The Angelica or Angelike (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Ἀγγελική) was a celebrated dance among the

ancient Greeks Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically re ...

, performed at their feasts and important celebrations. It was thus called from the

ἄγγελος (''angelos'', "messenger"), by reason, as Pollux assures us, the dancers were dressed in the habit of messengers. This dance was perfected by the Syracusans and performed at their drinking parties. It is probably the same as the messenger's dance, called the Angelikon, which involved a series of gestures to the audience to illustrate the messenger's account of events that occurred off-stage during certain plays. According to

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (, or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; ) was an ancient Greek rhetorician and Grammarian (Greco-Roman), grammarian, flourishing about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century ...

Syracusan Syracuse ( ; ; ) is a historic city on the Italian island of Sicily, the capital of the Italian province of Syracuse. The city is notable for its rich Greek and Roman history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture, and as the birthplace a ...

festivals held in honour of

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

Chitonea involved the performance of an Ionic dance called Angelike in connection with

Hecate Hecate ( ; ) is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, or snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicted as three-formed or triple-bodied. She is variously associat ...

's announcement to

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

of the abduction of

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Persephone ( ; , classical pronunciation: ), also called Kore ( ; ) or Cora, is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the Greek underworld, underworld afte ...

Hades Hades (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea ...

.Viscardi 2021, p. 109.

References

Sources

* Viscardi, Giuseppina Paola (2021)
"Artemis, The Bear, and the Mothers of Engyon"
In Casadio, Giovanni and Johnston, Patricia A., eds. (2021). ''Artemis and Diana in Ancient Greece and Italy''. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 109. * Chambers, Ephraim, ed. (1728)
"Angelica (3)"
In ''

Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences ''Cyclopædia: or, an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences'' is a British encyclopedia prepared by Ephraim Chambers and first published in 1728. Six more editions appeared between 1728 and 1751, and there was a ''Supplement'' in 1753. Th ...

''. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. London: Printed for James and John Knapton, et al. p. 88. * Lawler, Lillian B. (March 1945)
"The Messenger’s Dance"
''Classical Outlook'', 22(6): pp. 59–61. * Raftis, Alkis, ed
"ἀγγελική, ἀγγελικόν, angeliki, angelike, aggeliki, angelikon"
''Encyclopedia of Ancient Greek Dance''. International Dance Council CID. Accessed 10 July 2022. * Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (2016).
The Encyclopedia of World Folk Dance
'. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 117. {{Greek dances Ancient Greek dances