Martha Graham and Greek Myth

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Martha Graham and Greek Myth

An initiative that brings together classical philology with modern dance.

22/01/2025

Photos from the “Dance, Ancient Drama, and Myth” Conference organized by the Theatre Studies Department of the University of Athens. Martha Graham and her relationship to Greek myth were central to the conference.

Nina Papathanasopoulou gave a talk on “Dancing Ancient Greek Myth: Justice and Redemption in Martha Graham’s Clytemnestra” while choreographer Ersi Pitta spoke about Graham’s symbolic use of props. Steriani Tsintziloni, Assistant Professor at the Theatre Studies Department and the main organizer of the conference, discussed the revival of Greek drama on the dance stage and made a brief reference to Graham as well. The audience showed much excitement about Graham’s work, and seemed quite impressed with her revolutionary treatment of myth!

20/01/2025

“Dancing Ancient Greek Myth: Justice and Redemption in Martha Graham’s Clytemnestra” - creator of Martha Graham and Greek Myth and Professor of Classical Studies at College Year in Athens, Nina Papathanasopoulou Myers, will discuss Graham’s approach to Greek Myth during the ‘Dance, Ancient Drama & Myth’ conference today January 20, organized by the Department of Theatre Studies at the University of Athens and taking place at the Great Hall.

For more info and the full program check out the conference’s webpage at 🔗https://www.theatre.uoa.gr/anakoinoseis_kai_ekdiloseis/proboli_ekdilosis/choros_archaio_drama_kai_mythos/

18/01/2025

On January 20, 2025 the Department of Theatre Studies at the University of Athens is organizing a conference on "Dance, Ancient Drama & Myth” which explores approaches of dance in relation to ancient myth and drama. Creator of Martha Graham and Greek Myth and Professor of Classical Studies at College Year in Athens, Nina Papathanasopoulou Myers, will deliver a paper titled “Dancing Ancient Greek Myth: Justice and Redemption in Martha Graham’s Clytemnestra”.

For more info check out the conference’s webpage 🔗https://www.theatre.uoa.gr/anakoinoseis_kai_ekdiloseis/proboli_ekdilosis/choros_archaio_drama_kai_mythos/

17/01/2025

From left to right: SoYoung An (.young.an), Antonio Leone (), Laurel Dalley Smith (), Lloyd Knight (), Janet Eilber, Xin Ying (), Nina Papathanasopoulou (), James Ker, and Anne Souder () after the Martha Graham Dance Company’s () performance of Errand into the Maze (1947) and Cave of the Heart (1946) at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre in Philadelphia on January 4, 2025. The performance took place within the context of the Society for Classical Studies / Archaeological Institute of America 2025 Annual Meeting to honor Graham’s profound engagement with ancient Greek culture.

Photo by Martha Graham Dance Company Manager, Lauren Mosier

15/01/2025

Nina Papathanasopoulou Myers, Professor of Classical Studies at College Year in Athens, Janet Eilber, Artistic Director of the Martha Graham Dance, and Graham Company dancers, Xin Ying () and Lloyd Knight () during a post-show talk-back following performances of Errand into the Maze (1947) and Cave of the Heart (1946) at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre in Philadelphia. The evening was organized by the Society for Classical Studies to honor Graham’s contribution to Greek myth and to engage the larger Philadelphia community in the study of the ancient Greek world.

Photos by Anne Lantian Ying.

14/01/2025

Xin Ying () as Medea, Lloyd Knight () as Jason, Laurel Dalley Smith () as the Princess, and Anne Souder () as the Chorus in Martha Graham’s Cave of the Heart (1946), which was performed at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre in Philadelphia as part of the Society for Classical Studies (SCS) / Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) 2025 Annual Meeting on January 4.

The performance was co-organized by Nina Papathanasopoulou, Professor of Classical Studies at College Year in Athens, and James Ker, Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, both members of the Classics in the Community Committee, to honor Graham’s contribution to Greek myth and the field of Classical Studies and to engage the larger Philadelphia community in the study of the ancient Greek world.
Thank you

Images:
1. Xin Ying, Lloyd Knight, Laurel Dalley Smith, and Anne Souder in Martha Graham’s Cave of the Heart (1946). Photo by Scott Serio for Eclipse Newswire .
2. Xin Ying, Lloyd Knight, Laurel Dalley Smith, and Anne Souder in Martha Graham’s Cave of the Heart (1946). Photo by Anne Lantian Jing.
3. Lloyd Knight, Laurel Dalley Smith, and Anne Souder in Martha Graham’s Cave of the Heart (1946). Photo by Anne Lantian Jing.
4. Lloyd Knight and Laurel Dalley Smith in Martha Graham’s Cave of the Heart (1946). Photo by Ana María Núñez .
5. Xin Ying and Anne Souder in Martha Graham’s Cave of the Heart (1946). Photo by Ana María Núñez .
6. Xin Ying wearing Noguchi’s Spider Dress in Martha Graham’s Cave of the Heart (1946). Photo by Anne Lantian Jing.

