In Greek mythology, all four instruments are often named interchangeably in various myths, and Hermes is generally credited with their invention. 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. Along the way, Hermes slaughtered one of them and offered all but the entrails to the gods. "Lyre." He fell deeply in love with the nymph Eurydice, and the two were married. In reference to design, the lyre is a tool of transformation meant to correspond with the symphonic tones/frequencies of a vibratory universe. [6], According to ancient Greek mythology, the young god Hermes stole a herd of sacred cows from Apollo. There were a group of twelve ruling gods who ruled after the Titans were overthrown. DEA / G. DAGLI ORTI / Getty Images. 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. #2: “Rising Crete against their shore appears. Web. (In Euripides’ lost Antiope the two young men Lyres frequently appear on later Greek pottery - geometric, red- and black-figure pottery - from the 8th century BCE. The lyre is similar in appearance to a small harp but with distinct differences. Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization. The fingers of the left hand touched the lower strings (presumably to silence those whose notes were not wanted). 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. Sometimes the hero, even though mortal, was somehow related to the gods. Greek mythology and the Constellation Lyra. Plutarch says that Olympus and Terpander used but three strings to accompany their recitation. Apollo, following the trails, could not follow where the cows were going. 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. Slightly later, across the Aegean in the 14th century BCE, lyres develop S-shaped arms and are frequently decorated with water-birds. Greek Vase Paintings 1. The strings were of gut. Apollo then exchanged cattle for this new musical instrument, and Apollo would later present this lyre to Orpheus . A tortoise sound-box from the 5th century BCE survives, as do tuning pegs from the 6th century BCE. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Orpheus was a talented musician. 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. When Orpheus fell in love with Eurydice, he wooed her with his song. Ancient History Encyclopedia. When children, they were left to die on Mount Cithaeron but were found and brought up by a shepherd. Greek Heroes A Greek hero was a brave and strong man that was favored by the gods. [13][14] Material evidence suggests lyres became more widespread during the early Middle Ages,[citation needed] and one view[whose?] 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. 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. Orpheus was believed to be Thracian, which helped reinforce the belief that the lyre had its origins there. [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]. Extending from this sound-chest are two raised arms, which are sometimes hollow, and are curved both outward and forward. 10 Jan 2021. 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). They were stretched between the yoke and bridge, or to a tailpiece below the bridge. 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. Lyra - The Lyre. The Celtic Lyre: A Collection of Gaelic Songs With English Translations... Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. 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. 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. Ancient History Encyclopedia. In Greek mythology, Orpheus of the lyre wandered into the underworld of Hades, in grief over the loss of his wife. Cartwright, Mark. Hence, the creation of the lyre is attributed to Hermes. Interestingly, all lyre players depicted in Greek art are right-handed. Greek Vase Paintings 4. The King's Delight: a Collection of Early Music, Arranged for Lap Harp. She is depicted as a girl with harmonic lines played with a wreath of flowers and carrying a lyre in her hand. Greek Vase Paintings 3. In Ancient Greece, recitations of lyric poetry were accompanied by lyre playing. He was considered the best musician and poet of all, and he perfected the lyre. Lyra, the Lyre, is a constellation said to represent the Lyre of Orpheus. Books The fingers of the free hand silenced the unwanted strings in the chord. 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. 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. A stringed musical instrument used in ancient Greece. The deepest note was that farthest from the player's body; since the strings di… The Lyre is a stringed musical instrument. Greek Mythology. It was the god Apollo who taught Orpheus how to play the lyre when he was an adolescent. 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 were also used as decorative motifs on late Minoan pottery. 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. SEARCH THEOI. It is also said that he took part in the Argonautic Expedition, playing the lyre on the way. 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. From the entrails, he created the lyre. "Lyre." This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. 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. 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. This is the principle on which the modern violin and guitar work. Several Greek city-states (poleis) also used a representation of the lyre on their coins. Certainly, musicians enjoyed special status as their distinctive costume of a long gown in Greek art shows. 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. 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 with nymphs Unsurprisingly, considering its association with Apollo, the silver drachma of Delos had a lyre on its reverse in the 6th century BCE. 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. For example, in the royal city of Ur (circa 3000 BC) musicians played the lyre for royalty, according to excavated artifacts. They were used without a fingerboard, no Greek description or representation having ever been met with that can be construed as referring to one. However, the invention of the seven string version of the lyre is credited to Terpander of Lesbos. 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. License. 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