— Overview
Modern viewers, the essay says, cannot fully understand the artworks of ancient Greece, nor can they possess that period’s sense of art. Painting, sculpture, music and poetry of that age reflect its temper; even when they are read again now, they are read from the present, and there is a limit to what can be recovered by anyone who did not live then. Western popular culture, too, therefore approaches such works from a present vantage and a present background. Mamma Mia begins as the story of Donna, who runs a small motel on a small island in the Greek Mediterranean. People in the film prefer to eat and drink outdoors rather than inside, with a light drink and a simple snack, in a cool sea wind, as close to nature as they can be. A taverna appears nearby, and a café that becomes a bar by day and by night. The culture, the writer says, is to enjoy the drink itself and the atmosphere, not to drink until one is heavily drunk; a coffee or a glass of beer, much talk, and, when the mood rises, a dance; in the film one finds people talking happily over a drink more often than people drunk, and simple snacks or fruit rather than a heavy spread. The film was shot, the notes say, on Skiathos and Skopelos and on Damouchari, which they name as an island in the Sporades, in order to show the picturesque house where the mother and daughter lived. Skopelos, farther north, joins the blue Aegean to the white houses typical of Greece. Before the filming it was a small island; travellers coming in search of traces of the film made it a tourist place. It draws special notice among the three because Sophie’s wedding was shot there, in a church on a high cliff that can be reached only by a narrow, steep stair; the view from the hundred-metre cliff is, the writer says, moving.
Because the island is small, most journeys go via Athens and nearby Skiathos. At the wedding-eve party the Greek gods give a blessing, and Donna looks back on a young love that did not succeed, and on the pain of parting and a time of wandering, not only as grief and regret but as a memory and a badge of life. Skopelos is also known for wine in Greek myth. Ariadne, daughter of King Minos, falls at once for Theseus, tells him how to defeat the Minotaur, and helps him out of the labyrinth; betraying her father, she flees with Theseus, is left alone on Naxos, and becomes the wife of Dionysus. Three sons are born, one of them named Scipolus, from whom, the notes say, the island takes its name because he first found it. Skiathos, too, is closely tied to Dionysus, a place where he was worshipped; he is the god of wine, romance and festival, and the film’s scenes of dancing, shared wine and shared music are read here as a modern Dionysian feast. Among the songs in the film are ABBA songs that rang through the 1970s; that decade stays in the 1970s, and no year of the film itself is given in the unique body, so none is supplied here. Shop chrome is unused.
— Contents and key concepts
A present vantage, and a table in the open air
Modern viewers, the essay says, cannot fully understand the artworks of ancient Greece, nor can they possess that period’s sense of art. Painting, sculpture, music and poetry born in that age reflect its temper; even when they are read again now, they are read from today’s situation, and there is a limit to what can be recovered by anyone who did not live then. For that reason Western popular culture, too, approaches such works from a present vantage and a present background.
Mamma Mia begins as the story of Donna, who runs a small motel on a small island in the Greek Mediterranean. People of the past in Greece, the notes say, lived outdoors with nature as a companion, and were cheerful and close to nature; that temper, the writer thinks, also marks the film. A wedding feast and a modest party in front of the motel show an outdoor table culture: people prefer to eat and drink outside rather than inside, with a light drink and a simple snack, in a cool sea wind, as close to nature as they can be.
Nearby, a taverna appears, and a café that becomes a bar by day and by night. The culture, the writer says, is to enjoy the drink itself and the atmosphere, not to drink until one is heavily drunk. A Greek may order a coffee or a glass of beer, talk at length, and, when the mood rises, even dance. In the film one finds people talking happily over a drink more often than people drunk, and simple snacks or fruit rather than a heavy spread of food with the drink.
Skiathos, Skopelos, Damouchari, and a church on a cliff
In order to show the picturesque house where the mother and daughter lived, the film was shot, the notes say, on Skiathos and Skopelos and on Damouchari, which they name as an island in the Sporades, places that still keep a natural beauty. Skopelos, farther north, joins the blue of the Aegean to the white houses typical of Greece.
