Apollo, from that point on, was considered the player par excellence of the lyre. Apollo offered to trade the herd of cattle for the lyre. The lyre is similar in appearance to a small harp but with distinct differences. According to the Greek Mythology, two Muses invented theory and practice in learning, three Muses invented the musical vibrations in Lyre, four Muses invented the four known dialects in the language – Attica, Ionian, Aeolian and Dorian – and five muses the five human senses. Hercules - A son of Zeus and the greatest hero in Greek Mythology, Hercules had many labors he had to perform. In Greek mythology, Lyra represents the lyre of Orpheus. [6] Before Greek civilization had assumed its historic form, there was likely to have been great freedom and independence of different localities in the matter of lyre stringing, which is corroborated by the antique use of the chromatic (half-tone) and enharmonic (quarter-tone) tunings pointing to an early exuberance, and perhaps also to a bias towards refinements of intonation. Others view the lyre and zither as being two separate classes. Lyra, the Lyre, is a constellation said to represent the Lyre of Orpheus. Like a violin, this method shortened the vibrating length of the string to produce higher tones, while releasing the finger gave the string a greater vibrating length, thereby producing a tone lower in pitch. [citation needed] The instrument is still played in north-eastern parts of Africa. [5] In classical Greek, the word "lyre" could either refer specifically to an amateur instrument, which is a smaller version of the professional cithara and eastern-Aegean barbiton, or "lyre" can refer generally to all three instruments as a family. Slightly later, across the Aegean in the 14th century BCE, lyres develop S-shaped arms and are frequently decorated with water-birds. [4], The earliest reference to the word is the Mycenaean Greek ru-ra-ta-e, meaning "lyrists" and written in the Linear B script. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Lyra represents the lyre played by Orpheus, musician of the Argonauts and son of Apollo and the muse Calliope. as the historic birthplace of the genus. There too, in living sculpture, might be seen The mad affection of the Cretan queen; Then how she cheats her bellowing lover’s eye; The rushing leap, the doubtful progeny, The lower part a beast, a man above, The monument of their polluted love.” #3: “But there is one other important similarity between the schoolboy and ourselves. It is said to have been invented by Hermes, messenger of the gods, though it is probably more often associated with the mythical poet Orpheus, master of the lyre. 5 out of 5 stars (633) 633 reviews. The story of Hermes and the Lyre is one of the stories about the history of ancient gods and goddesses featured in ancient mythology and legends. Several Greek city-states (poleis) also used a representation of the lyre on their coins. Even mythical figures enjoyed the benefits of a musical education; for example, Achilles was taught to play the lyre by the wise centaur Cheiron. Cartwright, Mark. Apollo, byname Phoebus, in Greco-Roman mythology, a deity of manifold function and meaning, one of the most widely revered and influential of all the ancient Greek and Roman gods. "Lyre." A lyre is made with a wooden sounding board and two curved arms joined by a yoke; similar to a harp with four to ten strings; also similar to the kithara (cithara).. From shop Statuescrafts. Apollo Greek God Unique Wall Painting (Playing Lyre) Greek Mythology Handmade on Wood 25cm Statuescrafts. License. Pitch was changed on individual strings by pressing the string firmly against the fingerboard with the fingertips. According to a source, his music had the ability to charm the animals and make the trees dance. Other instruments known as lyres have been fashioned and used in Europe outside the Greco-Roman world since at least the Iron Age. 10 Jan 2021. Music, and specifically playing the lyre, was an integral part of Greek education. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 16 Dec 2012. He performed brave exploits and adventures. Other mythical figures often seen with a lyre include Eros and the Muses. Those who differ with that opinion counter by calling the lute, violin, guitar, banjo, and other such instruments "independent fingerboard lyres," as opposed to simply "fingerboard lyres" such as the Welsh crwth, which have both fingerboards and frameworks above their resonators. When he died, his lyre was thrown into a river. Our latest articles delivered to your inbox, once a week: Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University and Michigan State University and University of Missouri. Such stories serve as a doorway to enter the world of the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The Lyre or Harp is the instrument invented by Hermes and given to Apollo his half-brother, who in turn gave it to his son Orpheus, the musician of the Argonauts. In the same period, coins of Thespiai - where there was a temple dedicated to Apollo and another to the Muses - carried a three-stringed lyre on their reverse sides. In ancient myths, the god Hermes created the lyre and gave it to Apollo in exchange for the rod of health—or for the cows that the mischievous Hermes had stolen from Apollo. He could charm rocks and rivers with his music. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. Locales in southern Europe, western Asia, or north Africa have been proposed[by whom?] The Myth of Apollo's Lyre Mercury was the child of Maia, the eldest of the Pleiades, and lived with his mother in a cave among the mountains. Orpheus Plays the Lyre Apollo is the Greek god of music and poetry, and he is most famously known for playing the lyre, a musical instrument made of strings, and a tortoise shell. Coins of Kos from the 2nd to 1st century BCE carried the head of Apollo on the obverse and a five-stringed lyre on the reverse. Along the way, Hermes slaughtered one of them and offered all but the entrails to the gods. Some of the cultures using and developing the lyre were the Aeolian and Ionian Greek colonies on the coasts of Asia (ancient Asia Minor, modern day Turkey) bordering the Lydian empire. ", This page was last edited on 28 December 2020, at 02:32. Sep 5, 2019 - Greek Lyre: For school, we had to do a project on Greek mythology and I decided to do mine on Orpheus, a hero and musician. #2: “Rising Crete against their shore appears. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2021) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. Played sitting or standing, the instrument was held in the hand and sometimes supported with a carrying strap worn over the shoulder of the player. He was considered the best musician and poet of all, and he perfected the lyre. Mark is a history writer based in Italy. Seven strings (neurai or chordai) of equal length but varying thickness (usually made from sheep gut) stretched between the crossbar and a fixed tailpiece (chordotonon) and were played by strumming or plucking by hand, usually using a plectrum made of wood, ivory, or metal. A Muse sits beside a palm tree holding a lyre. Cartwright, M. (2012, December 16). O: Lyre... Music and creativity in Ancient Greece - Tim Hansen, Clay dancing figures including a rare female. The instrument usually had two fixed upright arms (pecheis) or horns (kerata) and a crossbar (zygos) with tuning pegs (kollopes) of bronze, wood, ivory, or bone. The number of strings on the classical lyre varied at different epochs and possibly in different localities—four, seven, and ten having been favorite numbers. The King's Delight: a Collection of Early Music, Arranged for Lap Harp. A stringed musical instrument used in ancient Greece. Greek Vase Paintings 2. DEA / G. DAGLI ORTI / Getty Images. From the entrails, he created the lyre. The fingers of the free hand silenced the unwanted strings in the chord. While it is the symbol of the Olympian Apollo, he did not invent it but he did barter for it. Unsurprisingly, considering its association with Apollo, the silver drachma of Delos had a lyre on its reverse in the 6th century BCE. Apollo was furious, but after hearing the sound of the lyre, his anger faded. The lyre (lyra) is a musical instrument from Ancient Greece. The Lyre. They were stretched between the yoke and bridge, or to a tailpiece below the bridge. Those specialists maintain that the zither is distinguished by strings spread across all or most of its soundboard, or the top surface of its sound-chest, also called soundbox or resonator, as opposed to the lyre, whose strings emanate from a more or less common point off the soundboard, such as a tailpiece. He holds an MA in Political Philosophy and is the Publishing Director at AHE. According to ancient Greek mythology, Hermes was the one who invented the lyre in the first place. His special interests include pottery, architecture, world mythology and discovering the ideas that all civilizations share in common. In organology, lyre is defined as a "yoke lute", being a lute in which the strings are attached to a yoke that lies in the same plane as the sound-table and consists of two arms and a cross-bar. For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. In a Greek mythology, the walls of Thebes were said to have been constructed by