Nearly everyone loves music and the ancient Greeks loved music as much as anyone. Many of the poems that have survived to us from ancient Greece are actually song lyrics that were originally meant to be sung. Unfortunately, nearly all ancient Greek music has been irretrievably lost; no one alive will ever hear the original choruses of Aischylos, Sophokles, or Euripides sung with their original melodies.
Remarkably, though, a number of ancient Greek musical compositions have survived to the present day with musical notation, allowing us to reconstruct their original melodies—or at least something reasonably close to their original melodies. These few surviving compositions offer us a tiny window into a world of music that has been gone for well over a thousand years.
Ancient Greek stringed instruments
Before we discuss the surviving ancient Greek musical compositions, we should probably discuss what kinds of musical instruments were commonly used in ancient Greece. Probably the most prominent musical instrument in the ancient Greek world was the kithara (κιθάρα), a type of seven-stringed lyre.
For nearly the entirety of classical Greek history, knowing how to play the kithara was widely seen as a vital skill. Most aristocratic Greek children were taught to play the kithara at a relatively young age. The kithara is also the instrument that is most commonly represented in works of ancient Greek art, indicating that it was probably the instrument that was most commonly played.
According to Greek mythology, the kithara was invented by the god Hermes, who fashioned the first kithara from a tortoise shell as a gift for his older half-brother, the god Apollon. Apollon is closely associated with the kithara in both art and literature. In pottery and sculpture, he is often shown playing it and it appears in several myths as his signature instrument. The Greek word kithara is the root of our English word guitar.
ABOVE: Tondo from a white-ground Attic red-figure kylix dating to c. 465 BC, discovered in Eretria depicting a Muse tuning a kithara
In addition to the kithara, there were also many other stringed instruments that were used in ancient Greece. The phorminx (φόρμιγξ), for instance, was a kind of lyre that was popular during the Archaic Period (lasted c. 800 – c. 510 BC) but later fell out of popularity. Meanwhile, the barbiton (βάρβιτον) was a basically bass version of the kithara; the strings were longer and it generally had more of them than a kithara typically would. The barbiton was never very popular and it was always seen as a rather eccentric, foreign instrument.
The ancient Greeks also had various kinds of harps. The Greek word for harp was ψαλτήριον (psaltḗrion). One type of harp that existed in ancient Greece was the epigonion (ἐπιγόνιον), which had many strings and was reputedly invented or introduced to Greece by the musician Epigonos of Ambrakia.
ABOVE: Detail of an Attic red-figure pelike dating to between c. 320 and c. 310 BC or thereabouts, discovered in Anzi, Apulia, depicting a woman playing a triangular harp, or psalterion
Ancient Greek wind instruments
The most common wind instrument in ancient Greece was the aulos (αὐλός). Although the Greek word aulos is often translated into English as “flute,” the Greek aulos was actually double-reeded, making it more similar to a modern oboe than a modern flute.
According to Greek mythology, the aulos was invented by the goddess Athena, but she was so humiliated by how it puffed out her cheeks when she played it that she threw it down to Earth and cursed it. The aulos was later found by the satyr Marsyas, who figured out how to play it and later became a master aulos-player.
Unfortunately, Marsyas hubristically challenged Apollon to a music contest under the condition that whoever won would get to do whatever he wanted to the other. Marsyas played the aulos and Apollon played the lyre. Apollon won and he chose have Marsyas flayed alive as punishment for his hubris.
ABOVE: Detail of a young man playing an aulos from a symposion scene on the tondo of an Attic red-figure kylix dating to roughly between c. 460 and c. 450 BC. As you can see, it has two reeds.
In addition to the aulos, the ancient Greeks also had several other wind instruments. Most notable was the syrinx (σύριγξ), which consisted of a set of hollow reeds bound together in order of decreasing length that could be blown on to produce sound. The ancient Greeks believed the syrinx had been invented by the god Pan and today the syrinx is often known as the “Pan pipes.”
According to a Greek story recounted in various sources, Pan once attempted to rape a nymph named Syrinx, but she fled to the river and transformed into a cane reed plant. Pan therefore harvested some of the reeds and fashioned them into the first set of Pan pipes, which he named the “syrinx” after the nymph who had managed to escape his lust.
