HORTENSE PANUM
THE STRINGED INSTRUMENTS
OF THE MIDDLE AGES
Translated by J. Pulver. London, 1939
INDEX.
Al Farabi, 342.
Angle Harp (Greek), 76-80.
Apollo, 1, 31.
Archilochos, 53-4.
Asiatic Lyre, 11 ff.
Barbiton, 46-7.
Bowed Lyre, 103, 186. 222, 264,
Claudius Ptolemaeus, 189-91, 193.
Collopes, 24, 30, 42-4.
Dichord (" Monochord "), 253, 255.
Ethiopian Lyre, 43.
Etruscan Lyres, 54.
Galilei, Vincenzo, 428, 464.
Greek Bowed Lyre, 352-3.
Greek Lyre, 23, ff., 31-3 3641, 46,
53, 87-8, 90, 142 (V. also Lyre)
Hermes, 1, 24-6, 31, 33, 37, 87.
Kitara, 31^3. 36-44, 46, 48, 53-4.
Kitaris, 23-4.
Kollopes, v. Collopes.
Lichaon of Samos, 51.
Lute, 88, 184, 186. 191, 198-9, 201,
205, 210, 304, 337, 369, 407-36,
Lute of Mantinea, 204.
"Lyra," r. Bowed Lyre.
Lyre, 9 ff., 89-90, 103, 120-2, 124-5,
Lyre (Asiatic), 11 ff.
Lyre (Bowed), 103.
Lyre (Egyptian), 15 ff.
Lyre (Ethiopian), 43.
Lyre (Etruscan), 54.
Lyre (Prehistoric^ 35.
Lyres, Compass of, 49 ff.
Magadis, 83-4.
Monochord, 183, 186-93, 214, 216-7,
251-5, 290, 321-2. 328-9, 332-3.
Monochord (Antiphonic), 190-1.
Monochord (Paraphonie), 190-1,
193.
Nicomachns, 214-5.
Olympos, 50.
Organistrum, 183, 293-302, 307-9,
318, 320. 330-1, 382.
Organ "Slides," 295.
Organ Tablature, 493-4, 498.
Organum, 296-7.
Orpheus, 87-8.
Pandoura, 215-7, 440.
Pandur, 186.
Pandurina, 437.
Paraphonic Monochord, 190-1, 193.
Pektis, 83-4.
Phorminx, 23-5.
Phrynis, 33.
Plectrum, 29. 36. 46, 103, 132,
145-6, 149-50. 154-5, 15R. 161-3,
179-80, 195, 203. 207, 212, 217,
219, 266, 268, 275, 277, 281, 283,
285, 287, 289-91, .341, 343, 395,
435, 438-40, 442, 444, 448, 451,
458-9. 462, 487-8.
Plutarch, 53.
Psaltery, 56, 80, 88, 90, 144-8,
150-6U, 164-8, 178-80, 402, 487-8,
490.
Ptolemseus, Claudius, 189-91, 193.
Pythagoras, 51, 191, 215.
Sachs, Curt, 261-2, 264, 293, 352,
360, 366, 371, 382, 387-9, 398,
411, 414, 417, 434-5, 437, 439,
442 452, 460, 462, 469, 481,
483-5, 489, 492.
Salterium, v. Psalterium.
Sambuke, Sambyke, 82-4, 103-4.
Santir, 82, 144-7, 149-151, 154-8,
169, 179.
Sappho, 29, 48.
Schlesincer, Kathleen, 348, 366,
Terpander, 29, 33, 36-7. 48-9, 51.
Thera Harp, 77-8.
Tortoise Lyre. 25-7, 33, 35.
Trigonon, 82, 84.
Tuning of the Greek Lyres, 49 ff.
Iliad " (IX, '185 #.)
"Odyssey/* (17, 261; 22, 340; 23, 143)
(Α. Τ. Murray).
("Od.," 21, 404-9)
("Od.," 23, 133 if)-
("Od.," 21, 404-9)
("Iliad/' IX, 185 #.)
Appolodorus (III, TO, 2)
Diodorus (V, 75)
Lucian ("de Deor.," 7, 4),
Philostratos ("Imag.," I, 10)
Pausanias (V, 14, 6, and VIII, 17, 4),
Eustathius (574, 36, 1913, 38).
The Hermes hymn
Matthias (" Animad.," p. 220),
Baumeister ("Hymni," p. 193)
Jan ("Die Griechische Saiteninstrumente ")
Reinach (Daremberg et Saglio, "Die. des Antiques Grecques qt Remains, 1 ' s.v. Lyra)
Herodotus
Sophocles
Pausanias' description of a contemporary painting (by
Polygnot in the Assembly-hall at Delphi; X, 30)
(Theophrastus, fourth century B.C.)
Appolodorus
Philochoros
Aristophanes' s " Frogs
(Lucian, VIII, "Dial, deor," 7, 4;
Hor., " Carm.," I, 15)
Aristotle (fourth centu
Margites, seventh century)
Plato (" Republic," III)
Pollux (IV, 8)
Aristoxenos
Plutarch's Cf De Musica," Chapter 6,
Procles's " Chrestomatie
(Photios,
"Bibl."2 3 9).
Cicero ("De Nat. Deor.," II, pars. 144^ 149)
Theophastrus (89, 10)
Aristotle men- (" De Audobilibus," 801)
Pollux (IV, 62)
(0. Miiller, " Denkmfcler d. alt. at the Games: Kitara. (E. Ger-
Kunst")- hard, " Auserlesene Vasenbilder.")
(FurtwSngler, " Qriechische Yasenmalerei," Ser. II.)
(Furtwan^ler, * ' Griechische vaseninalerei," Ser. L)
Panofka
Hermann Smith ("The World's Earliest Music ")
Victor Mahillon
Dr. Karl von Jan, (in "Die griechische Saiteninstrumente," Leipzig, 1882)
Hermann Smith (" The World's Earliest Music");
(Gerhard, " Auserl. Vasenbilder ").
(Smith and Percher, "History of the Discoveries at Gyrene ")
Boethius ("De Musica," lib. i, cap. 20)
Aristotle's " Problems " (XIX, 7, 24, 44, 47)
Nicomachos (" Harmonices enchiridon," cap. 3;
Hagiapolites's fragment (printed by A. J. H. Vincent in % " Notices et Extraits," 1847, p. 270)
Hugo Riemann ("Handbuch der Musikgeschichte," I,
silver yoke
ασημένιο ζυγό
γέφυρα από ασήμι
collopes
kollope
έντερο
πρόβατα-έντερο χορδές
tortoise
arms
yoke
plectrum
τρύπες στο καβούκι
βόδι-δέρμα
ζυγό
πένα
tortoise-shell
sound-box
tortoise-carapace
χελώνα-κελύφους
σειρά από καλάμι Τοποθετημένο του κελύφους
wooden sound-board,
Arabian Kissar
ξύλινο σκάφους
αραβική Kissar
north African (Nubian) lyre
καβούκι
Chelys
χελώνα
Testudo lat.)
πραγματικού κελύφη χελώνας απομίμηση από ξύλο
reed sticks
ράβδοι καλάμι
Matthias ("Animad.," PP. 220),
Baumeister ("Hymni," σελ. 193)
Jan ("DieGriechische Saiteninstrumente ")
καλάμι
pecheis
keras
ancones
horns
Kerata
Κεράς
γαζέλα κέρατα
ζυγό δρυός
plectrum wood, horn,ivory, metal
ελεφαντόδοντο
chordotonon
yoke
tuning mechanism
bridge
magas
tailpiece
tuning apparatus
kollabos
kolla
γέφυρα
modern violin tail-piece
bridge
γέφυρα
κυλινδρικό ραβδί γύρω από το ζυγό
μανταλάκια.
σταυρώστε αυλάκια κομμένα στα ζυγό
cylindrical joints
yoke-bar
μεντεσές
krekein
kruein
φύλλο ή σε σχήμα καρδιάς πένα
δάχτυλό
μάδημα
tetrachords
Dorian Mode.
Mixolydian mode (Hyperdonan)
Lydian
Hypolydian
Phrygian
Hypophrygian
heptachord
Dorian heptachord
Lichaon
modes
semitone
Psile kitaros
1
Literary testimony. The earliest evidence of the existence
of a stringed instrument of the lyre family is to be found in
Homer (ninth century B.C.), who sometimes calls it phorminx,
sometimes kitaris, but who evidently means the same instru-
ment in both cases. From a philological point of view
phorminx is considered to be of Hellenic, and kitaris of Asiatic
origin.
stringed instrument
lyre family
Homer (ninth century B.C.)
phorminx,
kitaris
both cases
έγχορδο μουσικό όργανο
λύρας οικογένεια
Όμηρος (ένατος αιώνας π.Χ.)
Φόρμιγγα,
kitaris
2
As to the nature of Homer's kitaris alias phorminx, the
"Odyssey" and the "Iliad" only contain scattered and in-
complete references. Achilles 5 phorminx is described in the
' ' Iliad " (IX, '185 #.) as a stately and beautiful instrument
with a silver yoke :
"And they came to the huts and the ships of the Myr-
midons, and found him delighting his soul with a clear-toned
lyre, fair and richly-wrought, whereon was a bridge of silver. 1 *
(Trans, by A. T. Murray.)
Homer's
kitaris
phorminx
"Odyssey"
"Iliad"
Achilles
' ' Iliad " (IX, '185 #.)
silver yoke
clear-toned lyre
bridge of silver
(Trans, by A. T. Murray.)
kitaris
Ομήρου
Φόρμιγγα
"Οδύσσεια"
"Ιλιάδα"
Αχιλλέας
Φόρμιγγα
'' Ιλιάδα »(ΙΧ, '185 #.)
ασημένιο ζυγό
σαφή-τονισμένα λύρα
γέφυρα από ασήμι
(Trans, από τον Α. Τ. Murray).
