Dance of Zalongo

The Dance of Zalongo refers to the mass suicide of women from Souli and their children that occurred in the aftermath of the invasion of Ottoman troops on December 16, 1803. The event is commemorated in Greece in the context of the Greek War of Independence. A number of 60 women were trapped near the village of Zalongo in Epirus, modern Greece, then Ottoman Empire and decided to turn towards the cliff's edge and die with their infants and children rather to submit to the Ottoman troops chasing them. According to tradition they did this one after the other while dancing and singing. The name also refers a number of Greek theatrical dramas and a song in folk style, commemorating the event, named "Dance of Zalongo".