the skill of a musician called Amphion and his lyre. Lyres appearing to have emerged independently of Greco-Roman prototypes were used by the Germanic and Celtic peoples over a thousand years ago (sometimes called psalterys). Made by Hermes from a tortoise shell, given to Apollo as a bargain, it was said to be the first lyre ever produced. Along the way, Hermes slaughtered one of the cows and offered all but the entrails to the gods. Greek mythology and the Constellation Lyra. At Knossos on Crete a small alabaster lyre is decorated with a swan’s head on each arm of the instrument. It was held in the right hand to set the upper strings in vibration; when not in use, it hung from the instrument by a ribbon. Examples of that difference include a piano (a keyed zither) and a violin (referred to by some as a species of fingerboard lyre). Bestiary. [1][2], The lyre of classical antiquity was ordinarily played by being strummed with a plectrum (pick), like a guitar or a zither, rather than being plucked with the fingers as with a harp. [6] The English word comes via Latin from the Greek. In Greek mythology, Orpheus of the lyre wandered into the underworld of Hades, in grief over the loss of his wife. Several carved figures from the arms of lyres have survived, notably an inlaid ivory youth from Samos (c. 7th century BCE) and a woman with sphinx and swan from c. 600 BCE. Their marriage was brief, however, as Eurydice was bitten by a viper and died shortly after. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Lyre/. [clarification needed] The accuracy of this representation cannot be insisted upon, the vase painters being little mindful of the complete expression of details; yet one may suppose their tendency would be rather to imitate than to invent a number. There are various accounts of five, An additional crossbar, fixed to the sound-chest, makes the bridge, which transmits the vibrations of the strings. The lyre was played either alone or as an accompaniment to singing or lyric poetry. Cartwright, Mark. The cultural peak of ancient Egypt, and thus the possible age of the earliest instruments of this type, predates the 5th century classic Greece. Learning of his wife's death, Orpheus poured his sorrow into his music, and played such a tune on the lyre that Apollo was moved to help his son. This group they usually refer to as the lute class, after the instrument of that name, and include within it the guitar, the violin, the banjo, and similar stringed instruments with fingerboards. The last surviving examples of instruments within the latter class were the Scandinavian talharpa and the Finnish jouhikko. Orpheus was believed to be Thracian, which helped reinforce the belief that the lyre had its origins there. The lyre was a stringed musical instrument played by the ancient Greeks and was probably the most important and well-known instrument in the Greek world. Zeus sent an eagle to get the lyre and placed both of them in the sky. In addition, Minoan hieroglyphs had a unique symbol for musicians, and a Linear B tablet from Thebes (1250-1200 BCE) mentions lyre players as members of the Mycenaean palace staff. When only a child, he pulled a cow-gut across a tortoise shell, and thereby created the lyre. Apollo, figuring out it was Hermes who had his cows, confronted the young god. Lyres were also used as decorative motifs on late Minoan pottery. Related Content The lyre (Greek: λύρα, lýra) is a string instrument known for its use in Greek classical antiquity and later periods. They are connected near the top by a crossbar or yoke. At Akrotiri on Thera, a fresco shows a small triangular lyre played by a blue monkey. If it were… Orpheus and his lyre. Orpheus was a talented musician. Greek Lyre: For school, we had to do a project on Greek mythology and I decided to do mine on Orpheus, a hero and musician. GALLERIES. There came to be two broad classes of bowed European yoke lyres: those with fingerboards dividing the open space within the yoke longitudinally, and those without fingerboards. In Greek Mythology, Orpheus was the greatest lyre player in the world. ... T61.7 Marsyas. After the bow made its way into Europe from the Middle-East, around two centuries later, it was applied to several species of those lyres that were small enough to make bowing practical. Sometimes the hero, even though mortal, was somehow related to the gods. Some mythic masters like Musaeus, and Thamyris were believed to have been born in Thrace, another place of extensive Greek colonization. There is no clear evidence that non-Greco-Roman lyres were played exclusively with plectra, and numerous instruments regarded by some as modern lyres are played