3
n the "Odyssey/* moreover, he speaks several times
(17, 261; 22, 340; 23, 143) of the vaulted phorminx, at the
same time giving the impression that the instrument was com-
paratively small and light, so that during the banquet the
phorminx of the blind Demodokos was hung on a peg above'
his head in order that he might feel his way to it with his hand
and take it down to play (" 6d.," 8, 67 #.) :
"And he hung the clear-toned lyre from a peg close above
his head, and showed him how to reach it with his hands."
(A. T. Murray.)
"Odyssey/* (17, 261; 22, 340; 23, 143)
phorminx
banquet
phorminx
Demodokos
(" 6d.," 8, 67 #.)
clear-toned lyre
(A. T. Murray.)
"Οδύσσεια / *
(17, 261, 22, 340, 23, 143)
Φόρμιγγα
συμπόσιο
Δημόδοκος
("6δ.», 8, 67 #).
σαφή-τονισμένα λύρα
(Α. Τ. Murray).
4
As to the strings, it is said ("Od.," 21, 404-9) that they
were made of gut, and were tuned by means of the so-called
collopes.
"So spoke the wooers, but Odysseus of many wiles, as
soon as he had lifted the great bow and scanned it on every
side even as when a man well-skilled in the lyre and in song
easily stretches the string about a new kollope, making fast at
either end the twisted sheep-gut so without effort did
Odysseus string the great bow." (Trans. A. T. Murray.)
Concerning the use to which Homer's lyre was put, we
learn that it was played during meals and banquets and to
accompany songs on the deeds of the heroes and songs for
dancing. In one case, indeed, " the clear-toned lyre " was the
only accompaniment of "a gladsome dance" ("Od.," 23,
133 if)-
strings ("Od.," 21, 404-9)
collopes.
Odysseus
lyre
song
stretches the string
kollope"
(Trans. A. T. Murray.)
Homer's
lyre
banquets
accompany songs
dancing
" the clear-toned lyre "
accompaniment of "a gladsome dance" ("Od.," 23, 133 if)-
έντερο
collopes
Οδυσσέας
λύρα
τραγούδι
kollope
πρόβατα-έντερο
"(Μτφρ. στο Murray.)
λύρας
γεύματα
δεξιώσεις
τραγούδια ηρώων
τραγούδια για χορό
«η σαφής-τονισμένα λύρα»
χορού ("Οδ."., 23,133 αν) -
5
The -phormim alias kitaris is described far more thor-
oughly in the Greek legend of Hermes than is the lyre in
Homer. This story was first narrated in a hymn to Hermes
which was once ascribed to Homer, but the genesis of which
has been placed by modern investigators some time between
the fortieth and the twenty-sixth Olympiads, i.e., at the end
of the seventh century B.C. In the hymn the legend is related
in this strain : Only a few hours after his birth Hermes climbed
out of his cradle to find and steal Apollo's cattle. In crossing
the "sill of the grotto' 1 he met a tortoise shuffling along in
the. long grass. Delighted with his find, he took the animal
into the grotto and with a chisel bored out the "marrow" of
the "mountain toad." He then cut sticks to measure which
he inserted into the holes he had made in the carapace of the
tortoise, stretched an ox-hide over it, and set the arms, which
he connected with a yoke. He finally strung the instrument
with seven strings of sheep-gut. When the lyre was ready
he tested each of the strings with a plectrum, and "it sounded
mighty under his hand when he improvised and tried to sing
a beautiful song to its music."
phormim
kitaris
Hermes
lyre
Homer
hymn to Hermes
fortieth and the twenty-sixth Olympiads, i.e.
seventh century B.C.
tortoise
arms
yoke
strung
seven strings
sheep-gut
plectrum
improvised
sing
song
phormim
kitaris
Ερμή
λύρα
Όμηρος
Ύμνος στον Ερμή
τεσσαρακοστή και την εικοστή έκτη Ολυμπιάδες
έβδομου αιώνα π.Χ.
χελώνα
τρύπες στο καβούκι
τεντώνεται βόδι-δέρμα
ζυγό
αρμαθιές
επτά χορδές έντερο προβάτου
πένα
αυτοσχεδιασμούς
τραγούδι
6
If we compare the evidence given by Homer and the
Hermes legend regarding the lyre, it will be seen that it was
an instrument of vaulted shape and with strings of gut.
Homer's description of Apollo's fhorminx as a beautiful in-
strument provided with a silver yoke, on the other hand, does
not fit into the description in the myth of Hermes' fkorminx
as a wholly primitive and crudely-made instrument. The age
of the literary sources and the logical place of the instruments
as dictated by their development, are in this case reversed,
for the later source (the Hermes hymn) describes a primitive
type, while the earlier one (Homer) describes an instrument
which implies a long anterior development.
Homer
Hermes legend
lyre
strings
Apollo's fhorminx
silver yoke
Όμηρο
Ερμής θρύλος
λύρα
όργανο σχήματος θολωτές
χορδές από έντερο
ασημένια ζυγό
7
As the Homeric poetry originated in Asia Minor, it is to
be supposed that the lyre mentioned by the poet was an Asi-
atic instrument ; its apparent completeness is also an argument
in support of this theory, for, as we know from the illustrations
in western Asia, the lyre may be traced there farther back than
in any other part of the world. Asia is also indicated by the
statement in the "Iliad" that Achilles took his phorminx
from the spoils when he plundered an Asiatic town ("Iliad/'
IX, 185 #.). Even if we may assume that the Hermes hymn
also came into existence in Asia Minor, it does not preclude
the possibility that the legend it recounts may have been bor-
rowed from Hellas, for here an Hellenic god appeared as the
inventor of a stringed instrument of a type not hitherto found
outside of Greece. Neither in Asia nor Egypt does antiquity
offer an example of a lyre with a tortoise-shell sound-box.
Consequently this type may for the present be characterised
without hesitation as Hellenic. By making Hermes present
bis lyre to the Thracian Orpheus, a later legend even points
to the country where this category of lyre came into existence.
Homeric poetry
Asia Minor
lyre
western Asia
"Iliad"
Achilles
phorminx
("Iliad/'
IX, 185 #.)
Hermes hymn
stringed instrument
Asia
Egypt
tortoise-shell sound-box
Thracian Orpheus
ομηρική ποίηση
Μικρά Ασία
λύρα
Φόρμιγγα
("Ιλιάδα /"
ΙΧ, # 185.)
Ύμνος Ερμή
λύρας με ηχείο όστρακο.
Ερμής
Ορφέας
8
As a special Greek type we shall now subject the lyre of
Hermes to a close literary examination, for the description
given in the Hymn is illustrated by evidence which rests partly
upon more recent observation, but in the main is to be deduced
from other testimony found in ancient literature on Hermes'
instrument. Of these the most important are Appolodorus
(III, TO, 2), Diodorus (V, 75), Lucian ("de Deor.," 7, 4),
Philostratos ("Imag.," I, 10), Pausanias (V, 14, 6, and VIII,
17, 4), and Eustathius (574, 36, 1913, 38).
The Hermes hymn gives the components of the tortoise-
Ivre as: (i) the tortoise-carapace and the ox-hide in conjunc-
tion, (2) a number of reed sticks placed in the carapace, (3)
the arms of the lyre, (4) the yoke connecting them, (5) seven
gut strings, and (6) a plectrum for plucking the strings.
lyre of Hermes
Appolodorus (III, TO, 2)
Diodorus (V, 75)
Lucian ("de Deor.," 7, 4)
Philostratos ("Imag.," I, 10)
Pausanias (V, 14, 6, and VIII, 17, 4)
Eustathius (574, 36, 1913, 38).
The Hermes hymn
tortoiseIvre as
(i) the tortoise-carapace and the ox-hide in conjunc- tion
(2) a number of reed sticks placed in the carapace
(3) the arms of the lyre
(4) the yoke connecting them
(5) seven gut strings
(6) a plectrum for plucking the strings
λύρα του Ερμή
Appolodorus(ΙΙΙ, ΝΑ, 2)
Διόδωρος (V 75)
Λουκιανός ("η Deor.," 7, 4),
Φιλόστρατος ("IMAG.," I-10)
ο Παυσανίας (V, 14, 6, και VIII,17, 4)
Ευστάθιος (574, 36, 1913, 38).
(i) η χελώνα-κελύφους και το βόδι-δέρμα σ
(2) μια σειρά από καλάμι Τοποθετημένο του κελύφους
(3) (arm)
(4) ζυγό
(5), επτά έντερο χορδές
(6) πένα
9
The tortoise-carapace and the ox-hide. Among
peoples of primitive culture we still find stringed instruments
the sound-box of which, as in this case, is made of nature's
materials: a fruit or the like. Tht hide-diaphragm, too
which, by the way, is not mentioned in any Greek sources
other than the Hermes hymn, and which in time was replaced
by a thin wooden sound-board, cf. below is found rather fre-
quently in primitive instruments. In a way it is interesting to
compare the Hermes lyre with the modern Arabian Kissar,
which often has half of a large gourd covered with a piece of
undressed leather as its sound-box (see Fig. 20).
tortoise-carapace
sound-box
wooden sound-board,
Arabian Kissar
χελώνα-κελύφους
βόδι-δέρμα
ξύλινο σκάφους
αραβική Kissar,
κολοκύνθη καλύπτεται με ένα κομμάτι της ακατέργαστη δέρμα
ηχείο
10
The two arms of the lyre which both begin at the very
base of the sound-box and under the leather sound-board
gradually separate, pierce the sound-board and, having passed
the upper edge of the sound-box, continue to the point where
the yoke is laid across to connect them. The manner in which
the yoke is connected with the arms will be described when
the different modes of joining the arms and the yoke in the
Greek lyre are dealt with. At the same place a picture of
another north African (Nubian) lyre will be found, the shape
of which differs to some extent from the one described here,
the yoke being oblique. The five strings, made of camel-gut,
are connected at the lower end by a knot, and fastened to the
sound-box. After passing over a small bridge, they are car-
ried through the open space between the arms of the lyre up
to the yoke, where they are fastened and tuned according to
a method which will be explained later.
arms
sound-box a
sound-board
pierce the sound-board
sound-box
yoke
north African (Nubian) lyre
five strings
camel-gut
small bridge
arms
δύο σκέλη της λύρας
βάση του ηχείου
δέρμα
άνω άκρο του ήχου-πλαισίου
ζυγός
Αφρικής (Nubian) λύρα
11
The tortoise-carapace is mentioned late in Greek litera-
ture as a suitable foundation for the lyre. Thus Pausanias
(ca. 175 A.D.) states that the oak forests of Arcadia were full
of wild-boars, bears, and large tortoises of which lyres could
be made of a size equal to those supplied by the Indian tor-
toises. The carapace is also indicated by the frequent use of
the name Chelys', i.e , tortoise (Lat. Testudo) by the poets,
for this type of lyre. In the absence of real tortoise-shells an
imitation made of wood was used, as appears, for example, in
Philostratos' description of a lyre illustrated, "the sound-box
of which is exactly reproduced after Nature, and is covered
round about with flat-vaulted scales, of which one overlaps
the other, and of which each carries a golden-yellow eye"
rimag.,"!, 10).
tortoise-carapace
Pausanias (ca. 175 A.D.)
