ABSTRACT
“Ainoi,” “Laudes,” or “Pasa Pnoe” is the term given to the 148th, 149th and 150th Psalms. They are poetic subjects, depicted from the Early Christian period, mainly in illustrated manuscripts and monumental paintings. Their main content is the praise of the Lord by humans and nature through various ways, especially music and dance.
Dance is rarely painted; up to the 14th century, when “Ainoi” appeared in a monumental painting, dancers were either individual women or groups of men. Female group dances of “Ainoi” appear in monumental paintings only from the 16th century onwards. Interpretive, they are related to the functions of the narthex, ie., with the liturgy of Orthros and the Funeral Service, especially with the dances of the Easter period associated with the Resurrection. Iconographical, they come from relevant representations of Greco-Roman Antiquity, and although they mirror religious dances that occur in the sacred space of the church, they can be associated with real dances of the era. Their association with contemporary conditions is reflected in costumes and jewellery of dancers, as well as with the presence of sound components in the hair of the dancers.