with bows. Greek Vase Paintings 4. She is depicted as a girl with harmonic lines played with a wreath of flowers and carrying a lyre in her hand. National Archaeological Museum (Museo Archeologico Nazionale) of Naples, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "rabab (musical instrument) – Encyclopædia Britannica", "Skye cave find western Europe's 'earliest string instrument, "The Universal Lyre – From Three Perspectives", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lyre&oldid=996687334, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from October 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2019, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from September 2019, All articles that may contain original research, Articles that may contain original research from October 2019, Articles that may contain original research from November 2014, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2016, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz instrument identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Continental Europe: Germanic or Anglo-Saxon lyre (, Jenkins, J. The deepest note was that farthest from the player's body; since the strings di… Apollo then exchanged cattle for this new musical instrument, and Apollo would later present this lyre to Orpheus . Plutarch says that Olympus and Terpander used but three strings to accompany their recitation. As the four strings led to seven and eight by doubling the tetrachord, or series of four tones filling in the interval of a perfect fourth, so the trichord is connected with the hexachord or six-stringed lyre depicted on many archaic Greek vases. Some specialists even argue that instruments such as the violin and guitar belong to a class apart from the lyre because they have no yokes or uprights surmounting their resonators as "true" lyres have. There were two ways of tuning: one was to fasten the strings to pegs that might be turned, while the other was to change the placement of the string on the crossbar; it is likely that both expedients were used simultaneously. Ancient History Encyclopedia. The lyre was originally invented by the new-born Hermes, making use of a tortoise shell. Amphion became a great singer and musician, Zethus a hunter and herdsman. Plato considered only the lyre or kithara as suitable instruments for musical education. Certainly, musicians enjoyed special status as their distinctive costume of a long gown in Greek art shows. They are connected near the top by a crossbar or yoke. Nor was a bow possible, the flat sound-board being an insuperable impediment. In Greek mythology, all four instruments are often named interchangeably in various myths, and Hermes is generally credited with their invention. The fingers of the left hand touched the lower strings (presumably to silence those whose notes were not wanted). He played the lyre and was said to be able to tame lions and tigers with his music. Over time, the name in the wider Hellenic space came to be used to label mostly bowed lutes such as the Byzantine lyra, the Pontic lyra, the Constantinopolitan lyra, the Cretan lyra, the lira da braccio, the Calabrian lira, the lijerica, the lyra viol, the lirone. The deepest note was that farthest from the player's body; since the strings did not differ much in length, more weight may have been gained for the deeper notes by thicker strings, as in the violin and similar modern instruments, or they were tuned by having a slacker tension. The Lyre is a stringed musical instrument. Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization. Each of the Muses is lovely, graceful and alluring, and gifted with a particular artistic talent. Greek Vase Paintings 3. Ancient History Encyclopedia Limited is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. A tortoise sound-box from the 5th century BCE survives, as do tuning pegs from the 6th century BCE. In reference to design, the lyre is a tool of transformation meant to correspond with the symphonic tones/frequencies of a vibratory universe. It was closely related to the other stringed instruments: the chelys which was made from a tortoise shell, the four-stringed phorminx, and the seven-stringed kithara. Greek Mythology. Hence, the creation of the lyre is attributed to Hermes. Lyres from various times and places are sometimes regarded by organologists as a branch of the zither family, a general category that includes not only zithers, but many different stringed instruments, such as lutes, guitars, kantele, and psalteries. Apollo's lyre has the power to turn items—like stones—into musical instruments. Amphion and Zethus, in Greek mythology, the twin sons of Zeus by