Arcadia
wild-boars
bears
tortoises lyres
Indian tortoises
carapace
Chelys'
tortoise (Lat. Testudo)
tortoise-shells
wood
Philostratos'
sound-box
χελώνα-κελύφους
Παυσανίας(περ. 175 μ.Χ.)
Αρκαδίας
καβούκι
Chelys
χελώνα (Testudo lat.)
πραγματικού κελύφη χελώνας απομίμηση από ξύλο
Φιλόστρατος
12
The reed sticks. W e < ^ not ^ nc ^ ^ese sticks men-
tioned anywhere but in the Hermes hymn, so that their real
object cannot be determined. Matthias (" Animad.," p. 220),
and Baumeister ("Hymni," p. 193), are of the opinion that
they werq used to cover the cavity of the carapace and were
placed immediately under the sound-board. Jan ("Die
Griechische Saiteninstrumente "), on the other hand, sees in
these reed sticks a likeness to the sound-post which violin-
makers place between the back of the body and the table in
order to prevent the latter from breaking under the pressure
of the strings on the bridge. Reinach (Daremberg et Saglio,
"Die. des Antiques Grecques qt Remains, 1 ' s.v. Lyra) finally
suggests that they may have served to stretch the leather
sound-board just as tent-poles are used to tighten the tent
canvas.
reed sticks
Hermes hymn
Matthias (" Animad.," p. 220),
Baumeister ("Hymni," p. 193)
carapace
sound-board
Jan ("Die Griechische Saiteninstrumente ")
hand
sound-post
violin- makers place between the back of the body and the table in
order to prevent the latter from breaking under the pressure
of the strings on the bridge.
Reinach (Daremberg et Saglio, "Die. des Antiques Grecques qt Remains, 1 ' s.v. Lyra)
ράβδοι καλάμι
Matthias ("Animad.," PP. 220),
Baumeister ("Hymni," σελ. 193)
Jan ("DieGriechische Saiteninstrumente ")
καλάμι
βιολιού
(Daremberg ένα Saglio,«Die. Des Αντίκες grecques qt Παραμένει, SV 1" Lyra)
13
The arms of the lyre (pecheis, keras, ancones). We
are not told in the Hermes hymn of what material these arms
were originally made. But we have a number of later pieces
of evidence. First, Herodotus (fifth century B.C.), who, when
mentioning the animals native to Lybia, refers to a kind of
gazelle "the horns of which were used as arms for a stringed
instrument.*' Sophocles refers to gold-mounted horns when
he undoubtedly means the arms of a lyre; and this is confirmed
by Pausanias' description of a contemporary painting (by
Polygnot in the Assembly-hall at Delphi; X, 30), in which
Thamyris is depicted with a lyre, one arm of which is broken
off and the strings of which are snapped. Mention should
also be made of Philostratos 1 comparatively late statement
<that the musician borrows the horns of his lyre from the leap-
ing ibex, and the poets' frequent use of the word Kerata (i.e.,
horns) for the arms of the lyre.
arms of the lyre
pecheis
keras
ancones
Hermes hymn
Herodotus (fifth century B.C.)
kind of gazelle
horns
Sophocles
gold-mounted horns
Pausanias' description of a contemporary painting (by
Polygnot in the Assembly-hall at Delphi; X, 30)
Thamyris
Philostratos
Kerata
βραχίονες
pecheis
Κεράς
Ηρόδοτος (πέμπτος αιώνας π.Χ.)
γαζέλα κέρατα
Σοφοκλής χρυσά- κέρατο
Παυσανία
Polygnot
Thamyris
Φιλόστρατος
κέρας αγριοκάτσικο
Κερατά
κέρατα
14
The yoke. Nothing definite is stated in the Hermes
hymn as to its construction or material. A later source
(Theophrastus, fourth century B.C.), on the other hand, states
that as a rule it was made of the hard wood of the holm-oak.
5. The strings. According to the Hermes hymn the
strings were made of sheep gut, according to Appolodorus of
ox sinews. This conforms with the application of the ox hide
as sound-board in the Hermes hymn. Appolodorus, presum-
ably for this very reason, prefers not to allow the lyre to be
invented until the theft of the cattle has taken place. The
fable recounted by Philochoros, to the effect that the lyre at
first had strings of flax and that Linos was the first to use
gut, is not to be trusted. It is probable that ox sinews
designate a later stage than gut strings. Scholiasts writing on
Aristophanes' s " Frogs " say : " The sinew strings are to this
day still called gut strings, because they were formerly made
of gut " (italics by the author). While the Hermes hymn and
a few other sources (Lucian, VIII, "Dial, deor," 7, 4; Hor.,
" Carm.," I, 15) all give the lyre seven strings, there are some
traditions in Strabo, Boethius, and others which, from the
beginning, give it only 'four and ascribe the invention of the
seven-stringed lyre to Terpander. One tradition perpetuated
by Diodorus Siculus even says that the lyre began as a three-
stringed instrument.
yoke
(Theophrastus, fourth century B.C.)
strings
Appolodorus
sound-board
Philochoros
Linos
Aristophanes' s " Frogs
sinew strings
(Lucian, VIII, "Dial
deor," 7, 4;
Hor., " Carm.," I, 15)
lyre seven strings
Strabo
Boethius
Terpander
Diodorus Siculus
three- stringed instrument
ζυγό
(Θεόφραστος, τέταρτο αιώνα π.Χ.)
δρυός
χορδές
χορδές από έντερο προβάτου
Appolodorus
νεύρα βοδιού
Philochoros
χορδές του λίνου
Λίνος
χορδές εντέρων
Αριστοφάνη «Βάτραχοι»
(Λουκιανός, VIII, "Dial
deor,« 7, 4? Ωρ."Carm.« Εγώ, 15)
λύρα επτά χορδές
Στράβωνα
Βοήθιο
τέσσερα
Διόδωρος Σικελιώτης
τριών χορδο όργανο
15
The Hermes hymn does not mention where he secured
the material for the plectrum with which he finally tested the
strings. In other places, however, this implement is described
as "a thorn" made of a hard material, sometimes wood,
sometimes horn, ivory or metal. Besides Hermes, Sappho is
also mentioned as the inventor of the plectrum. The strings
and the plectrum complete the list of the parts of the lyre
mentioned in the Hermes hymn. Our sources of knowledge
concerning the parts that still remain must therefore be sought
elsewhere.
plectrum
wood
horn
ivory
metal
Sappho
Ερμής Ύμνος
πένα
ξύλο,
κέρατο
ελεφαντόδοντο
μέταλλο
Σαπφώ
16
In regard to the placing and fastening of the strings at the
top and bottom, Aristotle (fourth century B.C.), states that they
began at the tail-piece (chordotonon) and ended on the yoke
(sygon). According to Lucian and Philostratos (second cen-
tury A.D.), the tuning mechanism (the so-called kollopes) were
also placed on the yoke. The bridge (magas) mentioned by
Lucian and Philostratos, and described by Hesychios and
Photius as a small, somewhat vaulted, four-sided board
supporting the strings, served to raise the strings from the
sound-board. Ancient literature provides no further informa-
tion as to how the tailpiece was devised. Concerning the
tuning apparatus, however, a mediaeval author Archbishop
Eustathios in his commentary on the twenty-first song of the
4< Odyssey" (twelfth century A.D.) repeats a rather interesting
statement, which he says he found in old dictionaries. " In
ancient Greece," he writes, "they used the so-called kollopes
or, as they termed them later, kollabos, the thick hide from the
back of the neck of an ox or sheep. This hide itself was called
Aollops, and glue (kolla) was also made of it." One of the
same sources also says that a little fat was usually allowed to
remam on the hide. Hesychios (fifth century A.D.), when
mentioning the tuning instruments, also says that the back and
neck 01 the ox were called kollofs (from kolla, glue) because
they were used for making glue. Involuntarily one's thoughts
are led to a tuning method still used on the Nubian-Arabian
kissar (see above, Fig. 20). Before the ends of the strings are
wound round the yoke, the Nubian packs under each of them a
scrap of cloth, into which they cut so that they are kept in
place and prevented from gliding back (Carsten Niebuhr's
^Reisebeschreibung," I, 179). The Greeks, then, used the
fresh sticky hides of the ox or she$p in the same manner. Once
the string was tuned to the proper pitch, they pressed the
square of skin together with the fingers so that it was bterally
glued in position.
strings
bottom
Aristot (fourth century B.C.)
tail-piece
(chordotonon)
yoke
(sygon) Lucian and Philostratos (second cen- tury A.D.)
tuning mechanism
kollopes
bridge
(magas)
Lucian
Philostratos
Hesychios
Photius
four-sided board
sound-board
tailpiece
tuning apparatus
Archbishop Eustathios
twenty-first song of the 4< Odyssey" (twelfth century A.D.)
kollopes
kollabos,
Aollops
glue
(kolla)
Hesychios (fifth century A.D.)
