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Music was almost universally present in
ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
society, from marriages, funerals, and religious ceremonies to
theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
, folk music, and the ballad-like reciting of epic poetry. It thus played an integral role in the lives of ancient
Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
. There are some fragments of actual Greek
musical notation Music notation or musical notation is any system used to visually represent aurally perceived music played with instruments or sung by the human voice through the use of written, printed, or otherwise-produced symbols, including notation fo ...
, many literary references, depictions on
ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
and relevant
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
remains, such that some things can be known—or reasonably surmised—about what the music sounded like, the general role of music in society, the economics of music, the importance of a professional caste of musicians, etc. The word ''music'' comes from 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 ...
, the daughters of
Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D ...
and patron goddesses of creative and intellectual endeavours. Concerning the origin of music and musical instruments: the history of music in ancient Greece is so closely interwoven with Greek mythology and legend that it is often difficult to surmise what is historically true and what is myth. The music and music theory of ancient Greece laid the foundation for western music and western music theory, as it would go on to influence the ancient Romans, the early Christian church and the medieval composers. Our understanding of ancient Greek music theory, musical systems, and musical ethos comes almost entirely from the surviving teachings of the
Pythagoreans Pythagoreanism originated in the 6th century BC, based on and around the teachings and beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans. Pythagoras established the first Pythagorean community in the ancient Greek colony of Kroton, ...
,
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
, Philodemus,
Aristoxenus 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 ...
,
Aristides Aristides ( ; grc-gre, Ἀριστείδης, Aristeídēs, ; 530–468 BC) was an ancient Athenian statesman. Nicknamed "the Just" (δίκαιος, ''dikaios''), he flourished in the early quarter of Athens' Classical period and is remember ...
, and
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
. Some ancient Greek philosophers discussed the study of music in ancient Greece.
Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos ( grc, Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, Pythagóras ho Sámios, Pythagoras the Samos, Samian, or simply ; in Ionian Greek; ) was an ancient Ionians, Ionian Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher and the eponymou ...
in particular believed that music was subject to the same mathematical laws of harmony as the mechanics of the cosmos, evolving into an idea known as the
music of the spheres The ''musica universalis'' (literally universal music), also called music of the spheres or harmony of the spheres, is a philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies – the Sun, Moon, and planets – as a fo ...
. The Pythagoreans focused on the mathematics and the acoustical science of sound and music. They developed tuning systems and harmonic principles that focused on simple integers and ratios, laying a foundation for acoustic science; however, this was not the only school of thought in ancient Greece. Aristoxenus, who wrote a number of musicological treatises, for example, studied music with a more empirical tendency. Aristoxenus believed that intervals should be judged by ear instead of mathematical ratios, though Aristoxenus was influenced by Pythagoras and used mathematics terminology and measurements in his research.


Music in society and religion

Music played an integral role in ancient Greek society. Pericles' teacher Damon said, according to Plato in the ''Republic'', "when fundamental modes of music change, the fundamental modes of the state change with them." Music and
gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...
comprised the main divisions in one's schooling. "The word 'music' expressed the entire education". Instrumental music served a religious and entertaining role in ancient Greece as it would often accompany religious events, rituals, and festivals. Music was also used for entertainment when it accompanied drinking-parties or ''
symposia ''Symposia'' is a genus of South American araneomorph spiders in the family Cybaeidae, and was first described by Eugène Simon in 1898. Species it contains six species in Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic o ...
''. A popular type of piece to be played while drinking at these drinking parties was the ''
skolion A skolion (from grc, σκόλιον) (pl. skolia), also scolion (pl. scolia), was a song sung by invited guests at banquets in ancient Greece. Often extolling the virtues of the gods or heroic men, skolia were improvised to suit the occasion and ...
,'' a piece composed to be heard while drinking. Before and after the Greek drinking parties, religious
libation A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid, or grains such as rice, as an offering to a deity or spirit, or in memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures today. Various substa ...
s, or the religious the act of partaking and pouring out drink, would be made to deities, usually the
Olympic gods upright=1.8, Fragment of a relief (1st century BC1st century AD) depicting the twelve Olympians carrying their attributes in procession; from left to right: Hestia (scepter), Hermes (winged cap and staff), Aphrodite (veiled), Ares (helmet and s ...
, the heroes, and
Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D ...
. The offering of libations were often accompanied by a special libation melody called the ''spondeion,'' which was often accompanied by an
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 ...
player. Music occupied an important role in the Greek sacrificial ceremonies. The sarcophagus of Hagia Triada shows that the aulos was present during sacrifices as early as 1300 BC. Music was also present during times of initiation, worship, and religious celebration, playing very integral parts of the sacrificial cults of
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
and
Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
. Music (along with intoxication of potions, fasting, and honey) was also integral in preparing for and catalyzing divination, as music would often induce prophets into religious ecstasy and revelation, so much so that the expression for "making music" and "prophesying" were identical in ancient Greek. Instruments were also present in war time, though it may not have been considered music entirely. Specific notes of the trumpet were played to dictate commands to soldiers on the battlefield. The aulos and percussion instruments also accompanied the verbal commands given to oarsmen by the boatswain. The instruments were used mainly to help keep the oarsmen in time with one another.