Antiope. Written by Mark Cartwright, published on 16 December 2012 under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. It is a bird associated with love, music, poetry; it is often pictured singing to a lyre. For example, in the royal city of Ur (circa 3000 BC) musicians played the lyre for royalty, according to excavated artifacts. It was the god Apollo who taught Orpheus how to play the lyre when he was an adolescent. Dates of origin, which probably vary from region to region, cannot be determined, but the oldest known fragments of such instruments are thought to date from the fifth century England with the Discovery of the Abingdon Lyre. holds that many modern stringed instruments are late-emerging examples of the lyre class. The sarcophagus was used during the Mycenaean occupation of Crete (c. 1400 BC). It had several predecessors both in the British Isles and in Continental Europe. [original research?]. His parents were the king of Thrace Oeagrus and the muse Calliope. Orpheus with nymphs As so often happens In Greek mythology though, tragedy struck when Eurydice was bitten by a snake in the forest and died. This indicates the possibility that the lyre might have existed in one of Greece's neighboring countries, either Thrace, Lydia, or Egypt, and was introduced into Greece at pre-classic times. Greek Heroes A Greek hero was a brave and strong man that was favored by the gods. Apollo also taught that other great mythical musician, Orpheus, how to play the instrument which would become his emblem. A classical lyre has a hollow body or sound-chest (also known as soundboxor resonator), which, in ancient Greek tradition, was made out of turtle shell. Music (or mousike) was an integral part of life in the ancient... Orpheus is a figure from ancient Greek mythology, most famous for... Sappho of Lesbos (c. 620-570 BCE) was a lyric poet whose work was... A kylix depicting the god Apollo pouring a libation and holding... Silver stater from Calymna, Caria, 600-550 BCE. They were called Olympians because, according to tradition, they resided on Mount Olympus. (In Euripides’ lost Antiope the two young men The strings were of gut. The lyre was a stringed musical instrument played by the ancient Greeks and was probably the most important and well-known instrument in the Greek world. When children, they were left to die on Mount Cithaeron but were found and brought up by a shepherd. [6], According to ancient Greek mythology, the young god Hermes stole a herd of sacred cows from Apollo. The earliest picture of a lyre with seven strings appears in the famous sarcophagus of Hagia Triada (a Minoan settlement in Crete). The Celtic Lyre: A Collection of Gaelic Songs With English Translations... Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. We have also been recommended for educational use by the following publications: Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. In order not to be followed, he made shoes for the cows which forced them to walk backwards. Lyres frequently appear on later Greek pottery - geometric, red- and black-figure pottery - from the 8th century BCE. He charmed Pluto into allowing his dead wife to come back to the living world to be with him by using his talent in playing the lyre. Lyra represents the lyre of Orpheus, the musician and poet in Greek mythology who was killed by the Bacchantes. Apollo, following the trails, could not follow where the cows were going. [13] The remains of what is thought to be the bridge of a 2300-year-old lyre were discovered on the Isle of Skye, Scotland in 2010 making it Europe's oldest surviving piece of a stringed musical instrument. She is adorned with a stephane crown, necklace, bracelets and earrings. Last modified December 16, 2012. The majority of musicians who played the lyre were male, but some depictions in art, most notably the clay dancers from Minoan Palaikastro (1420-1300 BCE), do show a female lyre player. Cite This Work The Muses were the daughters of Zeus, king of gods, and Mnemosyne, goddess of memory.They were born after the pair lay together for nine nights in a row. Books Complete lyres survive from the Hellenistic period, a notable example being the bronze lyre from the Antikythera shipwreck. Web. The lyre is one of the most ancient of musical instruments. Orpheus was the son of the Thracian King Oeagrus and the muse Calliope. The lyre was played either alone or as an accompaniment to singing or lyric poetry at all manner of occasions such as official banquets, symposia (private drinking parties), religious ceremonies, funerals, and in musical competitions such as those held at the great Panathanaia, Pythia, and Karneia festivals. The messenger god made the instrument from a tortoise shell, gut, and reeds, principally to help him steal 50 prize cattle from Apollo’s sacred herd. Decorated ivory fragments of lyres survive from Mycenae. It was closely related to the other stringed instruments: the chelys which was made from a tortoise shell, the four-stringed phorminx, and the seven-stringed kithara. Different tones could be obtained from a single bowed string by pressing the fingernails of the player's left hand against various points along the string to fret the string. When Orpheus fell in love with Eurydice, he wooed her with his song. Other sources credit it to Apollo himself.