Nubian-Arabian kissar
pitch
τοποθέτηση και στερέωση των χορδών
Αριστοτέλης (τέταρτο αιώνα π.Χ.)
(chordotonon)
ζυγό
(Sygon)
Λουκιανός
Φιλόστρατος (δεύτερο κε-tury μ.Χ.)
kollopes
γέφυρα
(Magas)
Ησύχιο
Φώτιος
Στήριξη των χορδών
βραχυχρόνιων
Ευστάθιος 4 Οδύσσεια <"(δωδέκατη αιώνας μ.Χ.)
kollabos
πίσω μέρος του λαιμού του βοδιού ή προβάτου
Aollops
κόλλα
(κολλαγόνο) Ησύχιος (πέμπτο αιώνα μ.Χ.)
παρασκευή κόλλας
Nubian-αραβικό kissar
άκρες των χορδών
(Carsten Niebuhr του ^ Reisebeschreibung, "I, 179)
17
While the oldest literary sources used only the names
phorminx and kitaris, two new terms come into fashion in the
seventh century B.C. lyra (mentioned for the first time in
Margites, seventh century) and kitara. To all appearances
phorminx and kitaris, which now gradually disappear, had
been synonymous. In the later literature, on the other hand,
lyra and kitara are so consistently placed in opposition to each
other that they necessarily must have belonged to different
instruments. Both Plato (" Republic," III) and Pollux (IV, 8)
mention the lyra and the kitara side by side among the
stringed instruments. Pausanias states that in Olympia
Hermes and Apollo had one altar between them, because
Hermes had invented the lyre and Apollo the kitara; Aristides
Quintihanus says : " The sound of the kitara approaches that
of the lyra, but is less deep and virile," etc.
phorminx
kitaris
seventh century B.C.
lyra (mentioned for the first time in Margites, seventh century)
Plato (" Republic," III)
Pollux (IV, 8)
Pausanias
Aristides Quintihanus
Αριστείδης Quintihanus : «Ο ήχος του ΚΙΤΑΡΑ πλησιάζει
της λύρας, αλλά είναι λιγότερο βαθιά και αρρενωπός, "κλπ.
Φόρμιγγα
kitaris
λύρας (αναφέρεται για πρώτη φορά στηνMargites, syvende αιώνας)
Πλάτων ("Δημοκρατία", ΙΙΙ)
Πολυδεύκης (IV, 8)
18
The fact that the old name kitaris and the new one kitara
recall one another might lead us to suppose that these two
names belonged to the same instrument ; but against this view
we have Aristoxenos's statement that "kitaris and kitara are
not the same " and that "the lyra is a kitaris." If the lyra is
a kitaris, and if besides, the lyra is the instrument that was
invented by Hermes, it is thereby established that by this name
.the Hellenes understood the ancient national tortoise-lyre.
The kitara placed in opposition to the lyra must therefore have
been an instrument introduced into Greece at a later time.
Whence this instrument came will be seen from Plutarch's Cf De
Musica," Chapter 6, where it is stated that they called the
kitara Asias "because it was mostly used by the Lesbian
singers, who live over in Asia" and that it was Kepion, a
pupil of Terpander, who first determined the form of the
kitara. The reason for the introduction of the new instrument
was evidently the insufficiency of the lyre, when the games at
last compelled the production of more artistic lyre playing.
kitaris
kitara
Aristoxenos
Hermes
tortoise-lyre.
Plutarch's Cf De Musica," Chapter 6
kitara Asias
Lesbian singers
Kepion
Terpander
Παυσανίας
Ερμής
Απόλλων
19
Aristotle points expressly to the kitara as the instrument which
belongs primarily to the games and the virtuosi, and which is
consequently not adapted to the general education of youth.
Procles's " Chrestomatie " even mentions the Cretan Chryso-
themis as the person who at an Apollo festival at Delphi used
the kitara for the first time instead of the lyre (Photios,
"Bibl."2 3 9).
In our enquiry as to the nature of the new type of lyre,
the designation "Asiatic" makes it probable that what took
place was a definite transfer of the elegant Asiatic type of
instrument already mentioned by Homer, from Asia Minor to
Greece, where the tortoise-lyre had until then alone prevailed.
In order to distinguish between the earlier and the later types,
the lyre introduced from abroad was given the Astatic-
bounding name of kitara^ while the national tortoise-lyre was
given another title the lyra.
Aristotle
kitara
games
virtuosi
education
Procles's " Chrestomatie "
Cretan Chrysothemis
Apollo festival
Delphi
(Photios, "Bibl."2 3 9).
new type of lyre
"Asiatic"
Homer
Asia Minor
tortoise-lyre
Αριστοτέλης
ΚΙΤΑΡΑ
βιρτουόζους
εκπαίδευση των νέων.
Προκλή του "Chrestomatie»
Κρητικό ΧρύσωΘΕΜΗΣ
γιορτή του Απόλλωνα
Δελφούς
(Φώτιος,"Βιβλ." 2 3 9).
νέου τύπου της λύρας
«ασιατική»
Όμηρο
Μικρά Ασία
χελώνα-λύρα
20
The old literature gives no definite information on the
form of the kitara. A few quotations from Cicero ("De Nat.
Deor.," II, pars. 144^ 149) lead us to suppose that the arms
were hollow and, together with the sound-box, helped to in-
crease the volume of the tone : "... that is why," he writes,
" tortoiseshell or horn gives resonance to a lyre, and also why
winding passages have an echo which is louder than the orig-
inal sound." In another place he says that "my school is
fond of comparing the tongue to the quill of a lyre, the teeth
to the strings, and the nostrils to the horns which echo the notes
of the strings when the instrument is played." To intensify
the tone it seems as if certain parts of the sound-box were
covered with horn or metal. Theophastrus (89, 10) writes :
" For the instrument which at its base is covered with horn or
metal will give a fuller tone, as the sbund is called forth all
over the instrument in the same fullness," and Aristotle men-
tions (" De Audobilibus," 801) that by adding their sound the
metal plates and the aims make the tone of the instrument
clearer. Pollux (IV, 62) also mentions metal and horn plates
as elements of the stringed instrument in addition to the
strings, arms, etc. Otherwise we learn only that the new in-
strument gradually made use of more and more strings, and
thereby now and then gave offence to people who demanded
that Terpander's classical number seven should be held in
respect. The Spartans especially protested against this in-
crease in the number of the strings.
kitara
Cicero ("De Nat. Deor.," II, pars. 144^ 149)
arms
sound-box
tone
tortoiseshell
horn
lyre
sound-box were covered with horn or metal
Theophastrus (89, 10)
Aristotle (" De Audobilibus," 801)
sound the metal plates
Pollux (IV, 62)
strings
arms
Terpander's
Spartans
ΚΙΤΑΡΑ.
Κικέρων («De Εθν.Deor. "ΙΙ, pars. 144 ^ 149)
βραχιόνων
κούφια
ηχείο
"Ταρταρούγα
κέρατο
"Να εντείνουν
ο τόνος φαίνεται σαν Ορισμένα τμήματα του var ηχείο
καλύπτονται με κέρατο ή μέταλλο.
Theophastrus (89, 10)
βάση καλυμμένη με κέρατο ή μέταλλο
Αριστοτέλης- («Η Audobilibus," 801)
προσθήκη της
μεταλλικές πλάκες τον ήχο του οργάνου καθαρίζει.
Πολυδεύκης (IV, 62)
μέταλλο
οστεώδεις πλάκες
Σπαρτιάτες
21
Plutarch says that when Phrynis showed his nine-stringed
kitara in Sparta for the first time, the Ephor Ekprepes without
hesitation cut away two of the strings, saying: "Do not ill-
treat music, I beg of you."
As the favourite festive instrument the kitara^ like its
Homeric predecessor, was frequently noticeable on account of
its costly material and elaborate decoration. Lucian tells us
of a certain Evangelos who, at the Pythian games, used a
kitara of pure gold adorned with pearls and carved stones.
The evidence of the pictures. With the literary sources as
our starting point it will be comparatively easy to understand
the lyre as it is presented to us in the pictures.
Plutarch
Phrynis
nine-stringed kitara
Sparta
Ephor Ekprepes : "Do not ill-
treat music, I beg of you."
festive instrument
kitara^ l
Lucian
Pythian games
Πλούταρχος
Phrynis
εννέα χορδα
ΚΙΤΑΡΑ
Σπάρτη
Ekprepes έφορος κόψτε δύο από τις χορδές, λέγοντας: «Μην άρρωστος-
θεραπεία μουσική, ζητώ από σας. "
Λουκιανός
Πύθια
ΚΙΤΑΡΑ καθαρού χρυσού στολισμένο με μαργαριτάρια και λαξευμένους λίθους.
22
The evidence of the pictures. With the literary sources as
our starting point it will be comparatively easy to understand
the lyre as it is presented to us in the pictures.
Under the name "lyra" we first find two instruments
which coincide, feature for feature, with the description of
Hermes' tortoise instrument as it is found in literature, and
which is to be seen so often in pictures that this fact alone
points to its importance as one of the chief national instruments
(Fig. 21, and the vignette at the end of the section). This in-
strument was chiefly found in domestic settings and where the
subject is the musical instruction of the young (Fig. 22). On
the other hand, it is never found in the hands of players who
by their surroundings, dress, etc., are characterised as per-
formers of artistic lyre-music.