13/01/2025

SoYoung An (.young.an) as the woman and Antonio Leone () as the Minotaur in Martha Graham’s () Errand into the Maze (1947), which was performed at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre in Philadelphia as part of the Society for Classical Studies (SCS) / Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) 2025 Annual Meeting on January 4.

The performance was co-organized by Nina Papathanasopoulou (), Professor of Classical Studies at College Year in Athens, and James Ker, Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, both members of the Classics in the Community Committee, to honor Graham’s contribution to Greek myth and to engage the larger Philadelphia community in the study of the ancient Greek world.

Photos by Scott Serio for Eclipse Newswire .

11/01/2025

Martha Graham’s deep engagement with Greek Myth was celebrated during this year’s Society for Classical Studies (SCS) / Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) 2025 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

A performance of two of Graham’s Greek-themed works, Cave of the Heart (1946), a dance based on the myth of Medea, and Errand into the Maze (1947), her duet loosely based on the story of the Minotaur, were presented at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre in downtown Philadelphia. Nina Papathanasopoulou, creator of Martha Graham and Greek Myth, Professor of Classical Studies at College Year in Athens, and Public Engagement Coordinator for the SCS, co-organized the performance together with James Ker, Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

Photos: Nina, James and the Martha Graham Company’s Artistic Director, Janet Eilber, during their opening remarks at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre in Philadelphia. Photos by Anne Lantian Jing.

10/01/2025

Nina Papathanasopoulou, creator of Martha Graham and Greek Myth and Professor of Classical Studies at College Year in Athens, co-organized with Ronnie Ancona, Emerita Professor of Classics at Hunter College and CUNY, a panel on “Dance and Myth: The Reception of the Greeks by Martha Graham” during the Society for Classical Studies / Archaeological Institute of America 2025 Annual Meeting on January 4 in Philadelphia. The panel included five academic talks as well as a discussion with the Martha Graham Dance Company's Artistic Director, Janet Eilber, and two of the Company’s excellent dancers, Anne Souder () and Lloyd Knight ().

All photos by Ana María Núñez
1, 2, 3, 4, 5: Nina Papathanasopoulou during her talk ‘Tracing the Ancient Literary and Visual Sources
in Martha Graham’s Greek-themed Dances”
6. Nina Papathanasopoulou with her panel co-organizer, Ronnie Ancona.
7. Nina Papathanasopoulou introducing the Martha Graham Dance Company members, Janet Eilber,
Anne Souder, and Lloyd Knight.
8. Nina Papathanasopoulou with Lloyd Knight and Anne Souder.

04/01/2025

Martha Graham’s deep engagement with Greek Myth will be celebrated during theSociety for Classical Studies (SCS)/Archaeological Institute of America 2025 Joint Annual Meeting in Philadelphia on January 4, 2025. The Martha Graham Dance will perform Cave of the Heart (1946) and Errand Into the Maze (1947), two of Graham’s Greek-inspired works, at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre in downtown Philadelphia.

The performance will include introductory remarks by:
James Ker, Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania
Nina Papathanasopoulou, Professor of Classical Studies at College Year in Athens
Janet Eilber, Artistic Director of the Martha Graham Dance

A post-show discussion with the directors and dancers moderated by Prof. Papathanasopoulou Ninapa Pathanasopoulou will follow the performance.

For more information and tickets 🔗 https://myptc.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org/92277/92323?promoApplied=true

So Young An and Lorenzo Pagano in Martha Graham’s Errand into the Maze. Photo by Dragan Perkovski. Courtesy of Martha Graham Resources.

03/01/2025

Martha Graham’s deep engagement with Greek Myth will be celebrated during the Society for Classical Studies (SCS)/ Archaeological Institute of America 2025 Joint Annual Meeting in Philadelphia on January 4, 2025. The Martha Graham Dance will perform Cave of the Heart (1946) and Errand Into the Maze (1947), two of Graham’s Greek-inspired works, at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre in downtown Philadelphia.

