Greece Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Music and dances === {{Main|Music of Greece}} {{more citations needed section|date=October 2017}} [[File:Sfakia-dance.jpg|thumb|[[Cretan]] dancers of [[Greek folk music|traditional folk music]]]] [[File:Rembetes Karaiskaki 1933.jpg|thumb|right|[[Rebetiko|Rebetes]] in Karaiskaki, [[Piraeus]] (1933). Left [[Markos Vamvakaris]] with [[bouzouki]].]] Greek vocal music extends far back into ancient times where mixed-gender choruses performed for entertainment, celebration and spiritual reasons. Instruments during that period included the double-reed [[aulos]] and the plucked string instrument, the [[lyre]], especially the special kind called a [[kithara]]. Music played an important role in the education system during ancient times. Boys were taught music from the age of six. Later influences from the [[Roman Empire]], Middle East, and the [[Byzantine Empire]] also had effect on Greek music. While the new technique of polyphony was developing in the West, the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] resisted any type of change. Therefore, [[Byzantine music]] remained monophonic and without any form of instrumental accompaniment. As a result, and despite certain attempts by certain Greek chanters (such as Manouel Gazis, Ioannis Plousiadinos or the Cypriot Ieronimos o Tragoudistis), Byzantine music was deprived of elements of which in the West encouraged an unimpeded development of art. However, this method which kept music away from polyphony, along with centuries of continuous culture, enabled monophonic music to develop to the greatest heights of perfection. Byzantium presented the monophonic [[Byzantine chant]]; a melodic treasury of inestimable value for its rhythmical variety and expressive power. Along with the Byzantine (Church) chant and music, the Greek people also cultivated the [[Greek folk music|Greek folk song]] (''Demotiko'') which is divided into two cycles, the [[Acritic songs|akritic]] and [[klephtic song|klephtic]]. The akritic was created between the 9th and 10th centuries and expressed the life and struggles of the [[akrites]] (frontier guards) of the Byzantine empire, the most well known being the stories associated with [[Digenis Acritas|Digenes Akritas]]. The klephtic cycle came into being between the late Byzantine period and the start of the [[Greek War of Independence]]. The klephtic cycle, together with historical songs, ''paraloghes'' (narrative song or ballad), love songs, [[mantinada|mantinades]], wedding songs, songs of exile and dirges express the life of the Greeks. There is a unity between the Greek people's struggles for freedom, their joys and sorrow and attitudes towards love and death. [[File:Mikis2004.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.65|[[Mikis Theodorakis]] was one of the most popular and significant Greek composers.]] The [[Heptanese]]an [[Greek folk music#Ionian Islands|kantádhes]] (καντάδες '[[serenade]]s'; sing.: καντάδα) became the forerunners of the Greek modern urban popular song, influencing its development to a considerable degree. For the first part of the next century, several Greek composers continued to borrow elements from the Heptanesean style. The most successful songs during the period 1870–1930 were the so-called Athenian serenades, and the songs performed on stage (επιθεωρησιακά τραγούδια 'theatrical revue songs') in [[revue]]s, [[operetta]]s and [[nocturne]]s that were dominating Athens' theater scene. [[Rebetiko]], initially a music associated with the lower classes, later (and especially after the [[population exchange between Greece and Turkey]]) reached greater general acceptance as the rough edges of its overt subcultural character were softened and polished, sometimes to the point of unrecognizability. It was the base of the later [[laïkó]] (song of the people). The leading performers of the genre include [[Vassilis Tsitsanis]], [[Grigoris Bithikotsis]], [[Stelios Kazantzidis]], [[George Dalaras]], [[Haris Alexiou]] and [[Glykeria]]. Regarding the classical music, it was through the [[Ionian islands]] (which were under western rule and influence) that all the major advances of the western European classical music were introduced to mainland Greeks. The region is notable for the birth of the first school of modern Greek classical music ([[Ionian School (music)|Heptanesean or Ionian School]], Greek: ''Επτανησιακή Σχολή''), established in 1815. Prominent representatives of this genre include [[Nikolaos Mantzaros]], [[Spyridon Xyndas]], [[Spyridon Samaras]] and [[Pavlos Carrer]]. [[Manolis Kalomiris]] is considered the founder of the Greek National School of Music. In the 20th century, Greek composers have had a significant impact on the development of [[avant garde]] and modern classical music, with figures such as [[Iannis Xenakis]], [[Nikos Skalkottas]], and [[Dimitri Mitropoulos]] achieving international prominence. At the same time, composers and musicians such as [[Mikis Theodorakis]], [[Manos Hatzidakis]], [[Eleni Karaindrou]], [[Vangelis]] and [[Demis Roussos]] garnered an international following for their music, which include famous [[film score]]s such as [[Zorba the Greek]], [[Serpico]], [[Never on Sunday]], [[America America]], [[Eternity and a Day]], [[Chariots of Fire]], [[Blade Runner (soundtrack)|Blade Runner]], among others. [[Greek American]] composers known for their film scores include also [[Yanni]] and [[Basil Poledouris]]. Notable Greek opera singers and classical musicians of the 20th and 21st century include [[Maria Callas]], [[Nana Mouskouri]], [[Mario Frangoulis]], [[Leonidas Kavakos]], [[Dimitris Sgouros]] and others. During the [[Greek military junta of 1967–74|dictatorship of the Colonels]], the music of Mikis Theodorakis was banned by the junta and the composer was jailed, internally exiled, and put in a [[concentration camp]],<ref name="Hischak2015">{{cite book|author=Thomas S. Hischak|title=The Encyclopedia of Film Composers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xz99CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA664|date=16 April 2015|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-1-4422-4550-1|page=664}}</ref> before finally being allowed to leave Greece due to international reaction to his detention. Released during the junta years, ''Anthrope Agapa, ti Fotia Stamata'' (Make Love, Stop the Gunfire), by the pop group [[Poll (band)|Poll]] is considered the first anti-war protest song in the history of [[Greek rock]].<ref name=europopmusic.eu>{{cite web|title=Kostas Tournas|url=http://www.europopmusic.eu/Greece_pages/Kostas_Tournas.html#about|publisher=europopmusic.eu|access-date=10 March 2013|archive-date=11 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130311170321/http://www.europopmusic.eu/Greece_pages/Kostas_Tournas.html#about|url-status=dead}}</ref> The song was echoing the hippie slogan "[[make love, not war]]" and was inspired directly by the [[Vietnam War]], becoming a "smash hit" in Greece.<ref name="Kornetis2013">{{cite book|author=Kostis Kornetis|title=Children of the Dictatorship: Student Resistance, Cultural Politics and the 'Long 1960s' in Greece|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g_UcAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA190|date=30 November 2013|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=978-1-78238-001-6|page=190}}</ref> Greece participated in the [[Eurovision Song Contest]] 35 times after its debut at the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1974|1974 Contest]]. In [[Eurovision Song Contest 2005|2005]], Greece won with the song "[[My Number One]]", performed by Greek-Swedish singer [[Elena Paparizou]]. The song received 230 points with 10 sets of 12 points from Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Albania, Cyprus, Serbia & Montenegro, Sweden and Germany and also became a smash hit in different countries and especially in Greece. The [[Eurovision Song Contest 2006|51st Eurovision Song Contest]] was held in [[Athens]] at the [[Olympic Indoor Hall]] of the [[Athens Olympic Sports Complex]] in [[Maroussi]], and hosted by [[Maria Menounos]] and [[Sakis Rouvas]]. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). 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