5. Recitation: Music, Dance, Oral Tradition

Music, Dance, Oral Traditions, Performance, and Contest

Key Themes

  • Oral tradition as spectacle (e.g., Trojan Cycle)

  • Myth vs. history

  • Role of dance and music in ancient cultures

Oral Tradition & Homer

  • Homer likely represents an oral tradition, not a single author.

  • Epic poetry blends truth and fiction — raises question: Is it history or symbolic storytelling?

  • Quote suggests poets could “speak of many false things as though they were true.”

Takeaway: Myth and history often overlap; epics may reflect real Greek society but are not purely factual.

Late Bronze Age / Mycenaean Context

  • Complex social and economic networks.

  • Taxes paid in goods; all classes served in the army.

  • Slavery common.

  • Many Bronze Age settlements disappeared after 1200 BCE.

Origins of Greek Sport

  • Earliest literary references: 8th century BCE.

  • First recorded Olympic Games traditionally dated to 776 BCE.

  • Possible connection between:

    • Rise of writing

    • Homeric epics

    • Athletic festivals

Debate: Did real games influence Homer’s funeral games, or vice versa?

Archaic Period (800–480 BCE)

  • Growth of strong communities.

  • Kings gained power → tyrants.

  • Emergence of a collective Greek identity (demos).

  • Rise of Panhellenic sanctuaries.

From Oral Tradition → Performing Arts

Early cultures featured performances such as:

  • Juggling, acrobatics, dancing, running.

Questions raised:

  • Were performances competitive or ceremonial?

  • What roles did women play?

Women in Ancient Performance/Sport

  • Participated in dancing, hunting, bull-leaping, swimming, boating, possibly running.

  • Evidence of female dancers (e.g., Minoan culture).

  • Unclear whether events were competitive.

Music in Greek Culture

Important instruments:

  • Phorminx – string instrument linked to epic performance.

  • Aulos – double-piped flute used in athletic contexts.

Example: Pythian Games winners played at Olympic pentathlon events.

Musical Competitions (Mousikos Agon)

  • Held at Pythian and Isthmian Games — theaters built specifically for them.

Additional contests:

  • Announcers (keryx) and trumpeters (salpinx) added in 396 BCE.

  • Poetry, prose, painting — women included.

  • Tragic acting at Pythian Games.

Idea: Performing arts could function similarly to athletics — structured competition.

Panathenaic Festival

  • About 1/3 devoted to performing arts.

Events included:

  • Music and dramatic contests

  • Gymnastics

  • Equestrian contests

  • Chariot races

  • Tribal torch race

  • Procession, sacrifice, feast

Three age categories for prizes.

Big Concept Questions (Exam-Relevant)

  • When does myth become history?

  • Can music be considered a spectacle?

  • Should musical competitions count as sport?

  • Why is music important across cultures?