Are the Palestinians Of Greek Origins? Watch Them Dance Pyrrichios!

PHOTO: Ancient sculpture depicting Pyrrichios…

By Nick Stamatakis

A few weeks ago, in response to a reader’s comments, I hinted at the likelihood of the Greek origins of the Palestinians, at least partially.  This is a huge issue, and it does not fit in the confines of a short post. First, we must understand that the trade between the Minoan and Mycenean civilizations (the first European civilizations who used writing) and Egypt (and Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine in the wider Levant) dates back to at least 2,500 years BC!! This means the Minoans and Myceneans were in Egypt a full thousand years before the Israelites arrived and were enslaved there…  Multiple archaeological finds from Crete and the wider Middle East verify close contact with the Minoans.  The hieroglyphics used in Egypt and early Crete reveal the same.

How about DNA studies? First, let’s get this out of the way: It has been proven that ancient Minoan DNA is closely related to modern Cretan DNA – especially to the residents of Lasithi in Eastern Crete.  Also, Minoan DNA is similar to Mycenean and modern Greek DNA – and it is not connected to sub-Saharan African DNA.  There is no direct connection to sub-Saharan Africa as some politically correct books (Bernal’s “Black Athena”) suggested 35 years ago.  Studies about Palestinian DNA are so far inconclusive. Still, there are some strong suggestions that Palestinian DNA is related to the ancient DNA of peoples from the central and western Mediterranean.  We do not expect an easy answer to this because for the last 3,000 years, Palestine has been subjected to multiple invasions, occupations, and population movements. One fact is certain: The population movement between Greek lands and Palestine is constant through the centuries. The last remarkable episode was during WWII when tens of thousands of Greeks moved there to escape the Germans mainly staying in Gaza.

We have more conclusive results by examining some non-linguistic cultural traits, such as dancing.  We Greeks are known for our pride in our “Ancient Dances,” particularly the War Dances of the Pontian “Serra” and the Cretan “Pentozali,” both thought to originate in the ancient Greek war dance Pyrrichios.  We call them the “3,000-year-old dances,” although we could also use 4,000 or 5,000 instead. Here is a ceramic miniature from the Archeological Museum of Heraklion, Crete (among the top five archaeological museums on Earth – I had the great opportunity in my early twenties to meet and spend a couple of days with its founder – now-deceased –  archaeologist Manolis Sakellarakis. What an unforgettable experience!)…

Here is another one – dated roughly around 2,000 BC….

Below, in the first two videos, you can see Palestinians dancing their Dabkeh dance; they also believe it is a very ancient dance.  Dabkeh (link here) is danced throughout the Levant (Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan).  The similarities of Dabke with the Pontian Serra and Cretan Pentozali are beyond amazing.  The music, the dresses, the steps, the war attitude, the knives… Yes, the Greek dances are a bit more elaborate, but… I will stop here. Make your own evaluation… And yes, I watched dances from other Arabic countries and even some Kurdish, Persian, and Israeli dances… They have nothing in common with Dabke and the Greek dances…

December 8, 2023, n.stamatakis@aol.com   www.helleniscope.com

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Below the Pontian Serra and the Cretan Pentozali…