Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Definition
Music (or mousike) was an integral part of life in the ancient
Greek world, and the term covered not only music but also
dance, lyrics, and the performance of poetry. A wide range of
instruments were used to perform music which was played on
all manner of occasions such as religious ceremonies, festivals,
private drinking parties (symposia), weddings, funerals, and
during athletic and military activities. Music was also an
important element of Greek education and dramatic
performances held in theatres such as plays, recitals, and
competitions.
MUSICAL ORIGINS
For the ancient Greeks, music was viewed as quite literally a gift
from the gods. The invention of specific instruments is
attributed to particular deities: Hermes the lyre, Pan the
syrinx (panpipes) and Athena the aulos (flute). In Greek
mythology the Muses personified the various elements of
music (in the wide Greek sense of the term) and were said to
entertain the gods on Mt. Olympus with their divine music,
dancing, and singing. Other mythical figures strongly associated
with music are the god of wine Dionysos and his followers the
Satyrs and Maenads. Amphion and Thamyres were both famed
for their skills playing the kithara (guitar) whilst Orpheus was
celebrated as a magnificent singer and lyre player.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Greek musical instruments included stringed, wind, and
percussion. By far the most popular were the lyre, aulos
(usually double), and syrinx. Other instruments, however,
included the rattle (sistrum and seistron), cymbals (kymbala),
guitar (kithara), bagpipe (askaulos), conch and triton shells
(kochlos), trumpet (salpinx), horn (keras), tambourine
(rhoptron), shallow drum (tympanon), clappers (krotala),
maracas (phormiskoi), xylophone (psithyra), various versions of
the lyre such as the four-stringed lyre (phorminx) and the multi-
stringed and elongated barbiton, and various types of harps,
usually triangular shaped (e.g. the psalterion). Two unusual
instruments were the rhombos (a wind instrument) which was a
flat rhombus pierced with holes, strung on a cord, and played by
spinning the cord. The second was the hydraulis, a sophisticated
Hellenistic organ which used compressed air and water
pressure maintained by two pedals. Incidentally, stringed
instruments were always played with the fingers or a plectrum
rather than with a bow and in the Classical period, stringed
instruments were favoured over wind as they allowed the player
to also sing, and for the Greeks words were considered more
important than musical sounds.
MUSIC THEORY
There is evidence that the Greeks began to study music theory
as early as the 6th century BCE. This consisted of harmonic,
acoustic, scalar, and melody studies. The earliest surviving (but
fragmentary) text on the subject is the Harmonic Elements by
Aristoxenos, written in the 4th century BCE. Music also became
an element of philosophical study, notably, by the followers of
Pythagoras, who believed that music was a mathematical
expression of the cosmic order. Music was also held to have
certain therapeutic benefits, even medicinal powers over
physical and mental illnesses.
MUSICIANS
Greek musicians were very often the composers and lyricists of
the music they performed. Known as the ‘makers of songs’ or
melopoioi, they created melos: a composition of words, tune,
and rhythm. There is evidence that musicians enjoyed an
elevated status in society as indicated by their particular robes
and presence on royal household staff lists. There was even a
specific symbol for musicians in the Cretan hieroglyphic script
and the later Linear B. Professional musicians were male,
although an exception were the courtesans or hetairai who
performed at symposia. However, there are depictions in art of
female musicians, notably the clay dancing lyre players from
Palaikastro. Other professional musicians included the trieraules
who set the beat for the rowers in triremes and trumpet players
and choral singers who accompanied marching soldiers.
MUSIC IN ART
Musicians and musical instruments were a popular subject on
frescoes, in sculpture, and on Greek pottery, particularly in the
Geometric, black-figure and red-figure styles. Aside from all of
the major mythological figures previously mentioned, a notable
addition to the subject of music on Greek pottery is the
greatest of heroes Hercules. Late Archaic and Early Attic
pottery often portray the hero with a kithara, and perhaps this
symbolizes the association between physical and musical
exercise which are necessary for a properly balanced education.
Other great heroes such as Achilles, Theseus, and Paris are
also sometimes portrayed playing a musical instrument (usually
a lyre), once again reinforcing the dual aims of an aristocratic
education and the virtue of music. Also, many school scenes on
5th century BCE pottery depict students with both a lyre and a
book-roll, illustrating once again the importance of music in
education. Finally, Lekythoi, slim jars for holding perfumes, are
commonly found in grave contexts and often have music as the
subject of their decoration, perhaps in an attempt to ensure that
the deceased was accompanied by music on their journey into
the next life.