As one of the oldest instruments and a precursor to many of today’s stringed 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 with the Sumerians; with the Egyptians, we encounter the lyre as Ramesses’ harp or k’nn’r. Kinor is the Hebrew name for King David’s lyre, while with the Arabs, we encounter the lyre under the name kinira. However, it was the Greeks who elevated the lyre to a place of honor, elevating it above other instruments, just as music had a special place in Greek culture among other arts.
It is worth noting that the Greek word musike originally referred to what belonged to the muses, who were the patrons of all knowledge at the time. When someone was referred to as musikos, it meant that they not only understood the language of music, but were also educated. It is no wonder, therefore, that the names for certain poetic forms (such as ode, hymn) are exactly musical terms, as song, speech, and rhythm were interconnected in ancient Greece.
Music and dance (rhythm) once formed an inseparable whole. This is how the term lyrical poetry referred to poetry intended to be sung accompanied by the lyre.
Like other ancient peoples, the Greeks also viewed and judged music from an ethical standpoint, believing that it could develop both good and bad inclinations and qualities in a person. In this regard, they surpassed their predecessors significantly, building an entire system of moral validity or harmfulness of individual tunes, or scales on which they were built. Music was associated with philosophy and belonged to a general system of education in which it had a very prominent role. According to Plato’s understanding, “the state must be created on musical foundations; 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 influence 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 With her presence in the music practice, she influenced the creation of musical forms.
Just like in the music of the ancient East civilization, we also encounter melodic prototypes – norms in Greek music, which were attributed to divine origins. Ancient peoples generally considered music a divine gift.
The invention of the lyre is attributed to the Egyptian god Thoth, who gifted music to humans in this way. The invention of the harp in India is attributed to Narada, while the Bible elevates Adah’s son Jubal as the “father of all who play the lyre and flute”. In Greece, we primarily encounter the lyre as Apollo’s attribute, 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, with his beautiful playing, Hermes impressed Apollo so much that the dispute over the stolen cattle was soon forgotten. Apollo asked Hermes to teach him how to play, and since then the lyre became From Apollo’s attributes. Since Apollo was accompanied by muses, the lyre also became an attribute of Erato, the muse of lyric poetry, and sometimes of Terpsichore, the muse of dance.
Apollo also gave the lyre to his sons, the mythical singers Linus and Orpheus, whose lives ended tragically. Linus taught music to the young Hercules, who was not very good at it. One day, when Linus scolded him for his lack of progress and effort, Hercules hit him so hard on the head with the lyre that Linus died on the spot.
Orpheus stood out as an extraordinary musician who, with the sounds of the lyre, calmed raging storms, enchanted plants, animals, humans, and gods. Thanks to the magic of his music, he managed to beg the gods of the underworld to release his wife Eurydice from death. However, when 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. He avoided women, as he was afraid of losing them. 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’ 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 unmatched playing. It was believed that because of Orpheus’ lyre, the people of Lesbos were the most famous for poetry and music because on the island of Lesbos there was a center of love poetry where the renowned poetess Sappho developed her creative literary and musical activity, whom Plato called the tenth muse.
Oh, my music,
in which divine sounds hide,
let even your melodiousness
moisten the hearts’ tears
in this moment.
(to her lyre)
Sappho
With the help of Apollo and the Muses, Orpheus’ lyre was placed in the sky as the constellation Lyra.
Amphion is another mythical musician about whom Horace Flaccus writes in the work De Arte Poetica:
It was said that Amphion, the founder of Thebes,
made stones dance by the sound of his lyre. were set in motion by the sound of his lyre, filled the air with a sweet melody, begging him to take it wherever he wanted.
Music was an integral part of the great competitions that played an important role in Greek culture. The Pythian Games, one of the oldest games held in Delphi in honor of Apollo, were initially dedicated solely to poetry and music, later incorporating gymnastic competitions as well.
The aforementioned Terpander of Lesbos, famous 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 of Delphi. When bloody riots broke out among political factions and leaders in Sparta, the Oracle instructed the Spartans to invite Terpander, as only he could calm the spirits and restore peace and prosperity to the city.
In Homer’s time and among his musical followers, the lyre was mentioned under the names helos or helone, corresponding to the first description of a lyre with a resonating box made from a tortoise shell. The strings of the lyre The strings are vertically aligned and attached at the bottom to the resonator or body, which was later made of wood. The strings are of equal length, and each can produce only one tone whose pitch depends on the thickness and tension of the string. The lyre was played in a vertical position, and the players touched the strings directly with their fingers or with a pick (plectrum).
Later, handles in the shape of horns (kerata) were added to the lyre, which connected at the top with a small crossbar made of a solid piece of cedar resembling an oxen yoke, hence this part was named zigon (yoke). In later periods, movable screws – kalopes were placed in the yoke for tightening to achieve tonal differences. Over time, the lyre acquired a small board – a bridge (megadion, hipolirion) that connects the handles to the resonating box, which contributes to stronger resonance and easier handling of the instrument.
The number of strings, as well as their addition, is related 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), there were three of them. The gradual addition of strings (four, five, seven, even fifteen) was connected to the development of musical forms and scales, as well as the tuning of the instrument itself.