Been away a few days, but back now, returning to my desk after the weekend at our local Greek Food Festival. It's my heritage, and it was thoroughly enjoyable, albeit exhausting, to volunteer time in service of the Church. That being said, I was thinking this morning about a good time had by all, with the food, the music, the dancing, and reflecting on the Greek dances and their history. Though they have their roots from ancient times, they were particularly embraced during the early 1800's as an expression of revolutionary spirit and patriotism. Each region has their own special music, dance and costume; some down-right warrior-like, some quaint and provincial.
As far as the 18th Century is concerned, there was great interest on the Greek and Roman classics, sojourns to Greece and Turkey to explore the exotic. Emphasis on reading Plato, Socrates and their contemporaries.
Classical scultpure and the well-known black glazed painted pottery filled shelves in libraries, between the literary classics. Remember "Ode on a Grecian Urn" by Keats. Anyway, it's a good thing to remember our roots from time to time, especially when they are inspiring and enduring.
Ooo good post. Heres some tidbits from the fashion side of history... After the franco-ottoman alliance in the early 1700's and the opening of trade routes, and lasting into the 19th century with colonization in India, orientalism became all the rage in fashionable society. Turquerie or things "a la turque" were everywhere, especially in fashion. It was very popular for aristocrats and fashionistas alike to have their portraits painted in turkish costumes. This movement also showed up in popular culture. Think Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio and the french opera genre,"tragedie lyrique". Another very popular branch of orientalism during this time was chinoiserie. And as the fashion turned the corner into the 19th century, turkish influence gave way to ancient greek and the wispy, column-like white regency gowns came into fashion, mixing with cashmere shawls from india and all things exotic.
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