Popular song types

;Hymn: A
hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
is a metric composition whose text addresses a god, either directly or indirectly. They are the earliest formal type in Greek music, and survive in relatively large numbers. ;Paean:
Paean A paean () is a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. In classical antiquity, it is usually performed by a chorus, but some examples seem intended for an individual voice (monody). It comes from the Greek παιάν (also πα ...
s were most commonly sung in honor or worship of
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
as well as
Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
. They usually solemnly expressed the hope for deliverance from a peril, or were sung in thanksgiving after a victory or escape. ;Prosodion: A type of hymn or processional that invoked or praised a god.
Prosodion Prosodion (Greek: ) in ancient Greece was a processional song to the altar of a deity, mainly Apollo or Artemis, sung ritually before the Paean hymn. It is one of the earliest musical types used by the Greeks. The prosodion was accompanied by the ...
s were usually sung on the road to an altar or shrine, before or after a paean. ;Hyporchema:
Hyporchema The hyporchema ( el, ὑπόρχημα) was a lively kind of mimic dance which accompanied the songs used in the worship of Apollo, especially among the Dorians. It was performed by men and women. It is comparable to the ''geranos'' (γερανός) ...
was a dance-song with a marked rhythmic movement, commonly associated with the paean, and often difficult to distinguish from it. For example, the First Delphic Hymn is titled "Paean or Hyporchema". ;Dithyrambs: Usually merrily sung in celebration at festivals, performed especially in dedication to
Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
, the god of wine.
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 ...
s featured choirs (''choros'') of men and boys who were accompanied by an
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 ...
player.


Poetry and drama

Whether or not long narrative poetry, or epic poetry like those of
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
, was sung is not entirely known. As in Plato's dialogue ''Ion'',
Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
uses both the words "sing" and "speak" in connection with the Homeric epics, however there are heavy implications that they have been at least recited unaccompanied by instruments, in a sing-song chant. Music was also present in ancient Greek
lyric poetry Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...
, which by definition is poetry or a song accompanied by a
lyre The lyre () is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a yoke ...
. Lyric poetry eventually branched into two paths, monodic lyric which were performed by a singular person, and choral lyric which were sung and sometimes danced by a group of people ''choros''. Famous lyric poets include Alkaios and
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 ...
from the Island of
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 ...
, Sappho being one of the few women whose poetry has been preserved. Music was also heavily prevalent in ancient Greek Drama. In his ''
Poetics Poetics is the theory of structure, form, and discourse within literature, and, in particular, within poetry. History The term ''poetics'' derives from the Ancient Greek ποιητικός ''poietikos'' "pertaining to poetry"; also "creative" an ...
,''
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
links the origins of tragic drama to dithyrambs. The leaders of dithyrambs were the ones who led the song and dance moves, which would then be responded to by the group. Aristotle implies that this relationship between a single person and a group began the tragic drama, which in its earliest stages had a single actor who played all the parts through either song or speech. The single actor engaged in dialogue with the ''choros.'' The ''choros'' narrated most of the story through song and dance. In ancient Greece, the playwright was expected to not only write the script but also expected to compose the music and dance moves.


Mythology

The ancient Greek myths were never codified or documented into one form; what exists are several different versions from several different authors, across multiple centuries, which can lead to variations and even contradictions among authors and even the same author. According to
Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
, music, instruments, and the aural arts are attributed to divine origin, and the art of music was gift of the gods to men. Although
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
was prominently considered the god of music and harmony, several legendary gods and demigods were purported to have created some aspect of music as well as contributed to its development. Some gods, and especially 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 ...
, represented specific aspects or elements of music. The 'inventions' or 'findings' of all ancient Greek instruments were accredited to the gods as well. The performance of music was integrated into many different modes of Greek story-telling and art related to mythology, including drama, and poetry, and there are a large number of ancient Greek myths related to music and musicians. In Greek mythology:
Amphion There are several characters named Amphion in Greek mythology: * Amphion, son of Zeus and Antiope, and twin brother of Zethus (see Amphion and Zethus). Together, they are famous for building Thebes. Pausanias recounts an Egyptian legend accor ...
learned music from
Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orato ...
and then with a golden lyre built Thebes by moving the stones into place with the sound of his playing;
Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...
, the master-musician and lyre-player, played so magically that he could soothe wild beasts; the Orphic
creation myth A creation myth (or cosmogonic myth) is a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it., "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop ...
s have Rhea "playing on a brazen drum, and compelling man's attention to the oracles of the goddess"; or Hermes howing to Apollo"... his newly-invented tortoise-shell lyre and layingsuch a ravishing tune on it with the
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 ...
he had also invented, at the same time singing to praise Apollo's nobility that he was forgiven at once ..."; or Apollo's musical victories over
Marsyas In Greek mythology, the satyr Marsyas (; grc-gre, Μαρσύας) is a central figure in two stories involving music: in one, he picked up the double oboe (''aulos'') that had been abandoned by Athena and played it; in the other, he challenged ...
and Pan. There are many such references that indicate that music was an integral part of the Greek perception of how their race had even come into existence and how their destinies continued to be watched over and controlled by the Gods. It is no wonder, then, that music was omnipresent at the
Pythian Games The Pythian Games ( grc-gre, Πύθια;) were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. They were held in honour of Apollo at his sanctuary at Delphi every four years, two years after the Olympic Games, and between each Nemean and I ...
, the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, religious ceremonies, leisure activities, and even the beginnings of drama as an outgrowth of the
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 ...
s performed in honor of
Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
. It may be that the actual sounds of the music heard at rituals, games, dramas, etc. underwent a change after the traumatic fall of Athens in 404 BC at the end of the first
Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...
. Indeed, one reads of the "revolution" in Greek culture, and
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
's lament that the new music "... used high musical talent, showmanship and virtuosity ... consciously rejecting educated standards of judgement." Although instrumental virtuosity was prized, this complaint included excessive attention to instrumental music such as to interfere with accompanying the human voice, and the falling away from the traditional ''ethos'' in music.


