Martha Graham and Greek Myth

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Martha Graham and Greek Myth An initiative that brings together classical philology with modern dance.

“Martha Graham & Greek Myth: Clytemnestra” is the initiative’s second production and focuses on Graham’s 1958 modernist ...
18/08/2025

“Martha Graham & Greek Myth: Clytemnestra” is the initiative’s second production and focuses on Graham’s 1958 modernist masterpiece “Clytemnestra.” An early version of this presentation premiered at the Graham For Europe 2024 Summer Intensive in Venice, Italy. The presentation was then performed in Athens at ELER - Eleni Erimou Theater in five SOLD OUT performances in March 2025. Performances were generously supported by the Ίδρυμα Ιωάννου Φ Κωστοπούλου / The J F Costopoulos Foundation and College Year in Athens.

According to Athens Insider, Dr. Papathanasopoulou creates a “spellbinding experience.” “‘Martha Graham & Greek Myth: Clytemnestra’ is more than a performance – it’s a journey into the soul of Greek heritage, storytelling, and dance. It reminds us of why ancient myths are still relevant today and why Graham’s art remains as powerful as ever.”

Concept/ Research/ Production / Presentation: Nina Papathanasopoulou Myers, Ph.D., Professor of Classical Studies

Choreography/Restaging: .diamant, Graham technique and repertory instructor and former soloist with the Martha Graham Dance Ensemble

Dancers: Konstantinos Argyriou Evangeloudis , Marios-Athanasios Bozikas , Stavros Ikbal, Vassia Kolliou , Marianna Papakonstantinou , Marianna Tsikmanli , Mara Tsourma

Production Manager: Dimitra Dermitzaki

Production Assistant: Ero Papaevangelou

Photo from the March 2025 presentations at Eler -Eleni Erimou Theater in Athens. 📷

Creator of “Martha Graham & Greek Myth,” Nina Papathanasopoulou Myers is a Professor of Classical Studies specializing i...
11/08/2025

Creator of “Martha Graham & Greek Myth,” Nina Papathanasopoulou Myers is a Professor of Classical Studies specializing in Greek drama, mythology, and its reception. Nina completed her BA in Classics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 2003 and her PhD in Classics at Columbia University in 2013. From 2013 to 2019 she was Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics at Connecticut College, where she was deeply involved in outreach programming for Classics. In 2019 Nina returned to Greece and joined the Classics faculty at College Year in Athens, where she teaches Ancient Greek mythology, religion, and literature courses and runs field trips all over Greece for US students who are studying abroad.

Nina’s current research explores the role of Greek myth in the work of the revolutionary 20th century choreographer, Martha Graham. She has published on Martha Graham’s reimagining of the myths of Medea, Ariadne, Oedipus, and Clytemnestra, and is currently working on a book tentatively titled Martha Graham and Greek Myth: The Ancient World in Modern Dance.

Since January 2019 Nina also serves as the Public Engagement Coordinator for the Society for Classical Studies, where she oversees their initiative, “Ancient Worlds, Modern Communities,” which encourages interdisciplinary collaborations between Classics and other fields. In this role Nina co-organized with James Ker, Professor of Classics at the University of Pennsylvania, a public performance of the Martha Graham Dance Company, which took place at the joint annual meeting of the Society for Classical Studies and the Archaeological Institute in America on January 2-5, 2025 in Philadelphia.

Nina has been interested in dance since the age of 10. She studied dance passionately for 20 years, taking ballet, modern dance, contemporary, theater jazz, lyrical jazz, Horton technique, and flamenco classes in Athens, New York, Paris, and Seville. She trained in the Graham technique with Penny Diamantopoulou from 2001-2003 and has been an avid enthusiast of Graham ever since.

An integral part of the "Martha Graham & Greek Myth" initiative is a series of presentations which focus on Graham’s wor...
04/08/2025

An integral part of the "Martha Graham & Greek Myth" initiative is a series of presentations which focus on Graham’s works inspired by ancient Greek myths. These performances highlight Graham’s artistic vision and technique, and explore how Graham used dance and bodily movement to interpret ancient Greek mythology and to bring to life mythical heroes and their intense emotions.