Ancient Greek percussion instruments
One of the most common percussion instruments in ancient Greece was the tympanon (τύμπανον), a shallow, circular hand drum that was meant to be beaten with a hand or a stick. The tympanon was often associated with Dionysian revelry. In addition to being associated with Dionysos, the tympanon was also associated with the worship of the Phrygian goddess Kybele.
The Greeks also had castanets, which were fashioned from split pieces of reed or cane that clattered together when shaken. The Greek word for a pair of castanets was κρόταλον (krótalon). In Greek mythology, Herakles is said to have used castanets to frighten off the Stymphalian birds as part of his sixth labor.
ABOVE: First-century AD Roman mosaic of a tympanon-player from the Villa del Cicerone in Pompeii
In later antiquity, during the Hellenistic and Roman Periods, more musical instruments were invented. Some of these instruments eventually rose to popularity. For instance, the Greek inventor and mathematician Ktesibios of Alexandria (lived c. 285 – c. 222 BC) is credited with the invention of the hydraulis (ὕδραυλις), an early form of hydraulic pipe organ.
ABOVE: Roman mosaic from Nennig, Germany depicting a man playing a hydraulis, or water organ. The hydraulis was first invented in Alexandria in the third century BC.
Stasimon from Euripides’s Orestes
“Vienna Papyrus G 2315” is the name that has been given to a papyrus fragment that was discovered in Egypt in 1892. It dates to roughly the third century BC or thereabouts and records a fragment of a melody that was used for a performance of the first stasimon (i.e. a stationary song sung by the chorus) from Euripides’s tragedy Orestes. Here is the full, standard text of the stasimon as it has been transmitted to us through the manuscript tradition, from E. P. Coleridge’s 1938 edition of the text:
τίς ἔλεος, τίς ὅδ᾽ ἀγὼν
θοάζων σε τὸν μέλεον, ᾧ δάκρυα
πορεύων τις ἐς δόμον ἀλαστόρων
ματέρος αἷμα σᾶς, ὅ σ᾽ ἀναβακχεύει;
ὁ μέγας ὄλβος οὐ μόνιμος ἐν βροτοῖς:
ἀνὰ δὲ λαῖφος ὥς
τις ἀκάτου θοᾶς τινάξας δαίμων
κατέκλυσεν δεινῶν πόνων ὡς πόντου
λάβροις ὀλεθρίοισιν ἐν κύμασιν.
τίνα γὰρ ἔτι πάρος οἶκον ἕτερον ἢ τὸν ἀπὸ
τὸν ἀπὸ Ταντάλου, σέβεσθαί με χρή;”
Here is Coleridge’s prose translation of the standard text of the stasimon:
“O Zeus! What pity, what deadly struggle is here, hurrying you on, the wretch on whom some avenging fiend is heaping tears upon tears, bringing to the house your mother’s blood, which drives you raving mad? Great prosperity is not secure among mortals. I lament, I lament! But some divine power, shaking it to and fro like the sail of a swift ship, plunges it deep in the waves of grievous affliction, violent and deadly as the waves of the sea. For what other family must I still revere, rather than the one from a divine marriage, from Tantalus.”
Here is a photograph of Vienna Papyrus G 2315, with the musical notation on it. As you can possibly tell, only a tiny portion of the stasimon has been preserved on the papyrus:
Euripides’s Orestes was originally performed in Athens in around 408 BC, but it is highly improbable that the melody recorded on Vienna Papyrus G 2315 is the melody that was originally written by Euripides himself. Instead, this melody is probably a later one that someone else wrote for the play long after the original was forgotten. Nonetheless, this relatively brief fragment may potentially reveal a lot about what choral odes in ancient Greek tragedies might have sounded like.
Here is a YouTube video with a modern performance of the stasimon by the Spanish musician Gregorio Paniagua, using the melody from Vienna Papyrus G 2315:
First Delphic Hymn to Apollon
Perhaps the most famous of all the early fragmentary musical compositions are the Delphic Hymns to Apollon, two ancient Greek hymns in honor of the god Apollon, both of which are believed to have most likely been written for the performance as part of a Pythaid, an Athenian ritual procession in honor of Apollon at Delphi. The hymns were inscribed in stone at the Temple of Apollon at Delphi with complete musical notation. Although fragmentary, the surviving portions of the hymns are quite extensive.
The dating of the First Delphic Hymn to Apollon is somewhat unclear; it was either performed in around 138 BC or in 128 BC. The author of the First Delphic Hymn is identified in the inscription as “Athenaios, son of Athenaios.” At first, the name Ἀθήναιος was mistaken by scholars for a designation of the author’s nationality as an Athenian, but it is now recognized that this can only possibly be the author’s name.