In festive scenes, and in the hands of the virtuosi, we find
quite another type of lyre, which is evidently made to supply a
tone of far greater carrying power, and which is consequently,
both in regard to acoustics and equipment, far superior to the
Fig. 21. Terpsichore with lyre Fig. 23. The type of lyre used
(0. Miiller, " Denkmfcler d. alt. at the Games: Kitara. (E. Ger-
Kunst")- hard, " Auserlesene Vasen-
bilder.")
Fig. 22. A Lesson on the Lyre. (FurtwSngler, " Qriechische Yasen-
malerei," Ser. II.)
tortoise-lyre. On the coins of the Lycian Union this instru-
ment bears the name of XiSa/>y<f>6poi (see Fig. 23).
"lyra"
Hermes' tortoise instrument
performers
artistic lyre-music
festive scenes
virtuosi
tortoise-lyre
coins of the Lycian Union
Terpsichore with lyre
(0. Miiller, " Denkmfcler d. alt. at the Games: Kitara. (E. Ger-
Kunst")- hard, " Auserlesene Vasen- bilder.")
(FurtwSngler, " Qriechische Yasen- malerei," Ser. II.)
εορταστική σκηνές
Βιρτουόζοι
Τερψιχόρη με τη λύρα
(0 Μύλλερ, «Denkmfcler για τα πάντα στο παιχνίδι:.. ΚΙΤΑΡΑ (Ε. Γερμανίας
Τέχνη ")
(FurtwSngler, "-Yasen Qriechische Malerei, "Σερ. ΙΙ).
χελώνα-λύρα
νομίσματα της Λυκίας
23
The first lyre-like instrument of all those occurring in the
Greek pictures dates from about 1500 B.C., and was found in
Haghia Triados* palace, excavated in Crete about thirty years
ago. But this lyre, of which there exists one fairly well-pre-
served drawing (on a painted sarcophagus) and another very
defective one (on a wall found near the paldce), is so different
irx appearance from the lyres known from other pictures, and
dividqd chronologically by so great a gap from the period at
which the pictures render a survey of the Greek lyre-types pos-
sible, that it would be too speculative from this one source to
infer anything as to the general type and construction of the
prehistoric Greek lyre. It must therefore suffice to reproduce
the best of these two pictures and by its aid analyse as far as
possible the composition of the instrument (see Fig. 24).
Prehistoric seven- stringed lyre on- a Cretan
sarcophagus, ca. 1500 B.C.
Four-stringed tortoise-lyre
Etruscan vase
B.O. (" Jahrbtich des Kais. deutschen arch. Inst.," 1899.)
The first lyre-like instrument Greek pictures dates from about 1500 B.C.
Haghia Triados* palace, excavated in Crete
lyre
sarcophagus
prehistoric Greek lyre.
Η πρώτη λύρα-όπως περίπου από το 1500 π.Χ.
Αγίας Τριάδος Κρήτη
σαρκοφάγου)
προϊστορική ελληνική λύρα.
24
The most striking feature is the total absence of a sound-
box. The arms, formed like bent swans' necks and both end-
ing at the top in a small pointed head, merge below into a
round and comparatively narrow frame. Where the swans*
heads bend in towards each other there are on the necks two
low columns which apparently make their way through the
rather clumsily built cylindrical yoke on which seven strings,
spread fan-wise, terminate. How the strings were fastened to
the lower part of the lyre-frame does not appear from the pic-
ture; nor is it possible lo discover the means of tuning on the
yoke. From the attitude of the player it would appear that
the instrument was heavy. The hands pluck the strings at dif-
ferent heights and without the aid of a plectrum. It must cer-
tainly be due to the faulty drawing that in the picture the hands
are both placed behind the arms of the lyre, and the manner in
which the black ribbon that decorates the dress of the player
is passed through the instrument is also rather unnatural. The
seven strings of this lyre are interesting, for they show that
eight bundled years before tradition allows Terpander to " in-
vent 11 the seven-stringed lyre, examples of an instrument with
this number of strings were already to be found in Greece.
sound- box
arms
formed like bent swans'
cylindrical yoke
seven strings
plectrum
Terpander
seven-stringed lyre
παντελής έλλειψη ενός κουτί
λαιμό κύκνοι
κυλινδρικό ζυγό
επτά χορδές
πένας
μαύρη κορδέλα κοσμεί το φόρεμα του παίκτη
Επτά χορδές
25
As early as the ninth-eighth century B.C. the pictures al-
ready afford two examples of the national Greek tortoise lyre
which are? unmistakable; and in both cases the lyre has four
clearly-marked strings. One of the pictures is on an Athenian
vase in the antique collection at Copenhagen, and the other,
reproduced in Fig. 25, is to be seen on an Etruscan vase from
Amyklaion in Laconia, now in the National Museum at Athens.
An almost contemporaneous picture (seventh century; see
Fig. 27) exists of the form in which the kitara became typical'
and which probably was identical with the final form which
Kepion gave this instrument. Yet a whole century before this,
there is another in which the form of the kitara appears to be
in its embryonic form; at least the upper part of the instrument
with its pillared arms and the large knob which ends the yoke
to the right, points much more to the kitara than to the lyra
(see below, where the two types are more clearly distinguished).
The rounded lower part, on the other hand, still unquestion-
ably recalls the tortoise sound-box. Oddly enough, this pre-
Terpander lyre also has seven clearly-marked strings (see
Fig. 26).
early as the ninth-eighth century B.C.
Greek tortoise lyre
Athenian vase in the antique collection at Copenhagen
Etruscan vase from Amyklaion in Laconia, now in the National Museum at Athens.
(seventh century;
kitara
Kepion
kitara appears embryonic form
tortoise sound-box
pre- Terpander lyre
ένατα με έγδοο αιώνα π.Χ.
ελληνική λύρα χελώνα
αθηναϊκή βάζο στην παλιά συλλογή στην Κοπεγχάγη
βάζο από ετρουσκική
Αμυκλαίον στη Λακωνία, σήμερα στο Εθνικό Μουσείο στην Αθήνα.
Kepion
εμβρυακή μορφή
χελώνα ηχείο
26
Vase-painting from Melos, 8th-7th cent. B.C. (Conze,
"Meksche Tliongefasse.")
If after having made the acquaintance of these earliest
representations, we would now investigate the entire Greek pic-
torial material in order more exactly to define the difference
between the lyra and the kitara of ancient literature, it will
soon be realised that it is the form of the sound-box and of
the arms that more than anything else distinguishes the two
types from one another.
As a natural consequence of its traditional tortoise origin
the sound-box of the lyra is vaulted and round. In the pic-
tures we often recognise the scales of the tortoiseshell lying like
tiles beside each other and partly overlapping (see Figs. 22
and 39). In the sound-board which, according to the Hermes
hymn, originally consisted of ox-hide, but which was later
made of a thin wooden plate, small perforated sound-holes are
often to be detected in the pictures. The arms are slender
and through their curved form and outline, confirm the evi-
dence of literature that they were originally made of horns
(gazelle or ibex; see Figs. 29 and 35). At the same time we
must note, in Fig. 28, a lyra of the early sixth century which
still appears to have an ox-hide tympanum. i
Vase-painting from Melos, 8th-7th cent. B.C.
(Conze, "Meksche Tliongefasse.")
sound-box
arms
traditional tortoise origin the sound-box
wooden plate
small perforated sound-holes
The arms are slender εnd through their curved form and outline
horns
(gazelle or ibex
lyra of the early sixth century
ox-hide tympanum. i
ηχείο της λύρας είναι θολωτή και στρογγυλά.
ταρταρούγα
πλακάκια επικάλυψη
βόδι δερμα
αργότερα som
Κατασκευασμένο λεπτό ξύλινο
μικρή τρύπα διάτρητο
βραχίονας λεπτός καμπύλο σχήμα
κέρατο
(Gazelle ή αγριοκάτσικο
λύρα του στις αρχές του έκτου αιώνα βόδι-απόκρυψη τύμπανο.
27
The sound-box and the arms of the kitara> however, are of
an entirely different nature. The former appears as t square
Fig. 27. Kitara on a breastplate of the 7th cent. B.C. (Found in a
Greek river; "Bulletin de Correspondence Hellenique," 1883.)
box with sides sloping evenly outward. The front, where the
strings are attached, is flat and devoid of sound-holes; the
back, on the other hand, is often very vaulted (see Figs. 30
and 31). The base is in most cases flat so that the instrument
can stand without support. The apparently hollow lower parts
of the slightly convex and strongly-built arms merge into the
sound-box and torm part of it. Above, they form perpendicu-
lar angular pillars projecting somewhat above the yoke and,
judging by the somewhat lighter colour which they are often
given (see Fig. 32), seem to have been made of a material dif-
ferent from that used in the lower parts. On their inner side
the arms are often decorated with fretwork and inlaid wood-
carvings.
sound-box
arms of the kitara
Kitara on a breastplate of the 7th cent. B.C.
(Found in a Greek river; "Bulletin de Correspondence Hellenique," 1883.)
box
sound-holes
base is in most cases flat
Ο ήχος-box και τα όπλα του ΚΙΤΑΡΑ> ωστόσο, er των
έχουν εντελώς διαφορετικό χαρακτήρα. Τα έντυπα Εμφανίζεται ως t πλατεία
Εικ.. 27ο ΚΙΤΑΡΑ σε ένα πιάτο στήθος του 7ου αι. Π.Χ. (Βρέθηκαν σε
Ελληνικό ποτάμι, "Δελτίο de αλληλογραφία Hellenique", το 1883η)
κουτί με κλίση Ομοιόμορφα πλευρά προς τα έξω
μπροστινό είναι επίπεδη και χωρίς ήχο-τρύπες
Πίσω, Από την άλλη πλευρά θολωτή
βάση πρέπει να είναι επίπεδη
διακοσμημένα με ξυλόγλυπτα και ένθετο ξύλο γλυπτά.
