]
King David not only danced before the ark (2 Samuel vi. v. 16), but
mentions dancing in the 149th and 150th Psalm. Certain historians also
tell us that they had dancing in their ritual of the seasons. Their
dancing seems to have been associated with joy, as we read of "a time
to mourn and a time to dance"; we find (Eccles. iii. v. 4) they had
also the pipes: "We have piped to you and you have not danced"
(Matthew xi. v. 17). These dances were evidently executed by the
peoples themselves, and not by public performers.
[Illustration: Fig. 8.--Dance of Bacchantes, painted by the ceramic
painter, Hieron. (British Museum,)]
CHAPTER II.
DANCING WITH THE GREEKS.
With the Greeks, dancing certainly was primarily part of a religious
rite; with music it formed the lyric art. The term, however, with them
included all those actions of the body and limbs, and all expressions
and actions of the features and head which suggest ideas; marching,
acrobatic performances, and mimetic action all came into the term.
According to the historians, the Greeks attributed dancing to their
deities: Homer makes Apollo _orchestes_, or the dancer; and amongst
the early dances is that in his honour called the _Hyporchema_.
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