Mythical origins

;Lyre: According to the ''Homeric Hymn to
Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orato ...
'', after stealing his brother Apollo's sacred cattle, Hermes was inspired to build an instrument out of a tortoise shell; he attached horns, and gut-string, to the shell and invented the first
lyre The lyre () is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a yoke ...
. Afterwards, Hermes gave his lyre to Apollo, who took interest in the instrument, in repayment for the stolen cattle. In other accounts, Hermes gave his newly invented lyre to
Amphion There are several characters named Amphion in Greek mythology: * Amphion, son of Zeus and Antiope, and twin brother of Zethus (see Amphion and Zethus). Together, they are famous for building Thebes. Pausanias recounts an Egyptian legend accor ...
, a son of
Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D ...
and a skilled musician. ;Aulos: According to
Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar is ...
's ''Twelfth Pythian Ode'', after
Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (Help:IPA/English, /ˈpɜːrsiəs, -sjuːs/; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus ...
beheaded
Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...
,
Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
'found' or 'invented' 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 ...
in order to reproduce the lamentation of Medusa's sisters. Since the same Greek word is used for 'find' and 'invent', it is unclear; however, the writer Telestes in the 5th century states that Athena found the instrument in a thicket. In
Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
's essay ''On the Restraint of Anger'', he writes that Athena, after seeing her reflection while playing the aulos, threw the instrument away because it distorted her facial features when played, after which
Marsyas In Greek mythology, the satyr Marsyas (; grc-gre, Μαρσύας) is a central figure in two stories involving music: in one, he picked up the double oboe (''aulos'') that had been abandoned by Athena and played it; in the other, he challenged ...
a
satyr In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, :wikt:σάτυρος, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, :wikt:Σειληνός, σειληνός ), is a male List of nature deities, nature spirit with ears ...
, picked up her aulos and took it up as his own. ;Syrinx / Pan flute: According to Ovid's ''Metamorpheses'', the original
Syrinx In classical Greek mythology, Syrinx (Greek Σύριγξ) was a nymph and a follower of Artemis, known for her chastity. Pursued by the amorous god Pan, she ran to a river's edge and asked for assistance from the river nymphs. In answer, sh ...
was a
Naiad In Greek mythology, the naiads (; grc-gre, ναϊάδες, naïádes) are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who ...
, a water nymph, who ran away from Pan after he tried to woo her. While she fled, she came upon an uncrossable river and prayed to her sisters to transform her so that she may escape Pan. Her Nymph sisters transformed Syrinx into a bundle of reeds which Pan found and fashioned an instrument out of, the
Pan flute A pan flute (also known as panpipes or syrinx) is a musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasionally girth). Multiple varieties of pan flutes have been ...
or syrinx.


Orpheus myth

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...
is a significant figure in the ancient Greek mythology of music. Orpheus was a legendary poet and musician, his lineage is unclear as some sources note him as the son of Apollo, the son of the Muse
Calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; grc, Καλλιόπη, Kalliópē, beautiful-voiced) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses" ...
, or the son of mortal parents. Orpheus was the pupil and brother of Linus. Linus by some accounts is the son of Apollo and the Muse
Urania Urania ( ; grc, , Ouranía; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy, and in later times, of Christian poetry. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, he ...
; Linus was the first to be gifted the ability to sing by the Muses, which he passed to Orpheus. Other accounts state that Apollo gave Orpheus a golden lyre and taught him to play, while the muses taught Orpheus to sing. Orpheus was said to be such a skilled musician that he could charm inanimate objects. According to the ''
Argonautica The ''Argonautica'' ( el, Ἀργοναυτικά , translit=Argonautika) is a Greek epic poem written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the ''Argonautica'' tells the myth of the voyage of Jason a ...
,'' Orpheus in his adventures with
Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He w ...
and the
Argonauts The Argonauts (; Ancient Greek: ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, '' Argo'', ...
, was able to play music more beautiful and louder than the bewitching sirens, allowing the Argonauts to travel safely without being charmed by the sirens. When Orpheus' wife,
Eurydice Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice') was a character in Greek mythology and the Auloniad wife of Orpheus, who tried to bring her back from the dead with his enchanting music. Etymology Several meanings for the name ...
, died, he played a song so mournful that it caused the gods and all the nymphs to weep. Orpheus was then able to travel to the underworld, and with music, softened the heart of
Hades Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...
enough that he was allowed to return with his wife; however, under the condition that he must not set eyes upon his wife until they finished their travel out of the underworld. Orpheus was unable to fulfill this condition and tragically, his wife vanished forever.