Here is the inscription with the text and musical notation of the first hymn:
Here is a modern performance of the First Delphic Hymn to Apollon by the Greek musician Christodoulos Halaris:
Second Delphic Hymn to Apollon
Unlike the First Delphic Hymn, we have a fairly exact impression of what the Second Delphic Hymn was composed. The Second Delphic Hymn was originally performed in 128 BC. The author of the Second Delphic Hymn to Apollon is identified in the inscription as “Limenios, son of Thoinos, an Athenian.” Although the Second Delphic Hymn may have been composed around a decade later than the First Delphic Hymn, it was inscribed in stone at Delphi alongside the first one.
Here is a photograph of the inscription with the text and musical notation of the Second Delphic Hymn to Apollon:
Here is a modern performance of the Second Delphic Hymn to Apollon by the Greek musician Petros Tabouris:
Here is another performance of the same song by the music group De Organographia:
All of the musical compositions that I have just described are, unfortunately, fragmentary. Although the surviving portions are substantial, parts of them are still missing. The oldest known complete surviving musical composition is the “Seikilos Epitaph,” an inscription on a burial cylinder discovered in a grave site in a Hellenistic town near the present-day city of Aydın, Turkey. The inscription probably dates to the late first or early second century AD, but it is difficult to date it exactly.
The inscription is a four-line song written by a man named Seikilos and dedicated to his dead wife Euterpe. Ironically, the Seikilos Epitaph is much shorter than either of the Delphic Hymns, even though it is complete and they are not. The lyrics of the song encapsulate what I feel is a significant aspect of the ancient mentality: the idea that life is fleeting and we are all doomed to die eventually, but that we might as well make the most of our time while we are alive. It is your basic carpe diem message essentially, but expressed so beautifully in these few short lines of song.
Here is the full, original Greek text of the song:
Ὅσον ζῇς, φαίνου.
μηδὲν ὅλως σὺ λυποῦ.
πρὸς ὀλίγον ἔστι τὸ ζῆν.
τὸ τέλος ὁ χρόνος ἀπαιτεῖ.
Here is the same text transliterated:
hóson zêis, phaínou.
mēdèn hólōs sù lupoû.
pròs olígon ésti tò zên.
tò télos ho khrónos apaiteî.
Here is the English translation:
“While you live, shine.
Never at all should you suffer.
Only for a little while is there life.
Time demands fulfillment.”
Here is a photograph of the burial cylinder:
Here is the inscription itself (digitally unrolled):
Here is an approximate translation of the melody of the song into modern musical notation:
The Seikilos Epitaph has found a great deal of appreciation from modern audiences. While it is likely that very few people in antiquity ever actually heard the song performed, it has been performed and recorded countless times in modernity, allowing millions of people to hear it. Here is a YouTube video with a performance of the Seikilos Epitaph song by Gregorio Paniagua:
(NOTE: The video linked above incorrectly states in the beginning that the Seikilos Epitaph is the “only complete musical composition from ancient Greece.” That is not true, since the three surviving hymns of Mesomedes of Knossos, which are slightly later than the Seikilos Epitaph, are also complete. The video also says that the song was composed around 200 BC. That is possible, but it is more likely that the song dates to the early centuries AD.)
Here is a performance of the Seikilos Epitaph by the San Antonio Vocal Arts Ensemble:
Here is another modern performance of the Seikilos Epitaph:
Hymns of Mesomedes
All of the musical compositions that I have discussed so far are known only through their discovery by archaeology. Without archaeologists, we would not know about any of these songs. The oldest surviving musical compositions that have come down to us through the medieval manuscript tradition are three hymns written in Greek by the composer Mesomedes of Krete, who lived in the second century AD: the Hymn to Nemesis, the Hymn to the Sun, and the Hymn to the Muses. Like the Seikilos Epitaph, all three of these hymns are survive in their complete form. They are all, however, probably slightly later than the Seikilos Epitaph.
