🎻 Ethnic and folk music — Greek

Greek music includes island, mainland and urban traditions shaped by Byzantine, Ottoman, Balkan and Mediterranean heritages. The bouzouki became emblematic mainly through 20th-century urban rebetiko and laïkó, and therefore does not represent Greek tradition as a whole on its own. The Cretan lyra, the laouto, the clarinet of Epirus, the violin of the islands, the Thracian gaida and the santouri illustrate regional diversity. Rebetiko developed in port cities, particularly among working-class communities and refugees from Asia Minor after 1922. Village dances, island songs, Byzantine liturgical music and contemporary popular song all remain very much alive today.