Marsyas myth

According to Pseudo-Apollodorus in '' Bibliotheca'',
Marsyas In Greek mythology, the satyr Marsyas (; grc-gre, Μαρσύας) is a central figure in two stories involving music: in one, he picked up the double oboe (''aulos'') that had been abandoned by Athena and played it; in the other, he challenged ...
the Phrygian satyr once boasted of his skills in the aulos; a musical contest between Marsyas and Apollo was then conducted, where the victor could do "whatever they wanted" to the loser. Marsyas played his aulos so wildly that everyone burst into dance, while Apollo played his lyre so beautifully that everyone cried. The muses judged the first round to be a draw. According to one account, Apollo then played his lyre upside down, which Marsyas could not do with the aulos. In another account Apollo sang beautifully, which Marsyas could not do. In another account, Marsyas played out of tune and accepted defeat. In all accounts, Apollo then
flayed Flaying, also known colloquially as skinning, is a method of slow and painful execution in which skin is removed from the body. Generally, an attempt is made to keep the removed portion of skin intact. Scope A dead animal may be flayed when pre ...
Marsyas alive for losing.
Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar is ...
recounts a similar myth but instead of Marsyas, it was Pan who contests Apollo and the judge was
Midas Midas (; grc-gre, Μίδας) was the name of a king in Phrygia with whom several myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house. The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ...
. This myth can be considered a testament of Apollo's skill but also a myth of caution towards pride.


Greek musical instruments

The following were among the instruments used in the music of ancient Greece. The
lyre The lyre () is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a yoke ...
,
cithara 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 ...
,
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 ...
,
barbiton The barbiton, or barbitos ( Gr: βάρβιτον or βάρβιτος; Lat. ''barbitus''), is an ancient stringed instrument related to the lyre known from Greek and Roman classics. The Greek instrument was a bass version of the kithara, an ...
,
hydraulis The water organ or hydraulic organ ( el, ὕδραυλις) (early types are sometimes called hydraulos, hydraulus or hydraula) is a type of pipe organ blown by air, where the power source pushing the air is derived by water from a natural source ...
, and
salpinx A salpinx (; plural salpinges ; Greek σαλπιγξ) was a trumpet-like instrument of the ancient Greeks. Construction The salpinx consisted of a straight, narrow bronze tube with a mouthpiece of bone and a bell (also constructed of bronze) of ...
all found their way into the
music of ancient Rome Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...
.


String

;Lyre: A strummed and occasionally
plucked string instrument Plucked string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by plucking the strings. Plucking is a way of pulling and releasing the string in such a way as to give it an impulse that causes the string to vibrate. Plucki ...
, essentially a hand-held
zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat bo ...
built on a tortoise-shell (''chelys'') frame, generally with seven or more strings tuned to the notes of one of the modes. The
lyre The lyre () is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a yoke ...
was a folk-instrument, associated with the cult of Apollo. It was used to accompany others or even oneself for recitation and song, and was the conventional training-instrument for an aristocratic education. ;Cithara:
Cithara 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 ...
was a professional version of the lyre used by paid musicians. ;Barbiton: A larger, bass-version of the cithara, considered to be east-Ionian, an exotic and somewhat foreign instrument. The
barbiton The barbiton, or barbitos ( Gr: βάρβιτον or βάρβιτος; Lat. ''barbitus''), is an ancient stringed instrument related to the lyre known from Greek and Roman classics. The Greek instrument was a bass version of the kithara, an ...
was the primary instrument of the highly regarded ancient lyricist
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 ...
, as well as often associated with satyrs. ;Kanonaki: A trapezoidal
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 ...
, invented by the Pythagoreans in the 6th century BC, however, may have had Mycenaean origins. The
kanonaki The qanun, kanun, ganoun or kanoon ( ar, قانون, qānūn; hy, քանոն, k’anon; ckb, قانون, qānūn; el, κανονάκι, kanonáki; he, קָאנוּן, ''qanun''; fa, , ''qānūn''; tr, kanun; az, qanun; ) is a string ...
was held on the thighs of the player, and plucked with both hands with bone pickings. ;Harp:
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 ...
s are among the oldest known string instruments, and were in use by Sumerians and Egyptians long before they were present in Greece. The ancient version of the harp resembles a bow, with the strings connecting to the top and bottom of the arch. The strings are perpendicular to the soundbox, while the strings on a lyre are parallel.


Wind

;Aulos: Usually double, consisting of two double-reed (like an oboe) pipes, not joined but generally played with a mouth-band to hold both pipes steadily between the player's lips. Modern reconstructions of 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 ...
indicate that they produced a low, clarinet-like sound. There is some confusion about the exact nature of the instrument; alternate descriptions indicate single-reeds instead of double reeds. It was associated with the cult of Dionysus. ;Syrinx or Pan flute: (Greek συριγξ, ''syrinx''), also known as
Pan flute A pan flute (also known as panpipes or syrinx) is a musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasionally girth). Multiple varieties of pan flutes have been ...
, is an ancient musical instrument based on the principle of the stopped pipe, consisting of a series of such pipes of gradually increasing length, tuned (by cutting) to a desired scale. Sound is produced by blowing across the top of the open pipe (like blowing across a bottle top). ;Hydraulis: A keyboard instrument, the forerunner of the modern pipe organ. As the name indicates, the
hydraulis The water organ or hydraulic organ ( el, ὕδραυλις) (early types are sometimes called hydraulos, hydraulus or hydraula) is a type of pipe organ blown by air, where the power source pushing the air is derived by water from a natural source ...
used water to supply a constant flow of pressure to the pipes. Two detailed descriptions have survived: that of Vitruvius and Heron of Alexandria. These descriptions deal primarily with the keyboard mechanism and with the apparatus that supplied the instrument with air. ;Salpinx: A brass trumpet used for military calls, and even contested in the Olympics. A number of sources mention this metal instrument with a bone mouthpiece.