28
Fig. 28. Sixth-century lyre (with leather sound-board?) in the Museo-
Archeologico in Florence. (Furtwan^ler, * ' Griechische vaseninalerei,"
Ser. L)
Fig. 29. Lyra with
bridge and tail-piece.
Pourtales.")
(Panofka, "Cab-
lyre appear in the pictures to be similar in all other respects.
Thus the use of a tail-piece is common to both kinds of lyre.
Sometimes this only appears as a fillet glued to the sound-
board as, for example, is the case in the modern guitar (see
Fig. 28). In other instances it consists of a small board which
projects from the edge of the sound-box a little over the sound-
board, like the modern violin tail-piece. On both types of
instrument a bridge is also seen in most cases (see Figs. 29
and 30).
Sixth-century lyre (with leather sound-board?) in the Museo-
Archeologico in Florence.
(Furtwan^ler, * ' Griechische vaseninalerei," Ser. L)
Fig. 29. Lyra with bridge and tail-piece. Pourtales.")
Panofka
lyre
tail-piece
sound-board
case
modern violin tail-piece
bridge
Έκτη αιώνα λύρα (με δερμα του σκάφους;) Στο Museo-Archeologico στη Φλωρεντία.
(Furtwan ^ * πηλό »Griechische vaseninalerei,"Σερ. L)
Λύρα με γέφυρας
Pourtales
Panofka
γέφυρα
29
Fig. 3D. Kitara seen from the Fig. 31. Kitara seen from the
front. Greek coin from My til- back. Greek coin from Met-
ene, 350-250 B.C. (British hymna, ca. 330-240 B.C. (British
Museum). Museum).
The principles applied in the construction and manipula-
tion of the Greek lyre-instruments differed very widely, especi-
ally in the connection of the yoke with the arms and the tuning
of the strings.
Concerning the connection of the yoke with the arms of the
lyre, it appears in some of the pictures as if the yoke were
passed through fee arms from the side so that it could be
turned with the hand by means of one of the large knobs which
usually terminate it at both ends. In this connection the ob-
servation made by Hermann Smith ("The World's Earliest
Music ") is interesting, viz., that the knobs are often of dif-
ferent size, and that the larger in such cases is always placed
on the right to serve as a handle for turning the yok^. The
movable yoke, which permits a simultaneous tightening or
slackening of all the strings was, in Smith's opinion, for the
purpose of preserving the strings, which were inclined to snap
when constantly kept at a high tension. When the instrument
was laid aside, the strings were loosened by turning the yoke
one way; when it was needed again they were tightened by
turning the yoke in the opposite direction. The tuning of
the individual strings, which was regulated independently of
this turning by means of the special mechanism placed on the
yoke (see below), was not thereby disturbed, because all the
strings had their tension increased or diminished to the same
extent by the turning of the yoke. Fig. 33 shows the method
in practice.
Greek coin from My til
Greek coin from Metene, 350-250 B.C.
(British hymna, ca. 330-240 B.C. (British Museum). Museum).
yoke
arms
tuning
strings
connection of the yoke with the arms
Hermann Smith ("The World's Earliest Music ")
special mechanism placed on the yoke
σύνδεση του ζυγού
Hermann Σμιθ ("Ο Κόσμος του πιο παλιά Μουσική ")
Κινητά ζυγό
30
Pig. 32. Kitara with white arms and
black body, and with kollopes on the yoke.
The right hand tunes the strings. (Ger-
hard,, " Auserlesene Vasenbilder.")
Fig. 38. Turning the yoke (T. Ho ' Costume of
Ancients ").
Some lyre remnants in the British Museum acquaint us
with another method of connecting the arms with the yoke.
The latter is split at both ends so that it may be pushed down
over the pointed lyre-arms until it reaches a notch into which
it slips and is held fast. A similar procedure is still followed
in the Nubian lyre in Fig. 20, where, however, only one of the
arms and the yoke are connected in this manner; on the other
side the yoke rests on the end of the arm, as will be seen in
the picture. In Fig. 34 an example of another Nubian lyre
will be seen, in which the cleft yoke is apparently replaced by
one that is perforated at both ends by the arms.
In antique Greek pictures the yoke is sometimes seen
behind, and sometimes before the arms of the lyre; this may be
due to the employment of one or other of the methods described
above. If che yoke is behind, it may be assumed that it passes
through both arms and may consequently be turned ; if it is in
front, the lyre-arms probably pass through the yoke, thus
making it immovable.
Kitara
arms
kollopes
yoke.
tunes the strings
(Gerhard,, " Auserlesene Vasenbilder.")
Some lyre remnants in the British Museum
connecting the arms with the yoke.
Nubian lyre
ΚΙΤΑΡΑ
kollopes
ζυγό.
"Auserlesene Βάζο Εδέμ.")
λύρα Απομεινάρια στο Βρετανικό Μουσείο
σύνδεσης του βραχίονα με τον ζυγό
Nubian λύρα
λύρα-βραχίονα πέρασμα μέσα από το ζυγό έτσι καθιστώντας ακίνητη.
31
Fig. 34. Nubian lyre (South Fig. 35. Lyre with kollopes (Ger-
Kensington Museum). hand, "Anserl. Vasenbilder. )
On the evidence of the pictures, one method of tuning the
strings appears to have been used more than any other. On
the yoke there are what appear to be beads (see Figs. 32 and
35) and we often see the hand of the player grasping one of
them as if he were on the point of turning it or securing it (see
3 2 )- In these beads we have without doubt an instance
of the kollopes so often mentioned by the old writers (Homer,
Lucian, Philostratos, Phrymchos, etc.) and of which Eustathios
gave an explanation (p. 30) the correctness of which can
scarcely be doubted since a similar procedure is actually still
followed on a modern African lyre (see Fig. 20). The ex-
planation of another tuning-principle which is also shown in
the pictures (see Fig. 36) and of which I consider we already
Fig. 36. Pompeian wall-painting (fragment). Photograph.
have^an instance in the archaic Chaldaean lyre in Fig. 9, was
found by Victor Mahillon, director of the Instrument Museum
in Brussels. In the Trocadero Museum in Paris, Mahillon
found an Ethiopian lyre on which exactly the same method is
used (see Fig. 37). In this, each string was tied to a short
cylindrical stick, and was then once wound round the yoke
so that the stick was made to stand perpendicularly in front
of it. By pushing the stick forwards or backwards, the string
was tuned up or down respectively. In order to test the utility
of the method, Mahillon transferred this tuning apparatus to
a copy of the kitara played by the Vatican Apollo (see Fig.
38), and it then appeared that the strings when tuned in this
manner really kept their pitch as well as when tuned by pegs.
A third method appears to be quite primitive: criss-cross
grooves were cut into the yoke, through which the strings were
carried in order to be stretched and fastened.
Nubian lyre
kollopes
(GerKensington Museum). hand, "Anserl. Vasenbilder. )
method of tuning the strings
yoke
kollopes so often mentioned by the old writers (Homer,
Lucian, Philostratos, Phrymchos, etc.)
Eustathios
modern African lyre
archaic Chaldaean lyre
Victor Mahillon, director of the Instrument Museum in Brussels.
Trocadero Museum in Paris
cylindrical stick
tuning apparatus to a copy of the kitara played by the Vatican Apollo
pegs
Nubian λύρα
Λύρα με kollopes
(Γερμανία Kensington Μουσείο).
"Anserl. Βάζο Bilder.)
ζυγό
kollopes αναφέρεται α (Όμηρος,Λουκιανός, Φιλόστρατος, Phrymchos, κ.λπ.)
Ευστάθιος
σύγχρονη αφρικανική λύρα
αρχαϊκή λύρα Χαλδαϊκοί
Victor Mahillon, διευθυντής του Μουσείου στις Βρυξέλλες.
Μουσείο στο Τροκαντερό στο Παρίσι
λύρα της Αιθιοπίας
κυλινδρικό ραβδί γύρω από το ζυγό
ΚΙΤΑΡΑ από το Βατικανό Απόλλωνα
μανταλάκια.
σταυρώστε
αυλάκια κομμένα στα ζυγό, μέσω χορδές
32
Only in a single example did Dr. Karl von Jan, who more
than any other has endeavoured to discover (in "Die
griechische Saiteninstrumente," Leipzig, 1882) the ancient
methods of tuning, find a piece of apparatus which looked like
a tuning-screw; but the absence of further evidence renders it
impossible to establish anything definite. It may be that
behind the t( screws" which are illustrated, quite a different
means of tuning is concealed. One of the two original lyre-
yokes, together with other fragments of lyres in the British
Museum, seem to have been adapted for kollopes, for the wood
still bears traces of the strings that were wound round it. The
other yoke, however, proves the existence of another very
strange and hitherto unknown antique tuning mechanism.
Eight separate cylindrical joints which were turned from the
side by means of small levers, formed the yoke-bar. In each
joint was a round hole, and in each hole was a lever one of
them being still in position. Probably the levers served for
fastening the strings, but their object was also, without doubt,
to stretch and slacken them as the hand moved the levers for-
wards or backwards, thus turning the cylinder on its hinge.
How this hinge was finally secured so that it could not slip
back, does not appear clearly from the descriptions of the yoke
given by Jan (op. cit.) and Hermann Smith (" The World's
Earliest Music"); but unfortunately I have not had an oppor-
tunity of examining it myself.
Dr. Karl von Jan (in "Die griechische Saiteninstrumente," Leipzig, 1882)
ancient
methods of tuning
piece
tuning-screw
two original lyreyokes
fragments of lyres in the British Museum
kollopes
cylindrical joints
yoke-bar
Jan (op. cit.) and Hermann Smith (" The World's Earliest Music")
Δρ Karl von Ιαν "Die
Griechische Saiteninstrumente, "Λειψία, 1882)
δίσκους
βίδα ρύθμισης
λύρα-Βρετανικό Μουσείο, kollopes για το ξύλο ίχνη της χορδές
ζυγό
Οκτώ ξεχωριστές κυλινδρικό αρθρώσεις
μικρών μοχλούς
ζυγό-μπαρ
μεντεσές
Jan (όπ.π.) και Hermann Σμιθ ("Ο Κόσμος τουΗ πιο παλιά μουσική »)
33
While the Asiatic lyre and the majority of the Egyptian
examples were played in a horizontal position, the Greek lyres
Fig. 37 Ethiopian lyre (Mission Duehesne Fournet, "Travail sur
PAnthropologie et F Ethnographic de PEthiopie" (Verneau).