[11]. Apollo gave his son the lyre as a gift, and Orpheus played it so well that even the wild beasts, the rocks, and the trees were charmed by his music. In Greek mythology, the swan is a bird sacred to Aphrodite and Apollo. [citation needed], The so-called lyres of Ur, excavated in ancient Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), date to 2500 BC and are considered to be the world's oldest surviving stringed instruments.[12]. The instrument is frequently depicted in all forms of Greek art and the earliest examples date from the middle Bronze Age (c. 2000 BCE) in the Cycladic and Minoan civilizations. "A Short Note on African Lyres in Use Today. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Calymna Silver Staterby Mark Cartwright (CC BY-NC-SA). For example, the silver stater of Calymna in Caria (600-550 BCE) had a tortoise shell lyre on its reverse side. It was said to be so beautiful, he could charm fish out of the water, summon birds from the skies, lure wild beasts out of the forests and coax trees and rocks into dancing. Lyre. [7], The term is also used metaphorically to refer to the work or skill of a poet, as in Shelley's "Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is"[8] or Byron's "I wish to tune my quivering lyre, / To deeds of fame, and notes of fire". Mythology. The Ancient History Encyclopedia logo is a registered EU trademark. There were a group of twelve ruling gods who ruled after the Titans were overthrown. Apollo gave his son a lyre and taught him how to play. Other instruments, also called "lyres", were played with a bow in Europe and parts of the Middle East, namely the Arabic rebab and its descendants,[3] including the Byzantine lyra. They were used without a fingerboard, no Greek description or representation having ever been met with that can be construed as referring to one. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Hera, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes, Artemis, Hephaestus Later Hestia gave her position of one of the ruling gods to Dionysus because she became tired of the petty problems between the other gods. He fell deeply in love with the nymph Eurydice, and the two were married. While the dates of origin and other evolutionary details of the European bowed yoke lyres continue to be disputed among organologists, there is general agreement that none of them were the ancestors of modern orchestral bowed stringed instruments, as once was thought. Depending on the region where they were celebrated, both the names and the number of Muses varied. From the entrails and a tortoise/turtle shell, he created the Lyre. The first examples of the lyre were discovered at the ancient Sumerian city of Ur (2025-1738 BC) in ancient Mesopotamia, yet according to Greek mythology the lyre was a musical instrument created by Hermes. GREEK MYTHOLOGY. The last of the bowed yoke lyres with fingerboard was the "modern" (c. 1485–1800) Welsh crwth. Thu… "Lyre." However, the invention of the seven string version of the lyre is credited to Terpander of Lesbos. It is also said that he took part in the Argonautic Expedition, playing the lyre on the way. An additional crossbar, fixed to the sound-chest, makes the bridge, which transmits the vibrations of the strings. Other characters from Greek mythology were also associated with the lyre: Orpheus, the minstrel famous for his sweet singing voice and vivid storytelling skills, was one of them, and even the hero Heracles (Hercules to the Romans) was taught the lyre as part of his early education. He charmed Pluto into allowing his dead wife to come back to the living world to be with him by using his talent in playing the lyre. Lyra - The Lyre. O: Male head in... Silver drachm from Delos, Cyclades, late 6th century BCE. In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the twelve Olympians are the major deities of the Greek pantheon, commonly considered to be Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus.

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