The magadis ( grc, Μάγαδις)Athenaeus, Deipnosophists, 14.36
/ref> was an ancient Greek musical instrument, possibly a Greek harp. It is usually believed to be a stringed instrument similar to a

psaltery A psaltery ( el, ψαλτήρι) (or sawtry, an archaic form) is a fretboard-less box zither (a simple chordophone) and is considered the archetype of the zither and dulcimer; the harp, virginal, harpsichord and clavichord were also inspired by ...

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

, though some earlier sources like the translated fragments of

Posidonius Posidonius (; grc-gre, wikt:Ποσειδώνιος, Ποσειδώνιος , "of Poseidon") "of Apamea (Syria), Apameia" (ὁ Ἀπαμεύς) or "of Rhodes" (ὁ Ῥόδιος) (), was a Greeks, Greek politician, astronomer, astrologer, geog ...

discuss arguments that it may have been a woodwind. Modern scholars have mostly accepted the string instrument classification while noting that the evidence from ancient texts "falls well short of proving it." Scholars believe the word may be Lydian in origin.

Background

Archaic writers like

Alkman Alcman (; grc-gre, wikt:Ἀλκμάν, Ἀλκμάν ''Alkmán''; floruit, fl. 7th century BC) was an Ancient Greek Choral poetry, choral lyric poet from Sparta. He is the earliest representative of the Alexandrian canon of the Nine Lyric ...

and Anakreon mention both ''magadis'' and ''pektis''. According to

Aristoxenos Aristoxenus of Tarentum ( el, Ἀριστόξενος ὁ Ταραντῖνος; born 375, fl. 335 BC) was a Greek Peripatetic philosopher, and a pupil of Aristotle. Most of his writings, which dealt with philosophy, ethics and music, have been ...

''magadis'' and ''pektis'' were the same instrument; if this is correct ''magadis'' would have been associated with dancing or serenades as the ''pektis'' was, however, direct literary evidence about the ''magadis'' and its role in society is lacking. Euphorion wrote that the magadis was an ancient instrument, but that in latter times it was altered, and had the name also changed to that of the

Sambuca Sambuca () is an Italian anise-flavoured, usually colourless, liqueur. Its most common variety is often referred to as ''white sambuca'' to differentiate it from other varieties that are deep blue (''black sambuca'') or bright red (''red sambuc ...

. Adding that it was popular on

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Anatolia, Asia Minor ...

and that a sculptor named Lesbothemis (Λεσβοθέμις), about whom little else is known, depicted one of the

muses In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the p ...

holding the ''magadis''. Menaechmus (Μέναιχμος), in his treatise on Artists, said that the pektis (πηκτὶς), which he called identical with the magadis, was invented by

Sappho Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...

. Scholars have said it is an invention of the

Lydians The Lydians (known as ''Sparda'' to the Achaemenids, Old Persian cuneiform Wikt:𐎿𐎱𐎼𐎭, 𐎿𐎱𐎼𐎭) were Anatolians, Anatolian people living in Lydia, a region in western Anatolia, who spoke the distinctive Lydian language, an ...

Thracians The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. ...

. There is a discussion in ''

Deipnosophistae The ''Deipnosophistae'' is an early 3rd-century AD Greek work ( grc, Δειπνοσοφισταί, ''Deipnosophistaí'', lit. "The Dinner Sophists/Philosophers/Experts") by the Greek author Athenaeus of Naucratis. It is a long work of liter ...

'' ("Sophists at Dinner") about whether the ''magadis'' is a

-like string instrument or a woodwind similar to the ''

aulos An ''aulos'' ( grc, αὐλός, plural , ''auloi'') or ''tibia'' (Latin) was an ancient Greek wind instrument, depicted often in art and also attested by archaeology. Though ''aulos'' is often translated as "flute" or "double flute", it was usu ...

'' or ''

kithara The kithara (or Latinized cithara) ( el, κιθάρα, translit=kithāra, lat, cithara) was an ancient Greek musical instrument in the yoke lutes family. In modern Greek the word ''kithara'' has come to mean "guitar", a word which etymologic ...

'' with those involved eventually reaching agreement that it was a string instrument. The gathered company then turn to the question of whether the instrument is of Lydian origin beginning a sharp dispute between Athenaeus and

Verses

Anakreon's verse indicates the ''magadis'' was a plucked

string instrument String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the ...

:Holding the magadis I pluck its twenty strings; But you, Leukaspis, are in the bloom of youth According to Aristoxenos (as quoted by

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...

), the "twenty strings" mentioned by Anakreon would have been plucked without a

plectrum A plectrum is a small flat tool used for plucking or strumming of a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick and is held as a separate tool in the player's hand. In harpsic ...

. The skill of a ''magadis'' player is described in a

dithyramb The dithyramb (; grc, διθύραμβος, ''dithyrambos'') was an ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility; the term was also used as an epithet of the god. Plato, in ''The Laws'', while discussing ...

by Telestes:ᾰλλος δ' ᾰλλαν χλαγγὰν ίεὶς / χεοατόφωνον ὲοέυιζε μάγαδιν / ��νπενταοοάβδω χοοδᾱν ὰονμῶ / χέοα χαμψιδίανλον ὰναστοωψῶν τάχοςEach man hurling forth a different sound from the others Roused up the horn-voiced magadis Turning his hand quickly back and forth across Five-staved joinings of the strings Like a runner at the turning post Scholars have speculated whether "horn-voiced" (''keratophonon'') could be a reference to plucking of strings with a plectrum, or perhaps a reference to the tone of the instrument, or a structural element of the instrument.

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...

mentions Thracian soldiers playing ox-hide trumpets (''salpinyxin omoboeias'') in what he calls the "manner of the magadis".

References

{{Greek musical instruments String instruments Archaic Greece Ancient Greek musical instruments