Danse Macabre

"A Greek funeral inscription of Aix-les-Bains reads: "Among the dead there are two crowds: while the one errs about restlessly on earth, the other dances around with the constellations of the radiant stars. I am among the latter host, a god I found as a leader". The god to whom this initiate refers is Dionysos, known to Sophokles as "the dance-leader of the fire-breathing stars", the Syrian Ba'al marqod or "Lord of the dancing ground", the god Shiva as atar aja or "Lord of the cosmic dance" of the Hindoos. The idea of a dance of the souls of the departed has been borrowed by Jews and Christians. "In the world to come God as the dance-leader will conduct a dance for the righteous". In the Marcionite apocryphal Acts of John Jesus leads a mystical dance of his disciples. According to St. Augustine this dance was known and practised by the Priscillianists of Spain and other heretics. It may be derived from the dances practised by the Jewish mystics described in Philo 's De vita contemplativa. St. John Chrysostom who condemned secular dancing, declaring that "where there is dancing there is the devil", says that Christians have got their feet not for this indecent exercise but "so that we can dance with the choirs of the angels"."

The above excerpt in full can be found at: http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/27830174?uid=3739400&uid=2&uid=3737720&uid=4&sid=21101721822517 (log in required)

I have always found the idea of the danse macabre interesting. Perhaps it is because of the dancing skeletons or the idea that death unites us all. Men and women are all equal in the end and our earthly possessions become worthless. Many cultures to do not share in this perspective which seems to be evident in a sense with grave goods and lavish ritual burials. Often these grave goods denote status and were meant to be used by the individual somehow in the after life. Does the fact that some individuals belonging's reflect the status they possessed in life mean that they are still holders of a superior status in death? We will never truly know but it would be interesting to do more research into this idea:)


-Maia B