Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the development of circular dance representations in the iconography of the prehistoric Aegean, from the Early Bronze Age (c.2900BC) through to the Geometric period (c.900-700BC). The aim is to contextualise these representations in order to argue that they proliferate during times of socio-political fluidity and change.

Paper long abstract:

'The Cretans are dancers' was a universal acknowledgement in the works of ancient literature. References to Cretan dancing and its importance have a long history. One of the dances referred to by Sappho was the circle dance, said to be practised by Cretan girls dancing barefoot around altars.

Archaeological evidence, in the form of architecture and iconographical representation, also attests to the importance of the circular dance, not just in Crete but also on the Greek mainland. The duration of this tradition extends from the early Bronze Age, c2900 BC on Crete up until the Geometric Period on the Greek mainland (c.900-700BC).

An analysis of these dance rituals, both in a contextual setting and also from an ethno-archaeological perspective, suggests an ideological and cognitive theme which unites all manifestations of circular dance in the Prehistoric Aegean. This paper will discuss themes of date, formation and setting of circular dances, in order to argue that circular dance rituals occur at times of socio-political fluidity and change, that their formation highlights integration and cohesion between community members in such times of growing social turmoil, and their setting is a deliberate territorial indication of these communities. Circular dance ritual and performance is thus an ideological tool, used to create a sense of unity and community identity in the face of growing social disparities.