The performance will include introductory remarks by:
James Ker, Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania
Nina Papathanasopoulou, Professor of Classical Studies at College Year in Athens
Janet Eilber, Artistic Director of the Martha Graham Dance

A post-show discussion with the directors and dancers moderated by Prof. Papathanasopoulou Nina Papathanasopoulou Myers will follow the performance.

Read more here 🔗 https://classicalstudies.org/scs-blog/jker1b/blog-martha-graham-meets-ancient-greece-philadelphia

For more information and tickets 🔗 https://myptc.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org/92277/92323?promoApplied=true

02/01/2025

Martha Graham’s deep engagement with Greek Myth will be celebrated during the Society for Classical Studies (SCS)/ Archaeological Institute of America 2025 Joint Annual Meeting in Philadelphia on January 4, 2025. The Martha Graham Dance will perform Cave of the Heart (1946) and Errand Into the Maze (1947), two of Graham’s Greek-inspired works, at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre in downtown Philadelphia.

The performance will include introductory remarks by:
James Ker, Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania
Nina Papathanasopoulou, Professor of Classical Studies at College Year in Athens
Janet Eilber, Artistic Director of the Martha Graham Dance

A post-show discussion with the directors and dancers moderated by Prof. Papathanasopoulou Nina Papathanasopoulou Myers will follow the performance.

For more information and tickets 🔗 https://myptc.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org/92277/92323?promoApplied=true

31/12/2024

Join the Martha Graham and Greek Myth journey through myth, art, and dance!

Nina Papathanasopoulou Myers, the Initiative’s Creator and Producer of the Martha Graham & Greek Myth Presentations would like to thank her various collaborators in 2024:

Penny Diamantopoulou - choreographer and regisseur for all presentations, arranging Graham dance demonstrations and restaging Graham’s repertory
Martha Graham Dance - for assistance with the Graham archives and for permission to use photos and perform excerpts from Graham’s repertory
Rafael Molina and Graham For Europe - for including us in the Graham community of Europe and inviting us to Venice
Eleftheria Iliopoulou, Vassia Kolliou, Marianna Papakonstantinou, Maritina Katsimpraki, Marianna Tsikmanli, Mara Tsourma, Ναταλία Καλογεροπούλου - our Greek dancers performing regularly in the Martha Graham and Greek Myth presentations
Stefania Coloru, , Audrey de Texier, Maria Biosa, .aol, Laura Rivet, Aleth Berenice, Lucas Sverdlen - our dancers in Venice, Italy
University Of Chicago, Columbia University, Barnard College, Stella Nisiriou, Δωδεκανησιακή Μέλισσα, Smithsonian Journeys, Ponant - for their invitations and hosting
Danai Eva, - our academic research and production assistants
OPUS Integrated Communication , , Natalia Katifori - our communication and social media coordinators
Dimitris Karaiskos - our poster and program designer
Agapios Agapiadis, Nicholas Brouzakis, Vanessa Daou - our photographers and videographers
Dimitra Dermitzaki - our production manager for our upcoming 2025 productions

Our followers, fans, and audience members for their overwhelmingly positive feedback and support!
Stay tuned for the 2025 journey…

30/12/2024

As 2024 is coming to a close, we remember all 2024 events that centered on Martha Graham’s engagement with Greek myth.

1) “Justice, Honor, and Gender Dynamics in Martha Graham’s Clytemnestra” -talk by Nina Papathanasopoulou Myers
Society for Classical Studies / Archaeological Institute of America Annual Meeting, Chicago, USA - January 5, 2024

2) “Martha Graham & Greek Myth: Jocasta and Oedipus”
Special performance for the College Advisory Council
Θέατρο ΕΛΕΡ, Athens, Greece - April 13, 2024
Speaker: Nina Papathanasopoulou Myers
Choreographer and Restaging of Graham’s Repertory: Penny Diamantopoulou
Dancers: , , , , ,
Production Assistant:
Photos:

3) “Female Empowerment and Redemption in Martha Graham’s Clytemnestra”-talk by
University/ 2024 Classics and Ancient Studies Lecture
New York, USA - April 19, 2024

4) “Martha Graham & Greek Myth”
Municipal Theater of Rhodes, Greece - May 18, 2024
Speaker:
Choreographer and Restaging of Graham’s Repertory: .diamant
Dancers: , , , , ,
Production Assistant:
Photos:
Organization: & Δωδεκανησιακή Μέλισσα

5) “Martha Graham & Greek Myth PART 2: Clytemnestra”
2024 Summer Intensive: Venice, Italy - July 16, 2024
Speaker:
Choreographer and Restaging of Graham’s Repertory: .diamant
Dancers: , , , , .aol, , .berenice,
Photos and Video:
Organizer and Host:

6) "Martha Graham & Greek Myth: A Dancer's Approach to the Stories and Heroes of the Ancient Greeks"
Smithsonian Journeys /Ponant trip to the Aegean Sea - lecture by - October 4, 2024

7) “The Politics of Violence in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, Euripides’ Iphigeneia at Aulis, and Martha Graham’s Clytemnestra” - published December 2024

🙏 to Martha Graham Dance for all Graham photos and repertory materials.

