Many musical instruments of the ancient Greeks are known to us by name; but respecting their exact construction and capabilities there still prevails almost as much diversity of opinion as is the case with those of the Hebrews.

It is generally believed that the Greeks derived their musical system from the Egyptians. Pythagoras and other philosophers are said to have studied music in Egypt. It would, however, appear that the Egyptian influence upon Greece, as far as regards this art, has been overrated. Not only have the more perfect Egyptian instruments—​such as the larger harps, the tamboura—​never been much in favour with the Greeks, but almost all the stringed instruments which the Greeks possessed are stated to have been originally derived from Asia. Strabo says: “Those who regard the whole of Asia, as far as India, as consecrated to Bacchus, point to that country as the origin of a great portion of the present music. One author speaks of ‘striking forcibly the Asiatic kithara,’ another calls the pipes Berecynthian and Phrygian. Some of the instruments also have foreign names, as Nablas, Sambyke, Barbitos, Magadis, and many others."

We know at present little more of these instruments than that they were in use in Greece. The Magadis is described as having twenty strings. The other three are known to have been stringed instruments. But they cannot have been anything like such universal favourites as the lyre, because this

instrument and perhaps the trigonon are almost the only stringed instruments represented in the Greek paintings on pottery and other monumental records. If, as might perhaps be suggested, their taste for beauty of form induced the Greeks to represent the elegant lyre in preference to other stringed instruments, we might at least expect to meet with the harp; an instrument which equals if it does not surpass the lyre in elegance of form.

The representation of a Muse with a harp, depicted on a splendid Greek vase now in the Munich Museum (Mun. Vase Cat. No. 805), may be noted as an exceptional instance. This valuable relic dates from the end of the fifth century B.C. The instrument resembles in construction as well as in shape the Assyrian harp, and has fifteen strings. The Muse is touching them with both hands, using the right hand for the treble and the left for the bass. She is seated, holding the instrument in her lap. The little tuning-pegs, which in number are not in accordance with the strings, are placed on the sound-board at the upper part of the frame, exactly as on the Assyrian harp. If we have here the Greek harp, it was more likely an importation from Asia than from Egypt. In short, as far as can be ascertained, the most complete of the Greek instruments appear to be of Asiatic origin. Especially from the nations who inhabited Asia Minor the Greeks are stated to have adopted several of the most popular. Thus we may read of the short and shrill-sounding pipes of the Carians; of the Phrygian pastoral flute; of the three-stringed kithara of the Lydians; and so on.

The Greeks had lyres of various kinds, more or less differing in construction, form, and size, and distinguished by different names; such as lyra, kithara, chelys, phorminx, etc. Lyra appears to have implied instruments of this class in general, and also the lyre with a body oval at the base and held in

the arms of the performer; while the kithara had a square base and was held against the side by a sash around it. The chelys was a small lyre with the body made of the shell of a tortoise, or of wood in imitation of the tortoise. The phorminx was a large lyre, and, like the kithara, was used at an early period singly, for accompanying recitations. It is recorded that the kithara was employed for solo performances as early as B.C. 700.

Fig. 6.—A Muse with a Harp, and two others with Lyres.
From a Greek vase in the Munich Museum.