Percussion

;Tympanum: Tympanum, also called ''tympanon'', is a type of
frame drum A frame drum is a drum that has a drumhead width greater than its depth. It is one of the most ancient musical instruments, and perhaps the first drum to be invented. It has a single drumhead that is usually made of rawhide, but man-made mat ...
or
tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...
. It was circular, shallow, and beaten with the palm of the hand or a stick. ;Crotalum: The
crotalum In classical antiquity, a crotalum ( κρόταλον ''krotalon'') was a kind of clapper or castanet used in religious dances by groups in ancient Greece and elsewhere, including the Korybantes. The term has been erroneously supposed by some w ...
was a kind of clapper or
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. ;Koudounia: The
Koudounia The Koudounia ( el, κουδούνια), are bell-like percussion instruments. Most often, they are made from copper and upon playing (that is, hitting them with a stick) they give out a special ringing sound. Originally the koudounia had been used ...
are bell-like percussion instruments made of copper.


Music and philosophy


Pythagoras

The enigmatic ancient Greek figure of
Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos ( grc, Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, Pythagóras ho Sámios, Pythagoras the Samos, Samian, or simply ; in Ionian Greek; ) was an ancient Ionians, Ionian Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher and the eponymou ...
with mathematical devotion laid the foundations of our knowledge of the study of
harmonics A harmonic is a wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'', the frequency of the original periodic signal, such as a sinusoidal wave. The original signal is also called the ''1st harmonic'', the ...
—how strings and columns of air vibrate, how they produce
overtones An overtone is any resonant frequency above the fundamental frequency of a sound. (An overtone may or may not be a harmonic) In other words, overtones are all pitches higher than the lowest pitch within an individual sound; the fundamental i ...
, how the overtones are related arithmetically to one another, etc. It was common to hear of the "
music of the spheres The ''musica universalis'' (literally universal music), also called music of the spheres or harmony of the spheres, is a philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies – the Sun, Moon, and planets – as a fo ...
" from the Pythagoreans. After studying the sound hammers made in a blacksmith's forge, Pythagoras invented the
monochord A monochord, also known as sonometer (see below), is an ancient musical and scientific laboratory instrument, involving one (mono-) string ( chord). The term ''monochord'' is sometimes used as the class-name for any musical stringed instrument h ...
, which has a movable bridge along with a string stretched over a sounding board. Using the monochord, he found the association between the vibrations and the lengths of the strings.


