Ancient Greece Ancient Greek architecture is best known through its temples and theatres.

The Parthenon (Greek: ! " is a temple on the Athenian Acropolis# Greece# dedicated to the maiden goddess Athena# whom the people o$ Athens considered their patron deit%. &ts construction began in ''( )* when the Athenian +mpire was at the height o$ its power. &t was completed in ',- )*# although decoration o$ the building continued until ',. )*. &t is the most important sur/i/ing building o$ *lassical Greece# generall% considered the culmination o$ the de/elopment o$ the 0oric order. &ts decorati/e sculptures are considered some o$ the high points o$ Greek art. The 1arthenon is regarded as an enduring s%mbol o$ Ancient Greece# Athenian democrac%# western ci/ili2ation3,4 and one o$ the world5s greatest cultural monuments. The Greek 6inistr% o$ *ulture is currentl% carr%ing out a program o$ selecti/e restoration and reconstruction to ensure the stabilit% o$ the partiall% ruined structure.3'4 The 1arthenon itsel$ replaced an older temple o$ Athena# which historians call the 1re71arthenon or 8lder 1arthenon# that was destro%ed in the 1ersian in/asion o$ '-9 )*. The temple is archaeoastronomicall% aligned to the :%ades.3;4 <ike most Greek temples# the 1arthenon was used as a treasur%. =or a time# it also ser/ed as the treasur% o$ the 0elian <eague# which later became the Athenian +mpire. &n the ;th centur% A0# the 1arthenon was con/erted into a *hristian church dedicated to the >irgin 6ar%. A$ter the 8ttoman con?uest# it was turned into a mos?ue in the earl% @'A9s. 8n .A Beptember @A-(# an 8ttoman ammunition dump inside the building was ignited b% >enetian bombardment. The resulting eCplosion se/erel% damaged the 1arthenon and its sculptures. &n @-9A# Thomas )ruce# (th +arl o$ +lgin remo/ed some o$ the sur/i/ing sculptures# with the permission o$ the 8ttoman +mpire. These sculptures# now known as the +lgin 6arbles or the 1arthenon 6arbles# were sold in @-@A to the )ritish 6useum in <ondon# where the% are now displa%ed. Bince @D-, (on the initiati/e o$ *ulture 6inister 6elina 6ercouri"# the Greek go/ernment has been committed to the return o$ the sculptures to Greece Although the 1arthenon is architecturall% a temple and is usuall% called so# it is not reall% one in the con/entional sense o$ the word.3@-4A small shrine has been eCca/ated within the building# on the site o$ an older sanctuar% probabl% dedicated to Athena as a wa% to get closer to the goddess#3@-4 but the 1arthenon ne/er hosted the cult o$ Athena 1olias# patron o$ Athens: the cult image# which was bathed in the sea and to which was presented the peplos# was an oli/ewood xoanon# located at an older altar on the northern side o$ the Acropolis.3@D4 The colossal statue o$ Athena b% 1hidias was not related to an% cult3.94 and ne/er inspired an% recorded religious $er/our. 3@D4 &t did not seem to ha/e an% priestess# altar nor cult name. 3.@4 According to Thuc%dides# 1ericles once re$erred to the statue as a gold reser/e# stressing that it Econtained $ort% talents o$ pure gold and it was all remo/ableE. 3..4 The Athenian statesman thus implies that the metal# obtained $rom contemporar% coinage# 3.,4 could be used again without an% impiet%. 3.@4 The 1arthenon should then be /iewed as a grand setting $or the /oti/e statue o$ 1hidias rather than a cult site. 3.'4 &t is said in man% writings o$ the Greeks that there were man% treasures stored inside# such as 1ersian swords# and small statue $igures made o$ precious metals.

The Temple of Athena Nike (Greek: FGH IJ KH FLMJH" is a temple on the Acropolis o$ Athens. )uilt between '.( and '.' )*# the temple is the earliest $ull% &onic temple on the Acropolis. &t has a prominent position on a steep bastion at the south west corner o$ the Acropolis to the right o$ the entrance# the 1rop%laea. &n contrast to the Acropolis proper# a walled sanctuar% entered through the 1rop%laea# the Nike Banctuar% was open# entered $rom the 1rop%laea5s southwest wing and $rom a narrow stair on the north. The sheer walls o$ its bastion were protected on the north# west# and south b% the Nike Parapet# named $or its $rie2e o$ Nikai celebrating /ictor% and sacri$icing to their patroness# Athena Nike. Nike means victory in Greek# and Athena was worshipped in this $orm# as goddess o$ /ictor% in war and wisdom. The citi2ens worshipped the goddess in hope o$ a prosperous outcome in the long 1eloponnesian Oar $ought on land and sea against the Bpartans and their allies.