28/12/2024

The Trojan queen Hecuba, wife of King Priam of Troy and mother of 19 children—including Hector, Paris, Cassandra, and Polyxena—is one of the most tragic figures in Greek mythology. During the Trojan War, she witnesses the murder of her husband, loses her sons, endures the sacrifice of her daughter Polyxena, sees her daughter Cassandra sold into slavery, and buries her grandson, Astyanax, Hector’s son. Despite calls from the dance world to retire, Martha Graham embodied the grieving, powerless queen at the age of 73 in her 1967 work Cortege of Eagles, her final role as a performer.

Cassandra, a Trojan princess gifted with the power of prophecy but cursed never to be believed, foresees the fall of Troy but is ignored. After the city is sacked, she is enslaved by the Greek hero Agamemnon and taken to Mycenae, where Agamemnon’s wife, Clytemnestra, kills them both. Martha Graham brought Cassandra to life in her 1958 dance Clytemnestra, dramatizing her fateful journey to Mycenae and her tragic death.

Polyxena, the youngest daughter of Hecuba and Priam, is sacrificed at the tomb of Achilles so that his ghost may claim her as a prize in the underworld. This act of cruelty underscores the unbearable suffering of the Trojans in the wake of Troy’s fall. Polyxena is a central figure in Martha Graham’s 1967 Cortege of Eagles, which explores the devastation of Troy.

Andromache, the wife of Hector and mother of Astyanax, endures immense suffering: she loses her husband in battle, is enslaved by the Greeks, and witnesses the brutal murder of her son, who is thrown from Troy’s walls. Andromache is a prominent character in two of Martha Graham’s works: Cortege of Eagles (1967) and Andromache’s Lament (1982), both of which capture her sorrow and resilience.

Images: (1) Neoptolemos attacks Priam with a spear from the left as Hecuba, Priam's wife, gesticulates in despair. Attic Red-Figure amphora. ca. 500 BCE. Attributed to the Nikoxenos Painter. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York.

(2) The r**e of Cassandra by the lesser Ajax in Athena’s temple at Troy. Campanian Red-Figure Hydria. ca. 340-320 BCE. Attributed to the Danaid Group. The British Museum. London.

(3) The sacrifice of the Trojan princess Polyxena. Black-Figure Amphora. ca. 570-550 BCE. Attributed to the Tyrrhenian Group or to the Timiades Painter. The British Museum. London.

(4) Hector saying goodbye to his wife Andromache and son Astyanax before his duel with Achilles. Apulian Red-Figure Column-Krater. ca. 370-360 BCE. Found in Ruvo. Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Jatta. Ruvo di Puglia, Bari, Italy.

20/12/2024

Alcestis is imagined as one of the most honorable women and the best of wives because she agrees to die in the place of her husband Admetus. Her story is dramatized in Euripides’ 438 BCE tragedy “Alcestis”, the earliest of his surviving plays. In the tragedy, Herakles comes to rescue Alcestis by wrestling and overcoming the personified Death. Martha Graham created her own dance “Alcestis” in 1960. However, there is not enough information to reconstruct this dance and so it is no longer part of the Graham repertory.

Image: Alcestis (right), Herakles (middle) and Hermes (left). Attic Black-Figure Amphora. ca. 525-520 BCE. Attributed to the Schaukelmaler Painter. Found in Vulci. The Louvre Museum. Paris.

18/12/2024

Electra is primarily known for her profound attachment to her father, Agamemnon. When her mother Clytemnestra kills him upon his return from Troy, Electra’s world is shattered. She mourns excessively, unable to move forward with her life. She is obsessed with revenge and waits for Orestes’ return. Graham reimagined Electra in her 1958 dance “Clytemnestra” as a dynamic and vengeful woman, determined to kill her mother.