Each performance alternates between lecture and dance. Dr. Nina Papathanasopoulou Myers creates and delivers an educational talk that centers on a specific myth, thematic unit, or work by Graham, while Penny Diamantopoulou, Graham Technique and Repertory instructor, creates Graham technique compositions and restages excerpts from Graham’s Greek-themed works, which accompany and enrich the lecture. All restaging takes place with the permission and guidance of the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance in New York. Dance compositions and repertory excerpts are performed by a team of professional dancers, all extensively trained in the Graham technique.

“Martha Graham & Greek Myth” is an initiative that cοmbines classical philοlοgy with cοntempοrary dance, to explore how ...
28/07/2025

“Martha Graham & Greek Myth” is an initiative that cοmbines classical philοlοgy with cοntempοrary dance, to explore how the revolutionary American dancer Martha Graham drew upοn ancient Greek mythοlοgy and pοrtrayed ancient Greek herοes in her wοrk.

Martha Graham (1894-1991) has had a deep impact on American art and culture. She single-handedly defined contemporary dance as a uniquely American art form, and crossed artistic boundaries, by collaborating leading visual artists, musicians, and designers of her day, including sculptor Isamu Noguchi and composers Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber. Graham’s groundbreaking style grew from her experimentation with the elemental movements of contraction and release. By focusing on the basic activities of the human form, and using the sharp, angular and direct movements of her technique, she enlivened the body with raw, electric emotion.

Graham influenced generations of choreographers that included Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, and Twyla Tharp, altering the scope of dance. Classical ballet dancers Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov sought her out to broaden their artistry. Artists of all genres were eager to study and work with Graham—including actors Bette Davis, Kirk Douglas, Madonna, Liza Minnelli and Gregory Peck.

During her long and illustrious career, Graham created 181 dance compositions, about twenty of which were inspired by the culture, rituals, and myths of the Ancient Greeks. During the Bicentennial she was granted the United States’ highest civilian honor, The Medal of Freedom. In 1998, TIME Magazine named her the “Dancer of the Century.” The first dancer to perform at the White House and to act as a Cultural Ambassador abroad, she captured the spirit of a nation. “No artist is ahead of his time,” she said. “He is his time. It is just that the others are behind the time.”

Image: Martha Graham as Jocasta in Night Journey (1947). Choreography by Martha Graham. Photography by Philippe Halsman. © Halsman Archive 2022. Courtesy of Martha Graham Resources.

Marios-Athanasios Bozikas performing as Aegisthus, Konstantinos Argyriou Evangeloudis as one of the Greek soldiers, and ...
25/07/2025

Marios-Athanasios Bozikas performing as Aegisthus, Konstantinos Argyriou Evangeloudis as one of the Greek soldiers, and Stavros Ikbal as Agamemnon, each portraying a hero in Martha Graham’s 1958 Clytemnestra. Restaging by Penny Diamantopoulou. From the “Martha Graham & Greek Myth: Clytemnestra” performances at Theater Eler-Eleni Erimou in March 2025 in Athens. Conceived, presented, and produced by Nina Papathanasopoulou Myers in collaboration with Penny Diamantopoulou and a group of professional dancers.

Stavros Ikbal performing as one of the Greek soldiers, Konstantinos Argyriou Evangeloudis as Orestes, and Marios-Athanas...
18/07/2025

Stavros Ikbal performing as one of the Greek soldiers, Konstantinos Argyriou Evangeloudis as Orestes, and Marios-Athanasios Bozikas as Aegisthus, each portraying a hero in Martha Graham’s 1958 Clytemnestra. Restaging by Penny Diamantopoulou. From the “Martha Graham & Greek Myth: Clytemnestra” performances at Theater Eler-Eleni Erimou in March 2025 in Athens. Conceived, presented, and produced by Nina Papathanasopoulou Myers in collaboration with Penny Diamantopoulou and a group of professional dancers.

Zeus, the king of the gods and ruler of the universe, is usually depicted in positions of control, either seated in his ...
11/07/2025

Zeus, the king of the gods and ruler of the universe, is usually depicted in positions of control, either seated in his throne or standing about to attack with his thunderbolt aimed against his opponents. Martha Graham included Zeus as a character in her 1987 dance piece “Persephone,” as Zeus is the one who gives his consent for Hades to abduct Persephone.

