Modern Greek culture is full of rich traditions and history. One big part of the Greek culture is music, music shows us what Greek culture really is. I will discuss the two famous Greek songs, Zorbas Dance by Mikis Theodorakis and Sto Perigeal by Manos Hadji Dakis. These two songs show us the different sides of Greek culture. Listening to these songs, we will see the ups and downs of the Greek culture, the beauty, and the struggles. We will also capture elements of modern Greek culture.

I chose Modern Greek music as my topic because I love the art of music. Just listening to music can make me imagine many different things about the lyrics and how they shaped their identity due to the theme of the music. Choosing music also helps us understand what modern Greek music is and the culture behind it. Music shows the feelings, stories, a message, and traditions the modern Greek has for others. Hearing Zorbas Dance and Sto Perigiali helps us understand modern Greek culture.

The song Zorbas Dance is different than any music you hear. It is an instrumental song and has a dance shown in the video below. The song Zorbas Dance is also known for Sirtaki which is a popular sound of music the same artists Mikis Theodorakis wrote which also goes back to a film he made. The song a fun energic dance that captures the true special meaning of the Modern Greek culture how they dance with each other and the music playing in the background. The dancing symbols the Greek culture with parties, celebrations, and gatherings they have with each other.

The song Sto Perigeal is a song sang in Greek. It is so different than any other music I have heard. Reading the song lyrics of the song in English I can see that it has to do with love and the time back then. I can see that the song Sto Perigeal captures the beauty of the Greek culture and its past the way the artist is singing the song there is a lot of emotions going on. The story behind this song is that the lyrics written to this song were by a poet named George Seferis. George had won the Nobel prize for this Greek poem. This song translates to connections the Greek culture had with the sea. They were showing their feelings of love to the song. This song had a lot of deep emotions going on, seemed personal to the artist.

This is George Serferis.

Zorbas Dance was more a dance song, there was no singing going on, just a group dancing and instrumental music playing, it was very modern. As for the Sto Perigeal song there was singing going on the whole time. Also, the style between both is different Zorbas Dance was reflecting to the background of the modern Greek culture and how they all celebrate as a group (family and friends). And then for the Sto Perigeal there was more about romance of the Greek culture, there was more emotions going on because we can read the lyrics and see what the singer background story of the song is. And it was more about love and emotions. Overall, the Zorbas Dance was instrumental and more of a celebration type of music Greek culture plays and the Sto perigeal is more of a poetic, singalong, loving type of music.

The Zorbas Dance Music. This is a group of men dancing to the song.

The similarities both the songs had was they were both reflecting to the Modern Greek culture and their Everyday lifestyle due to what was going on in the songs. They always had a lot of emotions going on the way the songs were playing the Zorbas dance song was more of happiness and the Sto Perigeal song was more of deep sad heartbroken love song. So, they both had strong emotions playing and I do not know one word in Greek but just by the way the song is played you can tell. Also, another similarity between the songs is their symbolism of the songs they both carry the weight of representing different timelines and facts of the Modern Greek culture.

The Sto Perigali song. This is the seashore the song was mentioning.

Honestly just reflecting on the two songs and about the modern Greek culture the Zorbas dance and Sto Perigeal had both made me learn more about music in diverse cultures. The songs made me realize that music is not just a fun thing to listen to but that there is always a meaning behind any type of music that is made with Lyrics or not. You can feel the intense emotions going on in the song. The song that made me feel more emotion too was the Sto Perigeal song. There were lyrics, but it had a strong emotion going on, the artist was terribly upset when singing things. The singer made me hope in their shoes and feel the sadness going on. As for the Zorbas dance song, since it was more instrumental, you can feel the happiness going on. Overall, both songs helped me get a better understanding about the Modern Greek culture. And again, it helped me understand that there is always a story behind the song.

In conclusion, of talking about and learning about the two songs Zorbas dance and Sto Perigeal made and represented by the Modern Greek culture. Helped me have a deeper understanding of the modern Greek culture. Both songs made me learn the importance of music and dancing and expressing the feelings of music of heartbreak, sadness, and happiness. Also, the songs also made me learn that it can bring all of us together in one and express our feelings without being judged. Learned to express our feelings in dancing, songs, and poems. This project made me learn more about the modern culture and how music plays a part of the Greek culture in the present and past times. The message I would give to others is that it is fun to learn about other cultures' music. It might be different to what music you listen to but there is always a story behind the music created.