As one of the oldest instruments and a precursor to many of today’s string instruments, the lyre has become a musical emblem. It has earned this title thanks to its role in the history of music.
The first instrument resembling a lyre can be found among the Sumerians; among the Egyptians, we encounter the lyre as Ramses’ harp or k’nn’r. Kinor is the Hebrew name for King David’s lyre, while among the Arabs, we come across the lyre under the name kinira. However, it was the Greeks who elevated the lyre to a place of honor, raising it above other instruments, just as music had a special place among the other arts in Greek culture.
It should be noted that the Greek word musike, in its original meaning, referred to what belonged to the muses, who were the patrons of all knowledge at the time. When someone was said to be musikos, it meant that they not only understood the language of music, but also that they were educated. It is no wonder, therefore, that the names for certain poetic forms (such as ode, hymn) are precisely musical expressions, as the melody, rhythm, and harmony of music were considered closely related to poetry. Song and dance (rhythm) once formed an inseparable whole. Thus, the term lyrical poetry referred to poetry intended to be sung to the accompaniment of the lyre.
Like other ancient peoples, the Greeks observed and judged music from an ethical standpoint, believing that it could develop both good and bad tendencies and qualities in a person. In this respect, they far surpassed their predecessors, constructing an entire system of moral value or harm caused by specific melodies, or scales on which they were built. Music was connected with philosophy and belonged to the general system of education in which it played a prominent role. According to Plato, “a state must be constructed on musical principles; the better the music, the better the state based on its principles.”
Therefore, young people were only allowed to learn those melodies that had a positive impact on them. The lyre was considered a household instrument, and instruction on it was mandatory for everyone. The lyre, along with the aulos, was the main and most famous Greek instrument, and Her presence in the field of music has influenced the creation of musical forms.
Just like in the music of the ancient East civilizations, we can also encounter melodic prototypes – norms in Greek music, which were attributed with divine origin. Ancient peoples generally regarded music as a gift from the gods.
The invention of the lyre is attributed to the Egyptian god Thoth, who gifted music to humans in this way. In India, Narada was considered the inventor of the harp, while the Bible elevates Jubal, the son of Adah, as the “father of all who play the lyre and flute”. In Greece, the lyre is primarily encountered as an attribute of Apollo, and the myth of Apollo and Hermes speaks of the creation of the instrument itself.
Hermes found a tortoise shell to which he attached animal intestines, which he obtained by stealing Apollo’s cattle. However, Hermes impressed Apollo so much with his beautiful playing that their dispute over the stolen cattle was soon forgotten. Apollo asked Hermes to teach him how to play, and since then the lyre became one. of Apollo. Since Apollo was accompanied by muses, the lyre also became an attribute of Erato, the muse of lyrical poetry, and sometimes Terpsichore, the muse of dance.
Apollo also gifted the lyre to his sons, the mythical singers Linus and Orpheus, whose lives ended tragically. Linus taught music to a young Heracles, who wasn’t very skilled at it. Once, when Linus criticized him for his lack of progress and effort, Heracles struck him so hard on the head with the lyre that Linus died on the spot.
Orpheus stands out as an extraordinary musician who, with the sound of his lyre, calms raging storms, captivates plants, animals, humans, and gods. Thanks to the magic of his music, he manages to beg the gods of the Underworld for the release of his wife Eurydice from death. However, as he was leaving the Underworld, he turned to look at Eurydice, even though he wasn’t supposed to, and lost her again, this time forever. Since then, Orpheus mourned in solitude, playing his lyre. Avoiding women, he traveled the land, spreads The Thracian women declared him an enemy of the human race and tore him apart. They threw his head and lyre into the river Hebar, which carried them to the sea, and the waves of the sea washed them ashore on the island of Lesbos. Orpheus’s lyre stood on the altar of the temple in Antissa for a long time, until the legendary musician Terpander took it and amazed the world of his time with his unparalleled playing. It was believed then that because of Orpheus’s lyre, the people of Lesbos became famous for their poetry and music, as the island of Lesbos became the center of love lyrics, where the renowned poet Sappho developed her creative literary and musical activities, whom Plato called the tenth muse.
Oh, my music,
in which divine sounds hide,
may even your melody
moisten the hearts’ yearning
in this moment.
(to her lyre)
Sappho
Through the efforts of Apollo and the Muses, Orpheus’s lyre was placed in the sky as the constellation Lyra.
Amphion is another mythical musician about whom Horace Flaccus writes in his work Ars Poetica:
It was said that Amphion, the founder of Thebes,
could make stones move with his music.
He moved there with the sound of his lyre,
and with a pleasing melody,
which begged, he led where he wanted.
Music was a part of the great competitions that had an important role in Greek culture. The Pythian Games, one of the oldest games held in Delphi in honor of Apollo, were originally dedicated exclusively to poetry and music, and later included gymnastic competitions as well.
Terpander of Lesbos, mentioned earlier, known for his consecutive victories at the Olympic Games, was also the founder of the first music school and vocal music. The power and beauty of his playing were renowned even at the oracle in Delphi. When bloody riots broke out among political factions and leaders in Sparta, the oracle instructed the Spartans to call upon Terpander, as only he could calm the spirits and restore peace and prosperity to the city.
In Homer’s time and among his contemporaries, the lyre is mentioned as “helos” or “helone,” which corresponds to the first description of the lyre that had a tortoise shell as its resonating box. The strings of the lyre The lyre was vertically positioned and attached to the resonator or body, which was later made of wood. The strings were of equal length, and each could produce only one tone, the pitch of which depended on the thickness and tension of the string. The lyre was played in a vertical position, and the players would directly touch the strings either with their fingers or with a plectrum.
Later, handles in the shape of horns (kerata) were added to the lyre, which connected at the top with a small crosspiece made of solid cedar wood resembling an oxen yoke, and this part was therefore called a zigon (yoke). In a later period, there were movable screws – (kalopes) in the zigon, intended for tightening to achieve tonal differences. Over time, the lyre acquired a small board – the bridge (megadion, hypolyreion) that connected the handles on the resonant box, contributing to stronger resonance and facilitating the handling of the instrument.
The number of strings, or their addition, is connected to the development of music and the use of the instrument itself. The initial number of strings mentioned in the case of the lyre And a similar instrument (harp), she had a total of three. The gradual addition of strings (four, five, seven, and even fifteen) was connected to the development of musical forms and scales, as well as the tuning of the instrument itself.