The Goat Dance
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Pantelis Voulgaris
Joy Coulendianos
Takis Davlopoulos
Nikos Kavoukidis
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
The island of Skyros lies alone and somewhat remote in the northern Aegean. On the last two Sundays before Lent, the people of Skyros celebrate the carnival in the narrow streets of the village. A company of young men from the island, dressed in whatever their fancy suggests, perform the "Comedy," poking fun in improvised verse at the major events of the past year. But the spectacle becomes even stranger when all of a sudden the "Old Men" appear wearing wear masks made of the whole hide of kid goats. In the company of a young man disguised as a bride of Skyros and protected by the "Franks" in European costume, the Old Men jingle their bells with rhythmic movements that set the crowd on fire. The origins of this rite are lost in time. Could it be a revival of the cult of Dionysus? But if the Greek word for tragedy, "tragodia," really does mean song of the goats (tragoi), could it be that we find ourselves face to face with some commemoration of the birth of Tragedy?
