In classical antiquity, a crotalum ( κρόταλον ''krotalon'') was a kind of

clapper Clapper or Clappers may refer to: Miscellaneous *Clapper, part of a bell *Clapper (musical instrument), consisting of two pieces of wood struck together *Clapper bridge, an ancient form of bridge *Clapper Post, urban postal service of Vienna (XVI ...

castanet Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a similar ...

used in religious dances by groups in ancient Greece and elsewhere, including the

Korybantes According to Greek mythology, the Korybantes or Corybantes (also Corybants) (; grc-gre, Κορύβαντες) were the armed and crested dancers who worshipped the Phrygian goddess Cybele with drumming and dancing. They are also called the ''Ku ...

. The term has been erroneously supposed by some writers to be the same as the

sistrum A sistrum (plural: sistra or Latin sistra; from the Greek ''seistron'' of the same meaning; literally "that which is being shaken", from ''seiein'', "to shake") is a musical instrument of the percussion family, chiefly associated with ancient ...

. These mistakes are refuted at length by Friedrich Adolph Lampe (1683–1729) in ''De cymbalis veterum''. From the ''

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; grc-x-medieval, Σοῦδα, Soûda; la, Suidae Lexicon) is a large 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas (Σούδας) or Souidas ...

'' and the Scholiast on Aristophanes (''Nubes'', 260), it appears to have been a split reed or cane, which clattered when shaken with the hand. According to Eustathius (''Il.'' XI.160), it was made of shell and brass, as well as wood. Clement of Alexandria attributes the instruments invention to the Sicilians, and forbids the use thereof to the Christians, because of the motions and gestures accompanying the practice. Women who played on the crotalum were termed ''crotalistriae''. Such was Virgil's Copa (2), :''Crispum sub crotalo docta movere latus.'' This line alludes to the dance with crotala (similar to castanets), for which we have the additional testimony of

Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...

(''Saturnalia'' III.14.4‑8). As the instrument made a noise somewhat like that of a crane's bill, the bird was called ''crotalistria'', "player on crotala". Pausanias affirms by way of the epic poet Pisander of Camirus that Heracles did not kill the

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

Lake Stymphalia Lake Stymphalia (Greek: Λίμνη Στυμφαλία - ''Límnē Stymphalía'') is located in the north-eastern part of the Peloponnese, in Corinthia, southern Greece. It is a closed karst basin with a wetland area and an agrarian area. The lake ...

, but that he drove them away by playing on crotala. Based on this, the instrument must be exceedingly ancient. Wilkinson, John Gardner (1878).
The Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians
'. Vol 1. London: John Murray. p. 494. The word ''krotalon'' is often applied, by an easy metaphor, to a noisy talkative person (Aristoph. ''Nub.'' 448; Eurip. ''Cycl.'' 104).

References

{{Greek musical instruments Ancient Greek musical instruments Ancient Roman culture Greek musical instruments European percussion instruments