Lyre

For other uses, see Lyre (disambiguation).
Lyre
Greek vase with muse playing the phorminx, a type of lyre
String instrument
Hornbostel–Sachs classification321.2
(Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum)
DevelopedSumer, Iraq, Bronze Age
Related instruments

The lyre (/ˈlaɪər/) (from Greek λύρα and Latin lyra) is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a yoke that lies in the same plane as the sound table, and consists of two arms and a crossbar.

The lyre has its origins in ancient history. Lyres were used in several ancient cultures surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The earliest known examples of the lyre have been recovered at archeological sites that date to c. 2700 BCE in Mesopotamia. [1] [2] The oldest lyres from the Fertile Crescent are known as the eastern lyres and are distinguished from other ancient lyres by their flat base. They have been found at archaeological sites in Egypt, Syria, Anatolia, and the Levant.[1]

The round lyre or the Western lyre also originated in Syria and Anatolia, but was not as widely used and eventually died out in the east c. 1750 BCE. The round lyre, so called for its rounded base, reappeared in ancient Greece c. 1700–1400 BCE,[3] and then later spread throughout the Roman Empire.[1] This lyre served as the origin of the European lyre known as the Germanic lyre or rotte that was widely used in north-western Europe from pre-Christian to medieval times.[4]

A Roman fresco from Pompeii, 1st century CE, depicting a man in a theatre mask and a woman wearing a garland while playing a lyre
  1. ^ a b c Klaus Wachsmann; Bo Lawergren; Ulrich Wegner; John Clark (2002). "Lyre (from Gk.; Lat. lyra)". Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.50534.
  2. ^ Lawergren, Bo (February 1998). "Distinctions among Canaanite Philistine and Israelite Lyres and their Global Lyrical Contexts" (pdf). Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (309): 41–68. doi:10.2307/1357602. JSTOR 1357602. S2CID 163212339.
  3. ^ Josho Brouwers (15 October 2019). "The Agia Triada sarcophagus". Ancient World Magazine. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  4. ^ Myrtle Bruce-Mitford (2002). "Rotte [round lyre, Germanic lyre]". Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.23943.