Plato

At a certain point,
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
complained about the new music:
Our music was once divided into its proper forms ... It was not permitted to exchange the melodic styles of these established forms and others. Knowledge and informed judgment penalized disobedience. There were no whistles, unmusical mob-noises, or clapping for applause. The rule was to listen silently and learn; boys, teachers, and the crowd were kept in order by threat of the stick. ... But later, an unmusical anarchy was led by poets who had natural talent, but were ignorant of the laws of music ... Through foolishness they deceived themselves into thinking that there was no right or wrong way in music, that it was to be judged good or bad by the pleasure it gave. By their works and their theories they infected the masses with the presumption to think themselves adequate judges. So our theatres, once silent, grew vocal, and aristocracy of music gave way to a pernicious theatrocracy ... the criterion was not music, but a reputation for promiscuous cleverness and a spirit of law-breaking.
From his references to "established forms" and "laws of music" we can assume that at least some of the formality of the Pythagorean system of harmonics and consonance had taken hold of Greek music, at least as it was performed by professional musicians in public, and that Plato was complaining about the falling away from such principles into a "spirit of law-breaking". Playing what "sounded good" violated the established ''
ethos Ethos ( or ) is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology; and the balance between caution, and passion. The Greeks also used this word to refer to ...
'' of modes that the Greeks had developed by the time of Plato: a complex system of relating certain emotional and spiritual characteristics to certain modes (scales). The names for the various modes derived from the names of Greek tribes and peoples, the temperament and emotions of which were said to be characterized by the unique sound of each mode. Thus, Dorian modes were "harsh", Phrygian modes "sensual", and so forth. In his ''Republic'', Plato talks about the proper use of various modes, the Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, etc. It is difficult for the modern listener to relate to that concept of ''ethos'' in music except by comparing our own perceptions that a minor scale is used for melancholy and a major scale for virtually everything else, from happy to heroic music. The sounds of scales vary depending on the placement of tones. Modern Western scales use the placement of whole tones, such as C to D on a modern piano keyboard, and half tones, such as C to C-sharp, but not quarter-tones ("in the cracks" on a modern keyboard) at all. This limit on tone types creates relatively few kinds of scales in modern Western music compared to that of the Greeks, who used the placement of whole-tones, half-tones, and even quarter-tones (or still smaller intervals) to develop a large repertoire of scales, each with a unique ''ethos''. The Greek concepts of scales (including the names) found its way into later Roman music and then the European Middle Ages to the extent that one can find references to, for example, a "Lydian
church mode A Gregorian mode (or church mode) is one of the eight systems of pitch organization used in Gregorian chant. History The name of Pope Gregory I was attached to the variety of chant that was to become the dominant variety in medieval western and ...
", although name is simply a historical reference with no relationship to the original Greek sound or ''ethos''. From the descriptions that have come down to us through the writings of those such as
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
,
Aristoxenus 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 ...
and, later,
Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the tr ...
, we can say with some caution that the ancient Greeks, at least before Plato, heard music that was primarily monophonic; that is, music built on single melodies based on a system of modes / scales, themselves built on the concept that notes should be placed between consonant intervals. It is a commonplace of musicology to say that harmony, in the sense of a developed system of composition, in which many tones at once contribute to the listener's expectation of resolution, was invented in the European Middle Ages and that ancient cultures had no developed system of harmony—that is, for example, playing the third and seventh above the dominant, in order to create the expectation for the listener that the tritone will resolve to the third. Plato's ''Republic'' notes that Greek musicians sometimes played more than one note at a time, although this was apparently considered an advanced technique. The ''
Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and ...
'' fragment of Euripides seems to clearly call for more than one note to be sounded at once. Research in the field of music from the ancient Mediterranean—decipherings of cuneiform music script—argue for the sounding of different pitches simultaneously and for the theoretical recognition of a "scale" many centuries before the Greeks learned to write, which they would have done before they developed their system for notating music and recorded the written evidence for simultaneous tones. All we can say from the available evidence is that, while Greek musicians clearly employed the technique of sounding more than one note at the same time, the most basic, common texture of Greek music was monophonic. That much seems evident from another passage from Plato:
... The lyre should be used together with the voices ... the player and the pupil producing note for note in unison,
Heterophony In music, heterophony is a type of texture characterized by the simultaneous variation of a single melodic line. Such a texture can be regarded as a kind of complex monophony in which there is only one basic melody, but realized at the same time ...
and embroidery by the lyre—the strings throwing out melodic lines different from the ''melodia'' which the poet composed; crowded notes where his are sparse, quick time to his slow ... and similarly all sorts of rhythmic complications against the voices—none of this should be imposed upon pupils ...Plato, ''Laws'' 812d., cited in Henderson, p. 338.


Aristotle

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
had a strong belief that music should be a part of one's education, alongside reading and writing, and gymnastics. Just as men must work hard in their duties, they must also be able to relax well. According to Aristotle, all men could agree that music was one of the most pleasurable things, so to have this as a means of leisure was only logical. Amusing oneself was not considered a viable hobby, or else we would not want to help in society. Since music combined relaxing ourselves, along with others, Aristotle claimed that learning an instrument was essential to our development.
Virtues Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standard ...
is a topic that Aristotle is widely known for, and he also used them to justify why music should be involved in education. Since virtues consist of loving and rejoicing in something, then music could be pursued without issue. Music forms our character, so it should also be a part of our education. Aristotle also comments on how getting children involved in music would be a way to keep them occupied and quiet. It is important to note that since music helps in forming the character, it could cause either adverse or pleasant effects. The way in which music is taught can have a large impact on development. Learning music should not interfere with the younger years, nor should it damage the body in a way that a person is unable to fulfill duties in the military. Those that have learned music in education should not be at the same level as a professional, but they should have a greater knowledge than the slaves and other commoners. Aristotle was specific in what instruments should be learned. The
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 ...
and
flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
should not be taught in school, as they are too complicated. Additionally, only certain melodies have benefits in an educational setting. Ethical melodies should be taught, but melodies of passion and melodies of action should be for performances.


Surviving music


Classical Period

* Eleusis inv. 907 (trumpet signal) ::
Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary sty ...
, Comp. 63 f. ::
Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...
, ''
Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and ...
'', Papyrus Vienna G 2315 ::Papyrus Leiden inv. P. 510 (Euripides, ''
Iphigenia in Aulis ''Iphigenia in Aulis'' or ''Iphigenia at Aulis'' ( grc, Ἰφιγένεια ἐν Αὐλίδι, Īphigéneia en Aulídi; variously translated, including the Latin ''Iphigenia in Aulide'') is the last of the extant works by the playwright Euripide ...
'')


Hellenistic Period

* Papyrus Ashm. inv. 89B/31, 33 * Papyrus Ashm. inv. 89B/29-32 (citharodic nomes) * Papyrus Hibeh 231 * Papyrus Zeno 59533 * Papyrus Vienna G 29825 a/b recto * Papyrus Vienna G 29825 a/b verso * Papyrus Vienna G 29825 c * Papyrus Vienna G 29825 d-f * Papyrus Vienna G 13763/1494 * Papyrus Berlin 6870 * Epidaurus, SEG 30. 390 (
Hymn to Asclepius A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
)


Roman imperial period

*
Delphic Hymns The Delphic Hymns are two musical compositions from Ancient Greece, which survive in substantial fragments. They were long regarded as being dated circa 138 BC and 128 BC, respectively, but recent scholarship has shown it likely they wer ...
*
Seikilos epitaph The Seikilos epitaph is the oldest surviving complete musical composition, including musical notation, from anywhere in the world. The epitaph has been variously dated, but seems to be either from the 1st or the 2nd century CE. The song, the melo ...
*Hymns of
Mesomedes Mesomedes of Crete ( grc, Μεσομήδης ὁ Κρής) was a Greek citharode and lyric poet and composer of the early 2nd century AD in Roman Greece. Prior to the discovery of the Seikilos epitaph in the late 19th century, the hymns of Mesom ...