Before the filming it was a small island; travellers coming in search of traces of the film made it a tourist place. It draws special notice among the three because the wedding in the film was shot there. Sophie’s wedding takes place in a church set on a high cliff, so that a narrow, steep stair must be climbed; the view from the hundred-metre cliff is, the writer says, moving. Because the island is, among Greek islands, a small one, most journeys go via Athens and nearby Skiathos.
The film, the essay adds, also praises, almost without saying so, the loves and lives of the Greek gods. At the wedding-eve party the gods give a blessing, and from that last scene one may see that Donna looks back on a young love that did not succeed, and on the pain of parting and a time of wandering, not only as a scene of grief and regret but as a memory, and as a badge of joy and of life.
Ariadne, Dionysus, and songs of the 1970s
Of the places where the film was shot, Skopelos is also known for wine, a fame the notes find in Greek myth. The myth that cannot be left out here is Ariadne’s. She is the daughter of King Minos; she falls at once for the hero Theseus, tells him how to defeat the Minotaur, and helps him out of the labyrinth. Having betrayed her father, she flees with Theseus, is left alone on Naxos, and becomes the wife of Dionysus. Three sons are born to them, one of them named Scipolus; the island, the notes say, takes its name because he first found it. Skiathos, too, is closely tied to Dionysus in myth, a place where he was worshipped.
Dionysus is the god of wine, of romance and of festival, so the film’s scenes of dancing with pleasure, of drinking wine together and of sharing music, are read here as a modern Dionysian feast. Another god is also tied to the film: Aphrodite. In one scene Donna is told that one of her wishes is to find “the spring of Venus”; in Greek myth Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty. The unique body breaks off there, and the rest of that thread is not invented here.
Among the musical elements of the film, the notes say, are ABBA songs that rang through the 1970s. They may look as if they have no necessary place, yet they were fitted to the plot and make a harmony; unlike an ordinary film, a musical element is included, so that one can attend more easily to the music, and outdoor scenes are joined by scenes that feel like a stage or a music video, as if a curtain had come down between acts. That decade stays in the 1970s. No year of the film itself is given in the unique body, and none is supplied here. The same Korean essay, at fuller length, is on CampusDown.
Sources
- A student essay on why a modern viewer cannot fully recover the art-sense of ancient Greece, and on outdoor tables, a taverna and a café-bar in Mamma Mia.
- Filming on Skiathos, Skopelos and Damouchari, as the notes name them, a church on a hundred-metre cliff, and Donna’s memory of a failed young love as a badge, not only as regret.
- Ariadne, Dionysus and a spring of Venus, with ABBA songs of the 1970s left in that decade, and no film year supplied where the notes give none.
Last updated: 14 November 2026
Frequently asked questions
What does the essay say a modern viewer can and cannot recover of ancient Greek art?
Modern people, it says, cannot fully understand the artworks of ancient Greece, nor can they possess that period’s sense of art. Works of that age reflect its temper; even when they are read again now, they are read from the present, and there is a limit to what can be recovered by anyone who did not live then. Western popular culture, too, therefore approaches such works from a present vantage.
Where was the film shot, in these notes, and how is Sophie’s wedding reached?
The notes say it was shot on Skiathos and Skopelos and on Damouchari, which they name as an island in the Sporades. Skopelos, farther north, became a tourist place after travellers came in search of traces of the film. Sophie’s wedding was shot at a church on a high cliff, reached only by a narrow, steep stair; the view from the hundred-metre cliff is called moving. Because the island is small, most journeys go via Athens and nearby Skiathos.
Which myths, and which songs, do the notes tie to the film, and how are the years to be read?
Ariadne, daughter of Minos, helps Theseus against the Minotaur, is left on Naxos, and becomes the wife of Dionysus; a son named Scipolus is said to have first found the island that takes his name. Skiathos, too, is tied to Dionysus, and the film’s dancing and shared wine are read as a modern Dionysian feast. Among the songs are ABBA songs that rang through the 1970s; that decade stays in the 1970s, and no year of the film itself is given in the unique body, so none is supplied here.
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