Apollo, god of order, music, prophecy, archery, and healing, commands Orestes to kill his own mother, Clytemnestra, thus taking vengeance for his father Agamemnon. After the murder, Apollo offers Orestes protection at his sanctuary at Delphi. In Martha Graham’s 1958 piece “Clytemnestra”, Apollo, Athena, and Hades are the three gods who are present with Clytemnestra’s shade in the Underworld. In this dance Clytemnestra revisits the tragic events of her life in her memory and imagination.

Images: 1. The Birth of Athena from Zeus’ head. Attic Red-Figure Pelike. ca. 460-450 BCE. The British Museum. London. 2. Zeus and Ganymede. Attic Red-Figure Neck-Amphora. ca. 460-450 BCE. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York. 3. Apollo protects Orestes at Delphi while a Fury pursues him. Apollo Apulian Red-Figure Volute-Krater. ca. early 4th century BCE. Archaeological Museum of Naples. Naples, Italy.

The Minotaur, the half-man, half-bull monster born from the union of Pasiphae with a bull and enclosed in the labyrinth ...
07/07/2025

The Minotaur, the half-man, half-bull monster born from the union of Pasiphae with a bull and enclosed in the labyrinth in Crete, is slain by the Greek hero Theseus. The princess of Crete, Ariadne, helps Theseus with his mission by giving him a ball of thread which allows him to find his way back out of the labyrinth.
In her 1947 masterpiece “Errand into the Maze” Graham created her own version of the story and replaced Theseus with a woman. The woman enters into the labyrinth of her mind and faces the mythical Minotaur within her inner self. Graham called the figure of the Minotaur the “Creature of Fear” and used him to embody the woman’s fears.

Image: Theseus kills the Minotaur. Attic Red-Figure Calyx-Krater. ca. 340-330 BCE. Unknown provenance. National Archaeological Museum. Athens.

Charon, the ferryman of the Underworld, helps transport the souls of the dead through the river Acheron or Styx and into...
04/07/2025

Charon, the ferryman of the Underworld, helps transport the souls of the dead through the river Acheron or Styx and into the Underworld. The Greeks felt that Charon had to be paid for his services, so they often placed a coin in the mouth of the deceased. Charon is depicted in his boat on many 5th century BCE lekythoi, small vase offerings buried with the dead.

Charon appears as a character leading the way into Hades in Martha Graham’s 1967 “Cortege of Eagles.” This dance retells the story of the sack of Troy from the perspective of the Trojan Queen Hecuba who witnesses the murder of her sons, daughter, grandson, and husband Priam.

Images: 1. Charon in a boat. Attic white-ground lekythos. ca. 5th century BCE. Attributed to the Tymbos Painter. Ashmolean Museum. Oxford.
2. Charon, Hermes and youth. Attic white-ground lekythos. ca. 450 BCE. Attributed to the Sabouroff Painter. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York.
3. The garment of death. Attic white-ground lekythos. ca. 440-430 BCE. Attributed to the Sabouroff Painter. National Archaeological Museum. Athens.

Thanatos, the personification of Death, appears in a number of Greek myths, to es**rt the living to the realm of the dea...
02/07/2025

Thanatos, the personification of Death, appears in a number of Greek myths, to es**rt the living to the realm of the dead. On this vase he comes together with Hypnos, the personification of Sleep, to retrieve the body of the Trojan Sarpedon, Zeus’ son, who has just been killed by Patroclus.

Hades, the King of the Dead and ruler of the Underworld, is distinct from Thanatos. Hades is most well known for his abduction of Persephone, whom he leads to the Underworld in a chariot drawn by four horses. In abducting Persephone, Hades both marries and kills her, highlighting the interesting parallels we find between rituals of marriage and death.

Martha Graham included Thanatos as a character in her 1960 dance “Alcestis.” He arrives to claim Alcestis but ends up fighting and being defeated by Heracles; Hades appears both in Clytemnestra (1958) and in Persephone (1987). In “Clytemnestra” he rules the Underworld and Clytemnestra challenges him by asking him why she has been dishonored. In “Persephone” he wears a large keyhole mask and comes to ensnare Persephone. According to dance critic Anna Kisselgoff, “The ruling motif is that of a mother's lament - that of Demeter, goddess of fertility, who searches for her daughter, Persephone, after she has been abducted to the underworld.” (NYTimes Review, Oct. 15, 1987).