See also

*
Nomos (music) The nomos ( el, νόμος), also nome, is a genre of ancient Greek music, either solo instrumental or for voice accompanied by an instrument, characterized by a style of great complexity. It came to be associated with virtuoso performers. Althou ...
* Oxyrhynchus hymn * Ancient Roman music * For a technical discussion,
Musical system of ancient Greece The musical system of ancient Greece evolved over a period of more than 500 years from simple scales of tetrachords, or divisions of the perfect fourth, into several complex systems encompassing tetrachords and octaves, as well as octave scales d ...
or
Ancient Greek Musical Notation Ancient Greek Musical Notation is a Unicode block A Unicode block is one of several contiguous ranges of numeric character codes ( code points) of the Unicode character set that are defined by the Unicode Consortium for administrative and docu ...


Notes


References

*Aristotle, and S. H. Butcher. ''Aristotle's poetics''. New York: Hill and Wang, 1961. Print. *Aristoxenus (1902). ''The Harmonics of Aristoxenus'', translated by H. S. Macran (Oxford, Calrendon; facs. Hildesheim, G. Olms, 1974). * Boethius (1989). ''Fundamentals of Music (De institutione musica)'', translated by Calvin Bower. edited by Claude Palisca, New Haven and London: Yale University Press. * Calter, Paul (1998).
Pythagoras & Music of the Spheres
". Course syllabus, Math 5: Geometry in Art and Architecture, unit 3. Dartmouth .edu (accessed 1 October 2014). * Graves, Robert (1955). ''The Greek Myths''. Mt. Kisco, New York: Moyer Bell. * Henderson, Isobel(1957). "Ancient Greek Music". In ''The New Oxford History of Music, vol.1: Ancient and Oriental Music'', edited by Egon Wellesz, pp. 336–403. Oxford: Oxford University Press. * Kilmer, Anne Draffkorn, and Richard L. Crocker. (1976) ''Sounds from Silence: Recent Discoveries in Ancient Near Eastern Music''. (CD BTNK 101 plus booklet) Berkeley: Bit Enki Records. * Landels, John G. (1999). ''Music in Ancient Greece and Rome''. London and New York: Routledge. . * Olson, Harry Ferdinand. (1967). ''Music, Physics and Engineering'', second edition. New York: Dover Publications. . * Ovid (1989). ''Ovid's Metamorphoses''. Dallas, Texas: Spring Publications. * Pindar (1969). ''The Odes of Pindar'', edited and translated by C. M. Bowra. Harmondsworth: Penguin. * Plato. ''Laws'', (700-701a). * Plato. ''Republic'', (398d-399a). * Quasten, Johannes (1983). ''Music and Worship in Pagan and Christian Antiquity''. Washington, D.C: National Association of Pastoral Musicians. * Richardson, N. J. (2010). ''Three Homeric Hymns: To Apollo, Hermes, and Aphrodite : Hymns 3, 4, and 5''. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. * Sendrey, Alfred (1974). ''Music in the Social and Religious Life of Antiquity''. Rutherford N.J: Fairleigh Dickinson University. * Strunk, Oliver;
Leo Treitler Leo Treitler (born January 26, 1931) is an American musicologist born in Dortmund, Germany. He is distinguished professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Treitler studied at the University of Chicago under Grosvenor Coop ...
, and Thomas Mathiesen (eds.) (1997). ''Source Readings in Music History: Greek Views of Music'', revised edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. * Trehub, Sandra (2000). "Human Processing Predispositions and Musical Universals". In ''The Origins of Music'', edited by Nils L. Wallin, Björn Merker, and Steven Brown,. Cambridge MA: MIT Press. * Ulrich, Homer, and Paul Pisk (1963). ''A History of Music and Musical Style''. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanoich. * Virgil (1830). ''The Eclogues Translated by Wrangham, the Georgics by Sotheby, and the Æneid by Dryden'', edited by William Sotheby. 2 vols. London. Reprinted, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1834. * Virgil (1909). ''Virgil's Æneid'', translated by John Dryden. The Harvard Classics, edited by C. W. Eliot. New York: P. F. Collier & Son. * Virgil (1938). ''The Aeneid of Virgil'', translated by John Dryden, selections, edited by Bruce Pattison. The Scholar's Library. London: Macmillan Publishers. * Virgil (1944). ''Virgil, the Æneid'', translated by John Dryden with Mr. Dryden's introduction; illustrated by
Carlotta Petrina Carlotta K. Petrina (September 6, 1901 – December 11, 1997) was an American illustrator and printer, awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1933 for her illustrations to accompany John Milton's ''Paradise Lost''. Early life and education Charlotte F ...
. New York: Heritage Press. Reissued Norwalk, Connecticut: Heritage Press, 1972. * Virgil (1975). ''The Aeneid of Virgil, in the Verse Translation of John Dryden'', illustrated with the woodcuts of John Grüninger. The Oxford Library of the World's Great Books. Franklin Center, Pa.: Franklin Library. Reissued 1982. * Virgil (1989). ''Vergil's Aeneid and Fourth ("Messianic") Eclogue'', translated by John Dryden, edited, with introduction and notes, by Howard W. Clarke. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. . * Virgil (1997).
Aeneid
', translated by John Dryden, with an introduction by James Morwood. Wordsworth Classics of World Literature. Ware: Wordsworth Editions. . * Wellesz, Egon (ed.) (1957). ''Ancient and Oriental Music''. New Oxford History of Music 1. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. Reprinted 1999. . * West, M.L. ''Ancient Greek Music'' (1992). Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. . (Clarendon Paperback reprint 1994. .) * Williams, C. F. (1903). ''The Story of the Organ''. New York: Charles Scribner & Sons. * Ruck, Carl A.P. and Danny Staples, ''The World of Classical Myth'' (Carolina Academic Press) 1994.


