Ancient Greek Music

Both women and men played musical instruments. We often see them represented on vases. Wealthy boys were taught at school to play on the lyre, and to sing.

Wealthy girls may have been taught at home, because they usually could not go to school. But most of the women we see playing instruments on vases seem to be poor women (often slaves) who are working as entertainers at parties for a living.

Men, on the other hand, often competed for prizes in musical contests. Each town had its own competitions, and there were also competitions like the Olympic Games (in honor of Zeus) or the Pythian Games (in honor of Apollo) where men came from all over Greece to compete. A panel of judges decided who won.

Some of the words we use to describe music today come from Greek words. The word “music” itself comes from the Greek Muses. Some Greek words that became English words are “rhythmos,” our word “rhythm”, and “melos” which now is our word “melody.”

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To find out more about Greek music, check out these books on Amazon.com or at your library:

Usborne Story of Music, by Eileen O'Brien (1998). For kids.

Music of the World, by Andrea Bergamini (1999). For teens.

Ancient Greek Music (Clarendon Paperbacks) by M. L. West (reprinted 1994). Not for kids, but it doesn't assume that you know a lot of music theory.

Music in Ancient Greece and Rome, by John G. Landels (2001). Mainly about the practical side of music rather than music theory - who played it, and where, and for whom?

Apollo's Lyre: Greek Music and Music Theory in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, by Thomas J. Mathiesen (2000) 0803230796 This one is more about Greek musical theory.

Music and the Muses: The Culture of Mousike in the Classical Athenian City, by Penelope Murray and Peter Wilson (2004).

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