Nisiotika ( el, νησιώτικα, meaning "insular (songs)") are the songs and dances of

Greek islands Greece has many islands, with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200 to 6,000, depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166 and 227. The largest Greek island by a ...

with a variety of styles, played by ethnic Greeks in

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 wi ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and elsewhere. The

lyre The lyre () is a string instrument, stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the History of lute-family instruments, lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it ...

is the dominant

folk instrument A folk instrument is a musical instrument that developed among common people and usually does not have a known inventor. It can be made from wood, metal or other material. Such an instrument is played in performances of folk music. Overview The ...

along with the laouto,

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

, tsampouna and souravli with widely varying Greek characteristics. Representative musicians and performers of Nisiotika include:

Mariza Koch Mariza Koch ( el, Μαρίζα Κωχ; born 14 March 1944) is a Greek folk music singer who has recorded many albums since starting her career in 1971. On the wider stage she is best remembered for representing her homeland at the Eurovision Song ...

, credited with reviving the field in the 1970s,

Yiannis Parios Yiannis Parios ( el, Γιάννης Πάριος) is a Greek singer, with a career spanning five decades. Biography Yiannis Parios was born Ioannis Varthakouris (Ιωάννης Βαρθακούρης) on the island of Paros. He made his firs ...

Domna Samiou Domna Samiou ( el, Δόμνα Σαμίου; 12 October 1928 – 10 March 2012Cretan music The music of Crete ( el, Κρητική μουσική), also called kritika ( el, κρητικά), refers to traditional forms of Greek folk music prevalent on the island of Crete in Greece. Cretan traditional music includes instrumental musi ...

on the

Dodecanese Islands The Dodecanese (, ; el, Δωδεκάνησα, ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. ...

and

Cyclades The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name ...

Notable artists

''Composers:'' * Giorgos Konitopoulos * Vangelis Konitopoulos * Stathis Koukoularis *

* Nikos Ikonomidis *

Stamatis Hatzopoulos Stamatis ( el, Σταμάτης, links=no) is a given name and surname of Greek origin, a diminutive of Stamatios (Σταμάτιος). Notable people with the name Stamatis include: Given name * Stamatis Benas (born 1985), Greek basketball player ...

''Singers:'' * Glykeria *

Vagelis konitopoulos Evangelos "Vangelis" Vourtzoumis (alternate spelling: Vaggelis) ( el, Βαγγέλης Βουρτζούμης) (born October 30, 1969) is a retired Greek professional basketball player. Professional career Vourtzoumis won three European titles ...

Stella Konitopoulou Stella or STELLA may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Comedy * Stella (comedy group), a comedy troupe consisting of Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black and David Wain Characters * Stella (given name), including a list of characters with ...

Domna Samiou Domna Samiou ( el, Δόμνα Σαμίου; 12 October 1928 – 10 March 2012Mariza Koch Mariza Koch ( el, Μαρίζα Κωχ; born 14 March 1944) is a Greek folk music singer who has recorded many albums since starting her career in 1971. On the wider stage she is best remembered for representing her homeland at the Eurovision Song ...

* Nasia Konitopoulou

Folk dances

The Aegean Islands have a rich folk dance tradition. For example;

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''), ...

, sousta and

ballos The Ballos ( el, Μπάλος) is a Greek folk dance and a form of sirtos. There are also different versions in other Balkan countries. The Ballos is of Greek origin, with ancient Greek elements. The name originates in the Italian ''ballo'' ...

. *

Ballos The Ballos ( el, Μπάλος) is a Greek folk dance and a form of sirtos. There are also different versions in other Balkan countries. The Ballos is of Greek origin, with ancient Greek elements. The name originates in the Italian ''ballo'' ...

* Ikariotikos * Kamara *

Kalymnikos Kalymnikos is a dance from the Greek island of Kalymnos in the Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Med ...

* Karavas of

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...

Lerikos Lerikos ( el, Λέρικος) is a traditional Greek circle dance. Participants hold hands at the shoulder level and dance in a counterclockwise direction. See also *Greek music *Greek dances *Sousta * Greek folk music *Pentozali *Syrtos *List ...

Leros Leros ( el, Λέρος) is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies (171 nautical miles) from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 9-hour ferry ride or by a 45-minute flig ...

* Mihanikos * Parianos * Pentozalis * Pirgousikos of

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mast ...

* Pidikhtos * Rhoditikos * Sousta (Sousta Lerou, Sousta Tilou) *

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''), ...

(Syrtos Kythnou, Syrtos Serifou, Syrtos Naxou) * Trata

External links

Musipedia: Νησιώτικα
{{Music of Southeastern Europe (the Balkans) Greek dances Greek words and phrases