern and experimental Greek dance forms.

Music
Greece has a diverse and highly influential musical tradition, with ancient music influencing the Roman Empire, and Byzantine liturgical chants and secular music influencing the Renaissance. Modern Greek music combines these elements, as well as influences from the Middle East, to carry Greeks' interpretation of a wide range of musical forms.

Classical Greece
The history of music in Greece begins once more, as one might expect, with the music of ancient Greece, largely structured on the Lyre and other supporting string instruments of the era. Beyond the well-known structural legacies of the Pythagorean scale, and the related mathematical developments it upheld to define western classical music, relatively little is understood about the precise character of music during this period; we do know, however, that it left, as so often, a strong mark on the culture of

Rome. What has been gleaned about the social role and character of ancient Greek music comes largely from pottery and other forms of Greek art.

Byzantine Greece
The music of Greek Byzantium is also of major significance to the history and development of European music, as liturgical chants became the foundation and stepping stone for music of the Renaissance (see: Renaissance Music). It is also certain that Byzantine music included an extensive tradition of instrumental court music and dance; any other picture would be both incongruous with the historically and archaeologically documented opulence of the Eastern Roman Empire. There survive a few but explicit accounts of secular music. Characteristic examples are the accounts of pneumatic organs, whose construction was furthest advanced in the eastern empire prior to their development in the west following the Renaissance.

Modern Greece
A range of domestically and internationally known composers and performers across the musical spectrum have found success in modern Greece, while traditional Greek music is noted as a mixture of influences from indigenous culture with those of west and east. Turkish and Ottoman elements can be most clearly heard in the traditional songs, dhimotik, as well as the modern bluesy rembtika music. The best-known Greek musical instrument is the bouzouki. "Bouzouki" is a descriptive Turkish name, but the instrument itself is in fact of Greek rather than Turkish origin. It derives from the ancient Greek lute known as the pandoura, a kind of guitar, clearly visible in ancient statues, especially female figurines of the "Tanagraies" playing cord instruments. Famous present-day Greek musicians include the central figure of 20 th century European modernism Iannis Xenakis, a composer, architect and theorist. Maria Callas, Mikis Theodorakis, Dimitris Mitropoulos, Manos Hadjidakis, and Vangelis also lead twentieth-century Greek contributions, alongside Nikos Skalkottas, Demis Roussos, Nana Mouskouri, Firewind (led by internationally renowned guitarist Gus G.), Rotting Christ and Anna Vissi.