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Lyre

Lyre
Mousai Helikon Staatliche Antikensammlungen Schoen80 n1.jpg
Greek vase with muse playing the phorminx, a type of lyre
String instrument
Hornbostel–Sachs classification 321.2
(Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum)
Developed Sumer, Iraq
Related instruments

The lyre (Greek: λύρα, lýra) is a string instrument known for its use in Greek classical antiquity and later periods. The lyre is similar in appearance to a small harp but with distinct differences. The word comes via Latin from the Greek; the earliest reference to the word is the Mycenaean Greek ru-ra-ta-e, meaning "lyrists" and written in the Linear B script. The lyres of Ur, excavated in ancient Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), date to 2500 BCE. The earliest picture of a lyre with seven strings appears in the famous sarcophagus of Hagia Triada (a Minoan settlement in Crete). The sarcophagus was used during the Mycenaean occupation of Crete (1400 BCE). The recitations of the Ancient Greeks were accompanied by lyre playing.

The lyre of classical antiquity was ordinarily played by being strummed with a plectrum (pick), like a guitar or a zither, rather than being plucked with the fingers as with a harp. The fingers of the free hand silenced the unwanted strings in the chord. However, later lyres were played with a bow in Europe and parts of the Middle East. One example from Wales that has been resurrected recently is the crwth.


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Wikipedia

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