THE ANCIENT GREEK WORLD: ca. 500 – 300 BC
Apollo’s heavenly lyre, Orpheus’ enchanting voice, Pan’s reed pipes, and the Muses’ ethereal songs and dances: the prevalence of music in the myths, legends, and lore of ancient Greece’s heroes and deities bears witness to its centrality in their society and culture. Indeed, in addition to mythology, eminent Greek philosophers – including Plato – exalted music and produced significant discourse on the topic, further emphasizing its importance in classical antiquity.
While we are acquainted with the musical activities of mythological figures and the deliberation of prominent thinkers by means of various extant stories and philosophical writings, what do we know about quotidian musical activity in ancient Greece? Where could one experience and listen to performances? As we do today, the Greeks enjoyed and participated in music recreationally within the home and through public spectacles such as festivals and sporting events.
Music at home
In the ancient Greek home, playing music and singing were common, the women’s designated space in the home. Here, the women of the household would sing while performing chores and tasks such as weaving, in addition to playing musical instruments for recreation, including the cradle-kithara (a wooden, stringed instrument that resembled a lyre). Moreover, the universal and enduring lullaby was present in Greek homes, as women sang songs to soothe babies and young children. Evidence of ancient Greek lullabies can be observed in select passages from Greek literature. For example, there is the lullaby sung by the mythological princess Danae to her newborn son Perseus (famed slayer of Medusa) while both were confined to a brass chest that was hopelessly drifting on the sea.