Tig. 38. Copy of the Greek Apollo-lyre (in the Instrument Museum
of the Conservatoire in Brussels).
were in most cases carried vertically, i.e., with pendent sound-
box. A sling was seldom employed; but in both lyres fre-
quent use was made of a band looped on to the left wrist of the
player and drawn tightly to a button on the farther arm of
the lyre, from which the ends, embroidered and provided with
fringes, hang- down as ornaments. In the same manner the
virtuoso often hung an elegantly embroidered cloth on the
nearer arm of the kitara. While the lyre was often played in
a sitting position, the kitara-player generally stood. On both
instruments, playing was divided between the left hand, the
fingers of which plucked the strings directly from the back,
and the right hand, placed before the instrument and generally
using a leaf or heart-shaped plectrum. Consequently the left-
hand technic was, in Rome, called intus canere, and that of the
plectrum fons canere ("to play on the inside" and "to play
on the outside"). For plectrum-playing the Greeks used the
terms flessein, krekein or kruein (i.e., to beat), whereas finger-
plucking was called fsallein (i.e., to snap one's fingers or to
harp).
Asiatic lyre
Egyptian
Greek lyres
Ethiopian lyre
(Mission Duehesne Fournet, "Travail sur PAnthropologie et F Ethnographic de PEthiopie"
(Verneau).
Copy of the Greek Apollo-lyre (in the Instrument Museum of the Conservatoire in Brussels).
sound-box.
arm
heart-shaped plectrum.
("to play on the inside" and "to play on the outside")
krekein
kruein
ασιατική λύρα
Αιγυπτιακών
ελληνικές λύρες
Αιθιοπίας λύρα
(Αποστολή Duehesne Fournet, «Travail sur PAnthropologie ένα Εθνογραφικό F που PEthiopie
"(Verneau).
Αντίγραφο της ελληνικής λύρας του Απόλλωνα, (στο Μουσείο Μέσο του Ωδείου στις Βρυξέλλες).
μπάντα τυλιγμένο δύο στο αριστερό καρπό
Κρόσσια κομψά κεντημένο ύφασμα
ΚΙΤΑΡΑ
φύλλο ή σε σχήμα καρδιάς πένα
intus canere,
πένα
("για να παίξει στο εσωτερικό» και «να παίξει στο εξωτερικό »).
krekein
kruein
δάχτυλό
μάδημα ονομαζόταν fsallein
34
Together with the genuine lyra and kitara, the pictures
portray some lyre-types which may best be characterised as
transitional or intermediate forms, for it is often difficult to
classify them as belonging absolutely to one or the other ot the
two forms.
Most closely related to the lyra is an instrument, occurring
frequently and of very peculiar form (see Fig. 39). From the
rounded sound-box on which the tortoise-shell scales often ap-
pear quite clearly, two slender and lengthy arms rise and on
their way to the yoke gradually increase the space between
each other, and suddenly turn inwards again just below the
yoke. In the ordinary lyre the arms are most convex near the
sound-box, and thence slowly turn towards one another (see
Fig- 2 5)> curving outward above the yoke. In this type of
lyre Jan considered that he recognised the barbiton, distin-
Fig. 39. Barbiton (Gerhard, " Auserl. Vasenbilder ").
Fig. 41. The same, back view (Trojan coin in the Brit. Mus.)-
Fig. 40. Kilara; variant form, seen from the
front. "Bulletin de Correep. hellenique, XII."
guished by its deep sound, and introduced, as some say, by
Terpander, and according to others, by Sappho.
lyra
kitara
tortoise-shell
arms
yoke
sound-box
barbiton
Barbiton (Gerhard, " Auserl. Vasenbilder ").
The same, back view (Trojan coin in the Brit. Mus.)-
Fig. 40. Kilara; variant form, seen from the front. "Bulletin de Correep. hellenique, XII."
Terpander
Sappho
λύρα
ΚΙΤΑΡΑ
ηχείο χελωνοστρακο
ζυγό
barbitone
Εικ.. 39α Pentobarbitone (Gerhard, "Auserl. Βάζο Bilder»).
Εικ.. 41η Η ίδια, πίσω όψη (Trojan νόμισμα στο Brit Mus..) -
Εικ.. 40α Kilara? Μορφή παραλλαγή, φαίνεται από το
μπροστά. "Δελτίο de Correep. Hellenique, XII."
Σαπφώ
35
On the other hand, the two lyre-types reproduced in Figs.
40, 41 and 42, which likewise appear rather frequently, must
be placed in the kitara family. The first (Figs. 40 and 41) is
relatively small and by its simple construction rather recalls
the primitive Asiatic type known to us from Syrian, Assyrian
Fig. 42. Kitara variation: Apollo Citharoedus (Smith and Percher,
"History of the Discoveries at Gyrene ")
and Egyptian pictures (see Figs. 3-5, and Fig. 10). In this
the arms do not divide as in the large concert kitara into upper
and lower parts, but rise like straight columns directly from
the sound-box, the cross-section of which is triangular, as the
back bulges outwards to a sharp vertical edge. The other type
can compare with the kitara in size. The sound-box, which in
this case rests on a broad base, has a very vaulted back, and as
a continuation of its curve the heavily-built arms rise, bend
forward, and hold the yoke. The strings reach the yoke from
a box-shaped tail-piece projecting- from the base. By being
thus stretched between two projecting points, the strings are
kept out of the ordinary plane between the lyre-arms, and are
held away from the instrument, as the bow string is kept from
the bow.
Syrian
Assyrian
Fig. 42. Kitara variation: Apollo Citharoedus (Smith and Percher,
"History of the Discoveries at Gyrene ")
Egyptian
arms
concert kitara
sound-bo,
cross-sectio
strings
lyre-arms
Apollo Citharoedus
(Smith and Percher, "History of the Discoveries at Gyrene ")
Συρίας
Ασσυρίων
Εικ.. 42η ΚΙΤΑΡΑ παραλλαγή: Απόλλωνα κιθαρωδού (Smith και κουρνιάζων,
"Ιστορία των Ανακαλύψεων στο Gyrene")
αιγυπτιακή
βραχίονα, λυγίζετε προς τα εμπρός
36
Having now utilised the ancient literature and the pictures
for the examination of the lyre-types supplied by Ancient
Greece, the next step will be to examine the literature dealing
with the compass of the Greek lyres and their musical proper-
ties and potentialities. We have nothing but uncertain tradi-
tions to guide us. As to the compass of the three-stringed lyre,
for instance, we have only Diodorus's vague statement that
one of the strings gave a high note, the second a deep one,
and the third a note of medium pitch. According to Boethius
("De Musica," lib. i, cap. 20) the four-stringed lyre is said
to have been tunsd as follows :
but at another place in the same work it appears that prior to
this tuning there was another as follows :
i.e., to the Dorian tetrachord.
Statements in reference to the seven-stringed lyre are some-
what more definite; and according to the tradition so often
cited, it is said to have been invented by Terpander, though
it was demonstrably used before his day. Concerning this pre-
Terpanderian tuning, Aristotle's " Problems " (XIX, 7, 24, 44, 47) contain the statement that
its seven notes gave two similar four-note groups which, by means of a note common to both the
mese were connected with one another. In accordance with this rule, however, the old authors
give two different scales: both Aristotle and Nicomachos (" Harmonices enchiridon," cap. 3; give
this seven-note scale, in which two Dorian
tetrachords are connected :
Hagiapolites's fragment (printed by A. J. H. Vincent in
% " Notices et Extraits," 1847, p. 270), on the other hand, main-
tains with Philolaos the Pythagorean as his authority, that
the central note of the pre-Terpander lyre was a fifth from both
outer strings, so that in each or the two connected tetrachords
one note was skipped :
A V .
In the ninth chapter of "Harmonices," Nicomachos, under
Philolaos 1 s name, gives a third tuning which, however, does not
follow Aristotle's precept, as the middle note there connects
two differently constructed tetrachords :
As the earliest of these sources, Hagiapolites's fragment, no
doubt, deserves most respect. As the Auletean Olympos, who
lived before Terpander, is said to have invented a flute-scale
which is in close agreement with the lyre-scale mentioned in
Hagiapolites's treatise, it is an obvious assumption that this
broken-note series, which in the case of the flute arose in all
probability for purely technical reasons, was borrowed from the
flute practice.
Boethius ("De Musica," lib. i, cap. 20)
four-stringed lyre
Dorian tetrachord.
seven-stringed lyre
Terpander
Terpanderian tuning
Aristotle's " Problems " (XIX, 7, 24, 44,
four-note
mese
Nicomachos (" Harmonices enchiridon," cap. 3;
seven-note scale
Hagiapolites's fragment
A. J. H. Vincent in % " Notices et Extraits," 1847, p. 270)
Philolaos
Pythagorean
pre-Terpander lyre
two connected tetrachords
"Harmonices," Nicomachos
Philolaos
tetrachords
Auletean Olympos,
Terpander, iinvented a flute-scale
lyre-scale
Διόδωρου
Βοήθιο("De Musica", lib. Σε, καπάκι. 20)
δωρική τετράχορδο.