Further reading

* Anderson, Warren D. (1966). ''Ethos and Education in Greek Music: The Evidence of Poetry and Philosophy''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. * Anderson, Warren D. (1994). ''Music and Musicians in Ancient Greece''. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press. (cloth); (pbk). * Barker, Andrew (ed.) (1984–89). ''Greek Musical Writings'', 2 vols. Cambridge Readings in the Literature of Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Limited preview of vol.
online.
* Barker, Andrew (2007). ''The Science of Harmonics in Classical Greece''. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. . * * Comotti, Giovanni (1989). ''Music in Greek and Roman Culture''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. . * Hagel, Stefan (2009). ''Ancient Greek Music: A New Technical History''. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. . * Kramarz, Andreas (2016). ''The Power and Value of Music. Its Effect and Ethos in Classical Authors and Contemporary Music Theory.'' New York/Bern: Peter Lang Publishing. . * Landels, John G. (1999). ''Music in Ancient Greece and Rome.'' London and New York: Routledge. (cloth); (pbk reprint, 2001). Limited previe
online.
* Le Ven, Pauline A. (2014). ''The Many-Headed Muse. Tradition and Innovation in Late Classical Greek Lyric Poetry.'' Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. . * Lord, Albert B. (1960). ''The Singer of Tales.'' Cambridge: Harvard University Press. * Maas, Martha, and Jane McIntosh Snyder (1989) ''Stringed Instruments of Ancient Greece.'' New Haven: Yale University Press. . Limited previe
online.
* Mathiesen, Thomas J. (1999). ''Apollo's Lyre: Greek Music and Music Theory in Antiquity and the Middle Ages.'' Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. Limited previe
online.
* Mathiesen, Thomas J. (1974). ''Bibliography of Sources for the Study of Ancient Greek Music''. New Jersey: Joseph Boonin, Inc. * Michaelides, S. (1978) ''The Music of Ancient Greece: An Encyclopaedia''. London: Faber & Faber. * Monro, David Binning (1894). ''The Modes of Ancient Greek Music.'' Oxford: Clarendon Press. Republished as an unabridged facsimile by Elibron, limited previe
online.
* Murray, Penelope, and Peter Wilson (eds.) (2004). ''Music and the Muses: The Culture of 'Mousike' in the Classical Athenian City''. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. . Limited previe
online.
* Pöhlmann, Egert, and Martin L. West (2001). ''Documents of Ancient Greek Music: The Extant Melodies and Fragments Edited and Transcribed with Commentary''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. . * Power, Timothy (2010). ''The Culture of ''Kitharôidia (Hellenic Studies: 15). Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England: Center for Hellenic Studies, Trustees for Harvard University. . * Sachs, Curt (1943). ''The Rise of Music in the Ancient World.'' NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. * Webster, T. B. L. (1970). ''The Greek Chorus.'' London: Methuen anc Co. Ltd. . * Winnington-Ingram, R. P. (1968). ''Mode in Ancient Greek Music.'' Amsterdam: Adolf M. Hakkert. *Plato. ''The Symposium''. Trans. Alexander Nehamas and Pay Woodruff. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1989. Print. *Apollonius, Rhodius. ''The Argonautica.''Cambridge, Mass. : London :Harvard University Press; W. Heinemann, 1961. Print.


External links


Ensemble Kérylos
a music group led by scholar
Annie Bélis Annie Bélis (born 1951) is a French archaeologist, philologist, papyrologist and musician. She is a research director at the French CNRS, specialized in music from classical antiquity, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Career A former student ...
and dedicated to the recreation of ancient Greek and Roman music. *Ensembl
De Organographia
Music from the Ancient Greeks, 24 recordings on historical instruments from the documents published by Pöhlmann and West.
Ancient Greek music
at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Audio-edition of the published fragments; reconstructed instruments played.
Ancient Greek scores from IMSLP
{{DEFAULTSORT:Music Of Ancient Greece Ancient Greek music
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
Greece, Music of Ancient