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Mihanikos
Mihanikos (Greek: Ο χορός του Μηχανικού, literally ''The dance of the mechanic'') is a traditional dance from the Greek island of Kalymnos. It is typically only performed by men dancing in a line. In basic it is a normal Syrtos. The dance depicts the crippling effects of decompression sickness caused by sponge diving, which was the main source of income on Kalymnos during the last half of the 19th century. This is shown by the leading dancer who (on the slow part of the music) seemingly has to struggle to stand and walk, and uses a stick in doing so. His feet and legs shake violently and sometimes he almost collapses. This "mechanic" behaviour gives the dance its name. Sometimes he is seen being assisted by the second dancer in line. The other dancers dance on normally, until at some point the music picks up speed and leading dancer picks up the rhythm and they dance together in line, with the leading dancer joyfully showing off. This may happen only once during ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greek Language
Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy (Calabria and Salento), southern Albania, and other regions of the Balkans, the Black Sea coast, Asia Minor, and the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning at least 3,400 years of written records. Its writing system is the Greek alphabet, which has been used for approximately 2,800 years; previously, Greek was recorded in writing systems such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic, and many other writing systems. The Greek language holds a very important place in the history of the Western world. Beginning with the epics of Homer, ancient Greek literature includes many works of lasting impo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the Geography of Greece, mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Sea of Crete and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin, featuring List of islands of Greece, thousands of islands. The country consists of nine Geographic regions of Greece, traditional geographic regions, and has a population of approximately 10.4 million. Athens is the nation's capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city, followed by Thessaloniki and Patras. Greece is considered the cradle of Western culture, Western civilization, being the birthplace of Athenian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalymnos
Kalymnos ( el, Κάλυμνος) is a Greek island and municipality in the southeastern Aegean Sea. It belongs to the Dodecanese island chain, between the islands of Kos (south, at a distance of ) and Leros (north, at a distance of less than ): the latter is linked to it through a series of islets. Kalymnos lies between two and five hours away by sea from Rhodes. In 2011 the island had a population of 16,001, making it the third most populous island of the Dodecanese, after Kos and Rhodes. It is known in Greece for the affluence of much of its population, and also stands as both the wealthiest member of the Dodecanese and one of the wealthiest Greek islands overall. The Municipality of Kalymnos, which includes the populated offshore islands of Pserimos (pop. 80), Telendos (94), Kalolimnos (2), and Pláti (2), as well as several uninhabited islets, has a combined land area of and a total population of 16,179 inhabitants. Naming The island is known as ''Càlino'' in Italian and '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syrtos
Syrtos ( el, συρτός, ''syrtos'' (also ''sirtos''); plural , ''syrtoi'' (also ''sirtoi''); sometimes called in English using the Greek accusative forms ''syrto'' (also ''sirto''); from the el, links=no, σύρω, ''syro'' (also ''siro''), "to drag he dance) is – in classical and modern Greece – a traditional dance in which the dancers link hands to form a chain or circle, headed by a leader who intermittently breaks away to perform improvised steps. Syrtos, along with its relative kalamatianos, are the most popular dances throughout Greece and Cyprus, and are frequently danced by the Greek diaspora worldwide. They are very popular in social gatherings, weddings and religious festivals. Syrtos and kalamatianos use the same dance steps, but the syrtos is in time and the kalamatianos is in time, organized in a ''slow'' (3 beat), ''quick'' (2 beat), ''quick'' (2 beat) rhythm. Syrtos and kalamatianos are line dances and circle dances, done with the dancers in a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Decompression Sickness
Decompression sickness (abbreviated DCS; also called divers' disease, the bends, aerobullosis, and caisson disease) is a medical condition caused by dissolved gases emerging from solution as bubbles inside the body tissues during decompression. DCS most commonly occurs during or soon after a decompression ascent from underwater diving, but can also result from other causes of depressurisation, such as emerging from a caisson, decompression from saturation, flying in an unpressurised aircraft at high altitude, and extravehicular activity from spacecraft. DCS and arterial gas embolism are collectively referred to as decompression illness. Since bubbles can form in or migrate to any part of the body, DCS can produce many symptoms, and its effects may vary from joint pain and rashes to paralysis and death. DCS often causes air bubbles to settle in major joints like knees or elbows, causing individuals to bend over in excruciating pain, hence its common name, the bends. Individu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sponge Diving
Sponge diving is underwater diving to collect soft natural sponges for human use. Background Most sponges are too rough for general use due to their structural spicules composed of calcium carbonate or silica. But two genera, ''Hippospongia'' and ''Spongia'', have soft, entirely fibrous skeletons. These two genera are most commonly used by humans. It is unknown when exactly the sponge became an article of use. In Ancient Greek writings, Homer and Plato mentioned the sponge as an object used for bathing. Through trading, Europeans used soft sponges for many purposes including padding for helmets, portable drinking utensils and municipal water filters. Until the invention of synthetic sponges, they were used as cleaning tools, applicators for paints and ceramic glazes, and discreet contraceptives. However, by the mid-20th century, over-fishing had brought both the animals and the industry close to extinction. Many objects with sponge-like textures are now made of substances not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greek Folk Music
Greek traditional music (Greek: παραδοσιακή μουσική, "traditional music"; also δημοτικά τραγούδια, "folk songs") includes a variety of Greek styles played by ethnic Greeks in Greece, Cyprus, Australia, the United States and other parts of Europe. Apart from the common music found generally in Greece, each region of Greece contains a distinct type of folk music that originated from the region due to their history, traditions and cultural influences. Overview Greek folk music originally, predominantly contained one genre, known as Greek ''Demotiko (or Demotic/Paradosiako).'' This refers to the traditional Greek popular songs and music of mainland Greece and islands, which date back to the Byzantine times. It was the sole popular musical genre of the Greek people until the spread of ''Rebetiko'' and '' Laiko'' (other genres of folk music) in the early 20th century, spread by the Greek refugees from Asia Minor. This style of music evolved from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greek Dances
Greek dance (''choros'') is a very old tradition, being referred to by authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch and Lucian. There are different styles and interpretations from all of the islands and surrounding mainland areas. Each region formed its own choreography and style to fit in with their own ways. For example, island dances have more of a different smooth flow to them, while Pontic dancing closer to the Black Sea, is very sharp. There are over 10,000 traditional dances that come from all regions of Greece. There are also pan-Hellenic dances, which have been adopted throughout the Greek world. These include specifically the Syrtos, Kalamatianos, Pyrrhichios, Ballos and hasapiko. Traditional Greek dancing has a primarily social function. It brings the community together at key points of the year, such as Easter, the grape harvest or patronal festivals; and at key points in the lives of individuals and families, such as weddings. For this reason, tradition frequently dict ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greek Music
The music of Greece is as diverse and celebrated as its History of Greece, history. Greek music separates into two parts: Greek folk music, Greek traditional music and Byzantine music. These compositions have existed for millennia: they originated in the Byzantine empire, Byzantine period and ancient Greek music, Greek antiquity; there is a continuous development which appears in the language, the rhythm, the structure and the melody. Music is a significant aspect of Greek culture, Hellenic culture, both within Greece and in the Greek diaspora, diaspora. Greek musical history Greek musical history extends far back into ancient Greece, since music was a major part of ancient Greek theater. Later influences from the Roman Empire, Eastern Europe and the Byzantine Empire changed the form and style of Greek music. In the 19th century, opera composers, like Nikolaos Mantzaros (1795–1872), Spyridon Xyndas (1812–1896) and Spyridon Samaras (1861–1917) and symphonists, like Dimitris ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