προ-Terpanderian ρύθμιση
Αριστοτέλη "Προβλήματα" (ΧΙΧ, 7, 24, 44,
Μέσης
κλίμακες
Nicomachos ("Harmonices enchiridon,
δύο δωρικές τετράχορδα
Hagiapolites
AJH Vincent στην% "Προκηρύξεις Extraits," 1847, σ. 270)
Φιλόλαου
δύο συνδέονται τετράχορδα
"Harmonices," υπό Nicomachos
Φιλόλαος
Κανόνας του Αριστοτέλη
Όλυμπος
37
There is also a skipped note in the heptachord which is
said by Aristotle and Nicomachos (cap. 5) to have been in-
vented by Tsrpander: "It is because," writes Aristotle, "the
notes were originally seven in number, and Terpander took
away the trite and added the nete" As Aristotle supposed
that the pre-Terpander lyre gave a Dorian heptachord (see
above), he consequently arrived at this scale, which distinctly
xeminds us of the third of the above pre-Terpander scales :
According to some traditions it was Pythagoras, according to
others, Lichaon of Samos, who at length thought of filling the
gaps in these lyre-scales and thus reaching the eight-stringed
Jy re-tuning, in which two Dorian tetrachords were placed side
by side, separated by a whole note :
With the eighth string, which it is supposed first occurred on
the kitara, it became possible to use different keys by retuning
one or other of the strings of the instruments. By raising C
and F to C sharp and F sharp, it was possible on the original
Dorian lyre to play in the Phrygian mode. By further raising
D and G a semitone it was made possible to play in the Lydian
mode also :
As. a practical means of passing from one key to another
without re-tuning, a ninth string was introduced later. It was
placed between the old mese, A, and its neighbouring note, B,
and made an interchange between the Dorian and the Hyper-
dorian (Mixolydian) modes possible :
Nine Strings.
Dorian Mode.
Mixolydian mode (Hyperdonan) :
Later the kitara was given first one and then two more strings
for the higher notes :
and thus it was possible
to play in the Lydian :
Hypolydian :
Phrygian :
and Hypophrygian
modes :
By raising one or two of the eleven strings a semitone, other
transpositions were again obtained, e.g. :
Hypodonan : Hypophrygian :
Mixolydian: Hypodonan:
Dorian :
Phrygian : etc.
heptachord
Tsrpander
Dorian heptachord
Lichaon
Dorian Mode.
Mixolydian mode (Hyperdonan)
Lydian
Hypolydian
Phrygian :
Hypophrygian
modes
semitone
Hypodonan
Hypophrygian
Mixolydian: Hypodonan:
Dorian
Phrygian : etc.
δωρική heptachord
δύο δωρικές τετράχορδα
Εννέα Χορδές.
Dorian λειτουργία.
Mixolydian λειτουργία (Hyperdonan)
Λυδίας
Hypolydian:
Φρυγική
Hypophrygian
τρόπους
Hypodonan
Hypophrygian
Mixolydian
Hypodonan
Dorian
Φρυγική
38
Fragments of a few vocal melodies are the only examples
left of the music which had these numerous modes for bases.
As to instrumental music we are reduced to what the authors
have to relate. We know from them that the lyre and the
kitara were used from the beginning for the accompaniment of
song only. Concerning the nature of this accompaniment,
Apuleius states that it was performed by the fingers of the left
hand only, while the instrumental interludes which now and
then interrupted the song, were played with the plectrum held
by the right hand. "L'attilude est exactement celle d'un
jcuer de cithare," writes Apuleius, " . . . sa cithare est etroit-
ment assujettie au baudrier grave qui la soutient; ses mains
sont delicates et allong6es: la gauche, les doigts ecarts, se
pose sr les cordes ; la droite, f aisant le geste du musicien qui
joue, approche Tarchet de la cithare, comme pr&e a en frapper
Tinstrument dans les intervalles ou la voix se repose " (Florida,
XV, xx ; on the statue of the beautiful Bathyllus in the Temple
of Hera on Samos. Time of Pindar. Quoted for the first
time by Jan and translated by Paul Vallette). In this descrip-
tion we find a reason for the right hand of the kitara-player,
holding the plectrum, being so often in an extended position
before the instrument (see Figs. 23, 35 and 36). As to the
musical nature of the accompaniment there is a statement by
Plutarch which created a great stir among musical experts.
"It is a widespread assumption/' writes the Greek author,
" that Archilochos invented instrumental music for use in song;
the old played everything in unison." Westphal and Gevaerl
saw in these words a proof that harmony was already known
to the Greeks in the form of a contrapuntal combination of two
melodies, of which one was sung- while the other, lower in pitch,
was played, most probably extempore. In refutation of this
conception, however, is the striking fact that no such harmony
is mentioned anywhere in ancient literature. Not even such an
eminent musical scholar as Aristoxenos refers to it with a single
Hugo Riemann ("Handbuch der Musikgeschichte," I,
54 STRINGED INSTRUMENTS OF THE MIDDLE AGES.
Pt. I, pp. 14-16) is therefore of opinion that Plutarch's note was
wrongly translated by Westphal and Gevaert, as it should not
read that Archilochos invented the playing of the instrumental
music below the song, but rather together with or interspersed
in the song. Even this translation leaves some doubt as to
whether by this interspersed instrumental playing in the song
is meant the plectrum-playing which, as mentioned above, came
in every time the song paused, or whether the instrumentalist,
while otherwise playing in unison with the melody, here and
there inserted harmonising notes in the shape of ornaments.
Archilochos also is contemporaneous with the earliest use of the
kitara as a solo instrument. The first masters of this art men-
tioned are the Argives Aristonikos and Lysander of Sicyon;
but what the nature of this solo kitara playing (Psile kitaros)
may have been whether it used both plectrum and fingers, or
only one or the other, is not clear from the literary allusions.
plectrum
Apuleius
(Florida, XV, xx ; on the statue of the beautiful Bathyllus in the Temple
of Hera on Samos. Time of Pindar. Quoted for the first
time by Jan and translated by Paul Vallette)
kitara-player,
Plutarch
Westphal
Gevaerl
Aristoxenos
Hugo Riemann ("Handbuch der Musikgeschichte," I, Pt. I, pp. 14-16)
Plutarch's
Argives Aristonikos
Lysander of Sicyon
kitara playing
(Psile kitaros)
55
By settling colonies and founding towns, Greece at an
early date extended her territory in a westerly direction to the
south of Italy (Magna Graca) and Sicily ; and thus Greek cul-
ture and Greek art made their way to the Italian peninsula
very early. For a long period almost from 600 to 300 B.C.
Etruscan art was also under Greek influence, and the kitaras
and lyres found on Etruscan vases are therefore in the main
copies of the Greek pictures. When Greece came under Roman
sway, Greek music and Greek stringed instruments, primarily
the kitara and the lyre (Testudo), also came into fashion in
Rome. From the reigns of Nero and Domitian we have evi-
dence of GrTQsk. agones, including musical competitions. Ac-
cording to Ovid, it was'considered good form in Roman society
for young ladies to sing and play on a stringed instrument.
At the same time he was of opinion that playing the lyre and
THE LYRE AFTER THE MIGRATION. 55
kitara and singing were effeminate ; while St. Hieronimus says
in plain words that a Christian maiden should not even know
what was understood by a lyre or flute, or for what purpose
they were used.
The ancient Greek traditions were finally destroyed com-
pletely at the time of the Great Migration. When from the
beginning of tne eighth century the lyre-type of instruments
appear again on the monuments, their sphere of action had been
icmoved to another part of the world, far away from where
they achieved their greatest triumphs in antiquity, under the
aegis of classical poetry.
Apuleius
δάχτυλο του αριστερού μόνο το χέρι
Interludes
Bathyllus
στο Ναό της Ήρας στη Σάμο
Πίνδαρος
Jan
Paul Vallette)
πένα
Πλούταρχος
Αρχίλοχος
ορχηστρική μουσική
τραγούδι
"Westphal
Gevaerl
Αριστόξενο Α
Hugo Riemann ("Handbuch der Musikgeschichte," Pt. Ι, σελ. 14-16)
Αργείοι Aristonikos
Λύσανδρος της Σικυώνας
(ΨΗΛΕ kitaros)
πένα
δάχτυλο
55
By settling colonies and founding towns, Greece at an
early date extended her territory in a westerly direction to the
south of Italy (Magna Graca) and Sicily ; and thus Greek cul-
ture and Greek art made their way to the Italian peninsula
very early. For a long period almost from 600 to 300 B.C.
Etruscan art was also under Greek influence, and the kitaras
and lyres found on Etruscan vases are therefore in the main
copies of the Greek pictures. When Greece came under Roman
sway, Greek music and Greek stringed instruments, primarily
the kitara and the lyre (Testudo), also came into fashion in
Rome. From the reigns of Nero and Domitian we have evi-
dence of GrTQsk. agones, including musical competitions. Ac-
cording to Ovid, it was'considered good form in Roman society
for young ladies to sing and play on a stringed instrument.
At the same time he was of opinion that playing the lyre and
kitara and singing were effeminate ; while St. Hieronimus says
in plain words that a Christian maiden should not even know
what was understood by a lyre or flute, or for what purpose
they were used.
The ancient Greek traditions were finally destroyed com-
pletely at the time of the Great Migration. When from the
beginning of tne eighth century the lyre-type of instruments
appear again on the monuments, their sphere of action had been
icmoved to another part of the world, far away from where
they achieved their greatest triumphs in antiquity, under the
aegis of classical poetry.
Italy (Magna Graca)
Sicily
period almost from 600 to 300 B.C.
Etruscan art
kitaras
lyres
Etruscan vases a
(Testudo)
Nero
Ovid
St. Hieronimus
Great Migration
Ιταλίας (Magna Graca)
Σικελία
periode 600 - 300 π.Χ.
Ετρουσκική τέχνη
kitaras
λύρες
ετρουσκικό αγγεία
(Testudo)
Νέρωνα
Δομιτιανού έχουμε
μουσικών διαγωνισμών.
Οβίδιος
Αγίου Hieronimus
μετανάστευσης