Images: 1. Thanatos (Death), Hypnos (Sleep) and Hermes come to take the body of the Trojan warrior Sarpedon. The Euphronios Krater. Archaic Red-Figure Calyx-Krater. ca. 515 BCE. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York. 2. The abduction of Persephone by Hades surrounded by gods. Apulian Red-Figure Hydria. ca. 340-330 BCE. Attributed to the Group of B.M.F. 308. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York.

Astyanax, Hector and Andromache’s young son, is killed by the Greeks either by being stabbed or by being cruelly thrown ...
30/06/2025

Astyanax, Hector and Andromache’s young son, is killed by the Greeks either by being stabbed or by being cruelly thrown off the walls of Troy. His story is narrated in Euripides’ tragedies “Trojan Women” and “Andromache.” It also appears in ancient vases like this Red-Figure Hydria, where Priam holds his dead grandchild Astyanax and seeks refuge at an altar while Achilles’ son, Neoptolemus, is about to kill him.

Polydorus is the youngest son of Priam and Hecuba. To protect him from the war at Troy, his parents sent him, together with much gold, to their friend King Polymestor of Thrace. After Troy is sacked, Polymestor fears the Greeks will punish him and kills Polydorus. On learning of her youngest son’s murder, Hecuba blinds Polymestor and kills his two sons.

Martha Graham narrated the sack of Troy and Hecuba’s suffering in her 1967 dance “Cortege of Eagles.” The same dancer performs the roles of Achilles and Polymestor, the men that caused Hecuba most harm. In 1968, dance critic Jacqueline Maskey reviewed the piece’s second performance: “Hecuba sits amid the ruins of her city and her life. Her husband, sons, daughter and grandsons are dead, and this violation of her life induces her to commit a like violation in blinding Polymnestor, the murderer of her youngest son. All the events that have struck her give her a majesty in revenge that Graham projects powerfully. Although there are formidable performances all around her - in particular William Louther as Charon, the Ferryman of the Dead; Bertram Ross as both Achilles and the cringing Polymnestor, Ethel Winter as Andromache and Miss McGehee as Polyxena, she remains the monolithic figure. Although her physical powers have diminished, Miss Graham's power of presence has not, and "Cortege" is a testament to its continuing life.”

Images: 1. Priam has taken refuge at an altar with his grandson Astyanax already killed by Neoptolemus. Attic Red-Figure Hydria. 5th century BCE. National Archaeological Museum. Naples. 2. Polydorus fighting. Chalcidian Black-Figure Hydria. ca. 550 BCE. The British Museum. London. 3. Polymestor’s blinding by Hecuba. Apulian Red-Figure Loutrophoros. ca.330 BCE. The British Museum. London

The Trojan prince Paris abducts or seduces Helen, and becomes the cause of the long 10 year war between the Greeks and t...
27/06/2025

The Trojan prince Paris abducts or seduces Helen, and becomes the cause of the long 10 year war between the Greeks and the Trojans. A handsome man who gives in to his erotic desires, he is often presented as a coward in battle. In this vase he is depicted in Eastern attire climbing on his chariot with Helen in his embrace. Eros, the personification of love and desire, flies over them.

Paris appears as a character in two of Martha Graham’s dance pieces. First, he is part of Graham’s 1958 “Clytemnestra”, a dance which narrates the story of Clytemnestra through the perspective of the female protagonist. When her husband Agamemnon returns home from Troy, she sees a vision of Paris and Helen dancing, a reminder of the feelings of love and desire that were responsible for the war. In her 1967 work “Cortege of Eagles” Paris appears as well. This piece centers on Trojan Queen Hecuba’s extreme suffering due to her loss of her husband, grandson, and many of her sons, including Paris, during the war.

Image: The abduction of Helen by Paris. Attic Red-Figure Lekythos. ca. 380-365 BCE. Attributed to the Painter of Helen. The State Hermitage Museum. Saint Petersburg.

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