Here is a modern performance of Mesomedes’s Hymn to Nemesis by the music group De Organographia:
Here is a modern performance of Mesomedes’s Hymn to the Sun by Petros Tabouris:
Here is a modern performance of Mesomedes’s Hymn to the Muses. Although the video below does not say who this performance is by, I believe it is by Christodoulos Halaris:
Kontrapollinopolis instrumental music fragment
An instrumental fragment with Greek musical notation was found on the verso side of a piece of papyrus dating to around the second or third century AD or thereabouts that was discovered at the site of Kontrapollinopolis, across the Nile from Edfu in Upper Egypt. The recto side of the papyrus has writing on it pertaining to a Roman legion that had been stationed at Kontrapollinopolis. The papyrus fragment is known as “Papyrus Berlin 6870,” because it is held in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin, Germany.
Here is a performance of the musical fragment by Petros Tabouris:
Here is a performance of the same fragment by Gregorio Paniagua:
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, two British archaeologists named Bernard Pyne Grenfell and Arthur Surridge Hunt excavated around half a million papyrus fragments from the rubbish dump of the Greek city of Oxyrhynchos in Egypt. These papyrus fragments date roughly between the third century BC and the seventh century AD. Most of the fragmentary texts Grenfell and Hunt uncovered are written in Greek.
The fragments that were discovered by Grenfell and Hunt, known collectively as the “Oxyrhynchos Papyri,” offer us a unique insight into the ancient world because they include fragments of many texts that were not passed down through the medieval manuscript tradition. We have fragments of letters, wills, shopping lists, homework assignments, and even a sex manual.
One piece of papyrus that was uncovered at Oxyrhynchos is Papyrus Oxyrhynchus XV 1786, which contains the text of an early Christian hymn composed in around the late third century AD, complete with musical notation. This hymn, known as the “Oxyrhynchos Hymn,” is probably the oldest Christian hymn for which any portion of the original melody has survived.
Here is the text of the Oxyrhynchos hymn in the original Koine Greek. Unfortunately, the text is extremely fragmentary and large portions of it have been lost. The text I have given here is based on the version of the text given by Charles H. Cosgrove in his book An Ancient Christian Hymn with Musical Notation: Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1786: Text and Commentary, published in 2011. Parts written in brackets are reconstructed:
1. “[. . . ] ὁμοῦ, πᾶσαι τε Θεοῦ λόγιμοι δε[. . .]ι [. . .]”
2. “ὐ τὰν ἠῶ σιγάτω, μηδ’ ἄστρα φαεσφόρα χ[. . .]δε—”
3. “[σ]θων, [ἐκ]λειπ[όντων] ῥ[ιπαὶ πνοιῶν, πηγαὶ] ποταμῶν ῥοθίων πᾶσαι. ὑμνούντων δ’ ἡμῶν”
4. “[Π]ατέρα χ’ Υἱὸν χ’ Ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, πᾶσαι δυνάμεις ἐπιφωνούντων· ἀμήν, ἀμήν. κράτος, αἶνος”
5. “[ἀεὶ καὶ δόξα Θεοὶ] δ[ω]τῆ[ρι] μόνῳ [πάν]των ἀγαθῶν· ἀμήν, ἀμήν.”
Here is Cosgrove’s translation of the hymn:
1. “. . . together all the eminent ones of God. . .”
2. “. . . night] nor day (?) Let it/them be silent. Let the luminous stars not [. . .],”
3. “. . . [Let the rushings of winds, the sources] of all surging rivers [cease]. While we hymn”
4. “Father and Son and Holy Spirit, let all the powers answer, ‘Amen, amen. Strength, praise,”
5. “[and glory forever to God], the sole giver of all good things. Amen, amen.'”
Here is a photograph of the actual papyrus fragment bearing the text of the Oxyrhynchos Hymn, with the original musical notation:
Here is a YouTube video with a performance of the Oxyrhynchos Hymn by Gregorio Paniagua. Paniagua has clearly taken the liberty of filling in the many gaps in the text for the sake of his performance and his reconstruction of the texts differs in some respects from Cosgrove’s, but the performance still makes for interesting listening:
A number of ancient Greek musical compositions have survived to the present day, but, unfortunately, most of them are fragmentary. Nonetheless, we can reconstruct enough of what ancient Greek music sounded like that, with a little creative license, modern musicians can perform some of these songs that were written, in some cases, over two thousand years ago.
How accurate are these modern performances? How closely do they resemble the way these songs were originally performed in ancient Greece? Ultimately, we cannot really say. I am sure that not a single one of these performances I have shared here is completely accurate. Nonetheless, I think that these performances are at least close enough to the originals that the original authors of these songs would probably recognize them.