Dance Greece has a continuous histor% o$ nati/e dances reaching $rom anti?uit% till the modern era. &t began in the 6%cenean period. Classical Greece Ancient Greeks belie/ed that dancing was in/ented b% the Gods and there$ore associated it with religious ceremon%. The% belie/ed that the gods o$$ered this gi$t to select mortals onl%# who in turn taught dancing to their $ellow7men. 1eriodic e/idence in ancient teCts indicates that dance was held in high regard# in particular $or its educational ?ualities. 0ance# along with writing# music# and ph%sical eCercise# was $undamental to the commenced in a circle and ended with the dancers $acing one another. Ohen not dancing in a circle the dancers held their hands high or wa/ed them to le$t and right. The% held c%mbals (/er% like the 2ilia o$ toda%" or a kerchie$ in their hands# and their mo/ements were emphasi2ed b% their long slee/es. As the% danced# the% sang# either set songs or eCtempori2ed ones# sometimes in unison# sometimes in re$rain# repeating the /erse

sung b% the lead dancer. The onlookers Poined in# clapping the rh%thm or singing. 1ro$essional singers# o$ten the musicians themsel/es# composed l%rics to suit the occasion. )%2antine instruments included the guitar# single# double or multiple $lute# sistrum# timpani (drum"# psaltirio# Birigs# l%re# c%mbals# keras and kanonaki. 1opular dances o$ this period included the Syrtos# Geranos# Mantilia# Saximos# Pyrichios# and Kordakas . Bome o$ these dances ha/e their origins in the ancient period and are still enacted in some $orm toda%. Modern Greece Greece is one o$ the $ew places in +urope where the da%7to7da% role o$ $olk dance is sustained. Qather than $unctioning as a museum piece preser/ed onl% $or per$ormances and special e/ents# it is a /i/id eCpression o$ e/er%da% li$e. 8ccasions $or dance are usuall% weddings# $amil% celebrations# and pane%eria (1atron Baints5 name da%s". 0ance has its place in ceremonial customs that are still preser/ed in Greek /illages# such as dancing the bride during a wedding and dancing the trousseau o$ the bride during the wedding preparations. The carni/al and +aster o$$er more opportunities $or $amil% gatherings and dancing. Greek ta/erns pro/iding li/e entertainment o$ten include $olk dances in their program. Qegional characteristics ha/e de/eloped o/er the %ears because o$ /ariances in climatic conditions# land morpholog% and people5s social li/es. &n later %ears# wars# international pacts and conse?uent mo/ement o$ populations# and e/en mo/ements o$ ci/il ser/ants around the countr%# intermingled traditions. 1eople learned new dances# adapted them to their en/ironment# and included them in their $easts. Kalamatianos and Syrtos are considered 1an7:ellenic dances and are danced all o/er the world in diaspora communities. 8thers ha/e also crossed boundaries and are known be%ond the regions where the% originatedR these include the Pentozali $rom *rete# Hasapiko $rom *onstantinople# Zonaradikos $rom Thrace#Pyrehios $rom 1ontos and Balos $rom the Aegean islands. The a/ant7garde choreographer# director and dancer 0imitris 1apaioannou was responsible $or the criticall% success$ul 8pening *eremon%o$ the .99' 8l%mpic Games# with a conception that re$lected the classical in$luences on modern and eCperimental Greek dance $orms.

Music Greece has a di/erse and highl% in$luential musical tradition# with ancient music in$luencing the Qoman +mpire# and )%2antine liturgical chants and secular music in$luencing the Qenaissance. 6odern Greek music combines these elements# as well as in$luences $rom the6iddle +ast# to carr% Greeks5 interpretation o$ a wide range o$ musical $orms. Classical Greece The histor% o$ music in Greece begins once more# as one might eCpect# with the music o$ ancient Greece# largel% structured on the <%reand other supporting string instruments o$ the era. )e%ond the well7known structural legacies o$ the 1%thagorean scale# and the related mathematical de/elopments it upheld to de$ine western classical music# relati/el% little is understood about the precise character o$ music during this periodR we do know# howe/er# that it le$t# as so o$ten# a strong mark on the culture o$ Qome. Ohat has been gleaned about the social role and character o$ ancient Greek music comes largel% $rom potter% and other $orms o$ Greek art. The music o$ *rete is as distinct as its people# and it permeates societ% as it is e/er present in all social e/ents. *retan traditional music eChibits a uni?ue sound emanating $rom a uni?ue instrument# the El%raE. <%ra is held /erticall%# resting on the thighs o$ the pla%er# and is pla%ed with a bow like a /iolin. Another instrument which contributes to the uni?ue sound is the EluteE which is pla%ed like a guitar and pro/ides the /igorous rh%thm o$ the songs. 6antinades are one categor% o$ songs that utili2e impro/isation and speak o$ age old concerns o$ lo/e and death. Byzantine Greece The )%2antine 6usic is also o$ maPor signi$icance to the histor% and de/elopment o$ +uropean music# asliturgical chants became the $oundation and stepping stone $or music o$ the Qenaissance (see:Qenaissance 6usic". &t is also certain that )%2antine music included an eCtensi/e tradition o$ instrumental court music and danceR an% other picture would be both incongruous with the historicall% and archaeologicall% documented opulence o$ the +astern Qoman +mpire. There sur/i/e a $ew but eCplicit accounts o$ secular music. A characteristic eCample is the accounts o$ pneumatic organs# whose construction was $urther ad/anced in the eastern empire prior to their de/elopment in the west $ollowing the Qenaissance.