The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus (Greek: Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnisos; see also list of Greek place names), is a large peninsula, located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth. During the late Middle Ages and the Ottoman era, the peninsula was known as the Morea (Greek: Μωρέας, colloq. Μωριάς), a name still in colloquial use.
The peninsula is divided among three regions of Greece: most of it belongs to the Peloponnese region, and parts belong to the West Greece and Attica regions.
It was here that the Greek War of Independence began; the Peloponnesians have had an almost total dominance of politics and government in Greece since then.
The Peloponnese covers an area of some 21,549.6 km² (8,320 square miles) and constitutes the southernmost part of mainland Greece. While technically it may be considered an island, since the construction of the Corinth Canal in 1893 – like other peninsulas that have been separated from their mainland by man-made bodies of waters – it is rarely, if ever, referred to as an "island". It has two land connections with the rest of Greece, a natural one at the Isthmus of Corinth, and an artificial one in the shape of the Rio-Antirio bridge (completed 2004).
Dora Stratou (Greek: Δόρα Στράτου) (Athens, 1903–1988) was a significant contributor to Greek Folk Dancing and Greek Folk Music. She issued one of the largest series of folk music in the world with 50 records and is the founder of the Greek Dances-Dora Stratou Society.
Her parents Maria Koromila and Nikolaos Stratos brought her up in the upper class urban environment of Athens at the beginning of the twentieth century, along with her brother Andreas Stratou.
Dora Stratou wrote the book Greek Traditional Dances in 1979. It was printed by the Greek Educational Books Organisation in Athens 1979. She worked with Simon Karras and other ethnomusicologists. She maintained a record of traditions, recorded music, filmed dancers, interviewed villagers on dance topics, costumes, folkore, etc.
In her book she begins with the quote: I write what my eyes have seen, what went through my mind and what my soul fell in love with... Her true passion for Greek Dance led her to establish one of the most unusual living museums in the world, The Greek Dances Theatre in Athens. This theatre group dances the regional dances in Greece, the same way as they were done hundreds of years ago and the dancers still wear the authentic costumes of yesteryear. It is one of the finest living museums in Greece and unique in the world.
Each day I live
I have so much to say
But words don't flow as good as they should
Each day I live
Is such a game to play
I'll take my time and give it a chance today
I don't know why
I seem to fall to these things
But love can't live then just disappear
I'll try to speak
There is so much to say
I come on
I come on
Oh, we just push on through
With a whole bunch of cigarettes
Jammed between 12 karat teeth
And a whiskey soaked
Collars and cuffs
And a whole heap of romantic notions
We set sail, always spill on the ocean
So click heels to a dance of devotion
So click heels
Oh, we take chances
With a whole bunch of cigarettes
Cracks shot from 2 twelve golden teeth
Smearing blood on our collars and cuffs
With a book full of great things to say
So we bull and
Forget about the...
We click heels to a dance 'neath the ocean
We click heels to a dance 'neath the ocean
A wishy-washy...
And under the waves and guess what?
Now, there's no one to save
Oh, come on
Oh, come on
Oh, we talk bitter
Oh, we talk bitter
And we spit at the sea
As he swallows us whole
And spits out the Bully Bones
So click heels
So click heels