"Hermes then went and secretly stole the cattle of his brother Apollo. "The most famous story is how Hermes, when only a 1-day-old baby, enticed a tortoise into his home, killed it, gutted it, and made a lyre out of it, stretching skin on top of the hollow shell and then tightening seven sheep-gut cords over the skin," he says. Martin, an expert on all things Greek mythology, says the lyre played an important role in at least one famous tale of the gods. "There are many representations of lyres on classical Greek vase paintings, and according to the accounts of various historians, the body shape of lyre instruments varied greatly over the years," he says. It was also played during rituals, where it would accompany more formal, public songs like the paean, a hymn of praise and celebration of victory."Īccording to Mostert, the earliest lyres were likely made from the forearm bones of sheep, goats or donkeys, and images of the instruments were depicted on Sumerian carvings dating from approximately 2000 B.C.E. "This was used in musical competitions, either for instrumental pieces or to accompany singers. "Ancient Greeks also had what they called a kithara, a much-larger, box-style lyre that you played with a pick ( plectrum) and which had a resonating sound-box," Martin says. "Musicologists debate whether one very ancient prototype spread, with different cultures borrowing from others, or whether these were independent creations."Īt the same time the lyre was becoming a favorite among Greek partiers, another instrument was also picking up popularity. "Depending on how you define it, the lyre, or another simple hand-held stringed instrument like it, seems to be popular from the Mediterranean through to India and in many parts of Africa," he says. Martin says the true origin of the lyre depends on which version of the instrument you're referring to. Print Collector/Getty Images Michel HUET/Getty Images/HowStuffWorks showing a seated man playing one of these larger harp-like instruments, held on his knees," Martin says, in an email interview. "There is at least one ancient figurine from the Aegean islands (later Greece) from around 2500 B.C.E. included bigger "box" lyres that were sometimes so large, they had to be set on the ground like a modern harp. Martin, Antony and Isabelle Raubitschek professor in classics at Stanford University, the versions of the lyre that existed in Mesopotamia and the Near East around 2000 B.C.E. But even before it began popping up at private drinking party performances and religious ceremonies, an earlier version of the stringed instrument likely originated in the ancient Middle East.Īccording to Richard P. It's not an instrument you're likely to see make an appearance during a modern musical performance, but the lyre played a major role in ancient Greek culture. This ethereal statue of Apollo playing his lyre stands at Anglesey Abbey near Cambridge, England.
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