From Southern Greece to northern Russia, people living in agrarian communities have long believed in dancing goddesses, mystical female spirits who spend their nights and days dancing in the fields and forests. In The Dancing Goddesses, archaeologist, linguist, and lifelong folkdancer Elizabeth Wayland Barber follows the trail of these spirit maidenslong associated with fertility, marriage customs, and domestic pursuitsfrom their early appearance in traditional folktales and harvest rituals to their more recent incarnations in fairytales and present-day dance. Illustrated with photographs, maps, and line drawings, the result is a brilliantly original work that stands at the intersection of archaeology and folk traditionsat once a rich portrait of our rich agrarian ancestry and an enchanting reminder of the human need to dance.