Iphigeneia is sacrificed by her father Agamemnon after a prophecy urges him to do so for the successful sailing of the Greek fleet to Troy. Unable to accept that the life of a young girl should be sacrificed for the sake of a war, and questioning why Iphigeneia was deemed less important than Helen, Iphigeneia’s mother Clytemnestra decides to kill Agamemnon upon his return. In some versions of the myth, as in the one suggested on this vase, Iphigeneia is saved by the goddess Artemis and replaced by a deer, an indication perhaps of the absurdity of having an innocent young girl die for the sake of a war. Iphigeneia’s sacrifice becomes a central episode in Graham’s 1958 dance “Clytemnestra” and the choreographer underlines the cruelty of the action and the suffering that it causes.

Images: (1) Electra mourning at the tomb of Agamemnon. Apulian Red- Figure Bell Krater. ca.375-350 BCE. Attributed to the Judgement Painter. The British Museum. London.

(2) The sacrifice of Iphigeneia. Apulian Red-Figure Volute-Krater. ca. 370-350 BCE. Attributed close to the Iliupersis Painter. The British Museum. London.

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Happy New Year! Warm wishes for a productive, creative, and meaningful 2025! Join our Martha Graham and Greek Myth Journey through Myth, Art, and Dance. Nina Papathanasopoulou Myers and the Martha Graham and Greek Myth team

Martha Graham & Greek Myth Part 2: Clytemnestra was presented at the Graham for Europe 2024 Summer Intensive in Venice, Italy. Research/Presentation: Nina Papathanasopoulou Myers Choreography and Restaging of Graham Repertory: Penny Diamantopoulou Dancers: Sofia Belem Garza Garcia Maria Biosa Stefania Coloru Aleth Berenice Heger-Hedløy Priscila Montemayor Laura Rivet Lucas Sverdlen Audrey de Texier Video: Vanessa Daou

Jennifer DePalo as Electra in Martha Graham’s Clytemnestra

According to Classics scholar, Charles Segal, “Electra's story has a single, sharp focus of interest which culminates and is essentially complete at the matricide itself.” Footage from Jennifer DePalo as Electra in Martha Graham’s Clytemnestra. NYU Skirball Center, 2009, Courtesy of Martha Graham Resources #marthagrahamandgreekmyth #marthagraham #marthagrahamdance #ancientgreece #greekmythology #performance #electra

PBS Dance in America film of Martha Graham’s Clytemnestra in 1979

Nina Papathanasopoulou, Professor of Classical Studies College Year in Athens and creator of Martha Graham and Greek Myth argues that Graham portrays Electra’s desire for revenge by making use of a chorus of Furies, which accompanies Electra in many of her entrances. This chorus has two functions: on the one hand, it represents Electra’s desire for revenge and marks her hostility towards her mother; on the other, the Furies’ presence connects Electra to Clytemnestra, as they accompany Clytemnestra too when she takes her revenge against Agamemnon. Video: Electra enters with the Furies during the prologue in Graham’s Clytemnestra. Footage from a PBS Dance in America film of Martha Graham’s Clytemnestra in 1979. Courtesy of Martha Graham Resources. #marthagrahamandgreekmyth #marthagraham #marthagrahamdance #ancientgreece #greekmythology #performance #electra

Martha Graham presenting Iphigeneia’s sacrifice

Footage from a PBS Dance in America film of Martha Graham’s Clytemnestra in 1979. Courtesy of Martha Graham Resources. “In her dance ‘Clytemnestra’ Martha Graham presents Iphigeneia’s sacrifice as a gender conflict between savage war-hungry men and a vulnerable girl whom they kill to fulfill their appetite. Iphigeneia is placed faced down on top of military spears, a visual tableau which emphasizes her subjugation under male dominance.” – Nina Papathanasopoulou, Professor of Classical Studies at College Year in Athens and Creator of Martha Graham and Greek Myth

Martha Graham’s Clytemnestra

In Graham’s Clytemnestra, Clytemnestra remembers all the events that led to her own murder. The heroine’s reflections on her own life constitute a kind of self-imposed trial, asking – as the Greek tragic poet Aeschylus did for Orestes – whether her crime was justified, and redrawing the larger narrative in markedly gendered terms. By having Clytemnestra reweave her own narrative, Graham empowers the mythical queen and asks us to recognize and to find value in the experiences of women. - Nina Papathanasopoulou Myers, Professor of Classical Studies at College Year in Athens College Year in Athens and Creator of Martha Graham and Greek Myth Video: Ben Schultz (Agamemnon) and Abdiel Jacobsen (Orestes), Peiju Chien-Pott (Clytemnestra), and Lorenzo Pagano (Aegisthus) in Martha Graham’s Clytemnestra.

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