By Institute of Research on Music and Acoustics (IEMA)

Definition of Music

The term music derives from the Greek word “Musa” which is a singular form for the nine Muses of antiquity who embodied the arts. Originally, every artistic or spiritual activity was called music. In Plato’s “Politeia” which is translated in English “The Republic”, he mentions that “Music is for the soul, what gymnastics is for the body”. There was no specific term for the music but according to the type of musical performance the corresponding terms were used. At least, five of the nine Muses were protectors of different types of music performance. The term “music” as we use it today, was established in the 4^th century BC. Today, all western languages utilize some form of the Greek word to refer to the art of sound such as music, musik, musica etc.

The oldest musical instrument that has been discovered dates back to the Middle Neolithic era (5000 BC). It is a single hole-whistle made of carved bone, found in Thessaly and it is exhibited in the museum of Volos. Subsequent records come from the Cycladic civilization of the third millennium BC. In the National Archeological Museum of Athens a display of Cycladic figurines of angle harp, aulos (which is usually is a double reed flute) and syrinxes (pan pipes) players show evidence of a vivid musical tradition already existent in that era. Such evidence of musical instruments includes the lyre, the sistrum and finger-cymbals which are comparable to the castanets. All instruments existed in Minoan and Mycenaean civilization in the second millennium BC. In Homer’s epic poems there are many references to music and we know that poets recited poems accompanied by kithara, a seven stringed lyre.

In religious ceremonies, important figures like Apollo, Dionysus and Orpheus were directly connected to music. During the Archaic Period the “nomoi” were established which are musical pieces for aulos, kithara or/and voice in seven parts, characterized by a very strict structure. The seven stringed lyre is also established during this period and the musical contests (kithara, aulos and/or voice) are founded at the same time with the Olympic Games. In Classical Greece, music had incorporated the musical traditions of neighboring cultures and acquired a specific form and system. Tragedy and comedy are directly connected to music (practically the entire text was set to music). Philosophers like Pythagoras, Plato and Aristotle explored the connection between music and mathematics, philosophy and the human soul. Standardized pieces are created like the paean (hymn accompanied by the kithara in honor of Apollo), the dithyramb (hymn accompanied by the aulos in honor of Dionysus), the hymn, the thrinos (Greek for lamentation), the hymenaios (wedding song), and the skolion (a song for wine-drinking accompanied by the aulos or varviton (a variation of the lyre).

In the 5^th century BC, a new form of music with a greater variety of notes, melodies and expression is formed. In the years to come, texts on musical theory are written, notation is crystallized, new instruments like the hydraulic (a type of automatic pipe organ using water as a power source) are created, Greek music spreads throughout the Hellenistic world, evidently influencing music in other cultures; like those of Rome and the Middle East and constitutes the international musical system until the early Byzantine Period. Later on, Byzantine music as well as Western music was built on this music tradition whose mark is evident to this day.

Records: Basic records on the music of the ancient Greek civilization are; sculptures, statues, carvings and figurines. Also, depictions on amphorae, wall paintings and mosaics, ancient texts describing the music system, notation, instruments, relations to philosophy and mathematics. There are references in other texts (by Homer and historians) describing the use of musical instruments or the music in practice. Remnants of ancient Greek musical instruments usually are found in tombs and temples. Pieces of music such as songs, hymns and passages from Greek tragedies are written in ancient Greek notation on papyruses or carvings (almost 50 of which are extensive). The records allow us to attain a fairly accurate idea of the music system, the instruments, music life and philosophy though they don’t quite aid us in the reproduction of timbre in these pieces of music. For that reason, reproductions of these records generally differ from each other. Perhaps the research of indirect references and comparison to neighboring music cultures as well as contemporary music will enable a more accurate reproduction of ancient Greek music in the future.

Acknowledgments: www.musicportal.gr