Many famous musicians and artists have lived in Ephesus over the years. We will see which musical instruments the musicians who lived in Ephesus used, the history of the instruments used and the famous musician who lived. We will see the value that the city of Ephesus, which has been one of the 4 largest cities in the world for nearly 1000 years throughout history, gave to music and its music culture.
Music (Mousike) was an indispensable part of life in the ancient world of Ephesus, and the term music encompassed not only music but also dance and poetry performances. Numerous instruments have been used to perform music in various events such as religious ceremonies, festivals, symposia, weddings, funerals, athletics and military activities. Music was also an important element of drama performances and education in Ephesus, such as plays, recitals and competitions held in theaters.
Music in Ephesus Contents
History of Music in Ephesus
In Helen, according to the historian Plutarch (46–120 AD), music was an invention of the gods. In ancient times, the god Apollo was worshiped as the god of music, and it was believed that the god Apollo invented music for the first time. According to Plutarch, music had a quality that rested the human soul and cured diseases.
We understand that these views of Plutarch were adopted in the whole Hellenic and Ionian world, given the fact that almost all Platonists, peripatetics, and grammarians were interested in music.
Plato (427–347 BC) states in his work “The State” that music consists of three elements. These are words, harmony, and rhythm. These 3 elements formed a unity in Hellenic and Ephesian music. The sound harmony of the word we in the Greek language was the carrier of the melody.
In Greek mythology, music is known as the art of the Muses. The Muses are the nine daughters of Mnemosyne. These are demigods, but they live freely in nature like humans. The branches of art and science represented by these Muses are as follows:
1. Kleio = good speech; 2. Euterpe = Aulos music; 3. Thalaia = comedy. 4-) Melponeme = Tragedia, 5-) Erato = poetry, 6-) Terpsichore = Kitara music, 7: Polyhymnia = Geometry; 8: Urania = Astronomy; 9: Kalliope = Epic.
In Greek mythology, music is known as the art of the Muses. The Muses are the nine daughters of Mnemosyne. These are demigods, but they live freely in nature like humans. The branches of art and science represented by these Muses are as follows: 1. Kleio = good speech; 2. Euterpe = Aulos music; 3. Thalaia = comedy. 4-) Melponeme = Tragedia, 5-) Erato = poetry, 6-) Terpsichore = Kitara music, 7: Polyhymnia = Geometry; 8: Urania = Astronomy; 9: Kalliope = Epic.
The first and most famous musicians in history
The first musician whose name we know is Terpanter from Lesbos. He is the first person to find and play the seven-stringed Kithara, uniting Helen and Anatolia with his Terpanter works. Terpanther BC. In 676, he participated in the Apollon Karneios music competitions in Peloponnese and came first.
Historians write that Terpanter participated in music competitions in Delphi and came first there four times. The Terpanther’s melodies were called Nomoi. Terpanter consisted mostly of hexameters. In these compositions, he used Homer’s epics as the subject selection.
The two important instruments of antiquity were the kithara and the aulos. The kithara was first made of strings stretched over a tortoise shell and played with fingers or metal pieces called plectrons. The kithara is made with 5, 7, 9, and 11 strings, respectively. It was Timetheus of Miletus who made Kithara with 11 strings. Aulos was a wind instrument made of reeds. It looked like a modern-day oboe. The inventor of Aulos, whose origin is known to be Phrygia in Anatolia, is Marsyas.
Batalus, the most famous flutist known in Ephesus, appeared on the stage wearing the women’s shoes mentioned in a comedy by Antiphanes. (The politician Demosthenes was later nicknamed Battalus.)
While kithara was mostly used for educational purposes, aulos were played at community gatherings such as weddings and entertainment. Kithara is effective in a calm mood, while Aulos is stimulating and appealing to the senses. In Ephesus, mistresses (Hetaera) played Kithara to their men, while prostitutes (Pornai) played Aulos to their men.
The aulos, which was played only in ceremonies in the first periods, later became an instrument used in entertainment by prostitutes in Ephesus.
Music Education in Ephesus Gymnasium
Music education in gymnasiums in Ephesus was done by Kithara and teachers. Teachers taught Ephesian children how to hold the instrument, sometimes by playing it themselves and sometimes by keeping the rhythm. Those who played the kithara would accompany the music they played by humming.
Some people, called Kitharads, wandered from city to city and gave concerts in public spaces (agoras), odeons, and theaters.
According to ancient Hellenic belief, the kithara is an instrument belonging to Apollo, and the aulos is an instrument belonging to Dionysus. However, it is known that the understanding of music in Helen and naturally in Ephesus gained a great freedom and richness with Aulos.
While there was only solo music in the Archaic and Classical periods, choral and theater music gained importance in Ephesus in the Hellenistic period, and the theater audience participated in the music on the stage and in the choir.
Greek choral songs should not be confused with modern songs. In Helen’s choral songs, each line formed its own melody. Thus, the melody in the first couplet was not repeated in the second couplet. Because the words in the two couplets were different. The intimacy between the two lines was only rhythmic.
In some ways, the rhythmic structure was reminiscent of dance, bringing movement to the music. According to Atilius, the songs (hymns) in religious ceremonies consisted of three parts. The couplet (Strophe) going right around the altar, the opposite couplet (Antistrophe) turning left, and the end of the song (Epode) when turning towards the last hundred gods
It was obligatory for the choir to be in marching and for the strophe and antistrophe to be symmetrical. Every free citizen who was educated in music and rhythm in Ephesus could be included in the choir if he wanted.
The Kitharads used to rhythmically move their feet while playing their kithara. These rhythms became the beginning of dance. Also, performers danced during mime and pantomime shows. In the early periods, “spreading of grain,”, “removal of debt,”, “owl,” and “war” dances were performed. This last one in particular was a very common dance. Even five-year-old Ephesian children could do this dance.
Many dances emerged in Ephesus during and after the Hellenistic period, and the aulos contributed to this with its evocative quality. Dances such as “Basket”, “Flower”, “Fox”, “Lion”, and “Crow”.
Dance was also performed outside the theater as an art form for expressing the emotions of the people. For example, young people danced naked in palaestras.
According to Socrates, dance was needed to gain health and mobility. Pindar, on the other hand, defines dance as the beginning of joy, the liberation of movement.
Music and Musical Instruments used in Ephesus
For the ancient Ephesians, music was literally seen as a gift from the gods. The invention of certain instruments was attributed to the gods: the lyre to Hermes; the syrinx (pipe of to Pan; the aulos (flute) to Athena. In Greek mythology, the Muses (goddesses of the arts) personified various elements of music and entertained the gods with hymns, dances, and songs on Mount Olympus.
Other mythological figures that have a strong relationship with music are Dionysus, the god of wine, and his followers, the Satyrs and the Maenads. Amphion and Thamyres were famous for their kithara (guitar) playing skills, while Orpheus was known as a great singer and lyre player. Many of the fusions of words and music, melodic and numerical systems, and popular musical instruments such as the aulos and the lyre probably took place in the Near East.
However, while the Hellenes saw the lyre specifically as a ‘Hellenic’ instrument, the aulos is often represented in mythology as a second-rate competitor of Eastern origin. In fact, the great Greek god Apollo, believed to be the master of the lyre, defeated the Phrygian Satyr Marsias and his aulos in a music competition where the Muses were the jury. The lyre was, above all, a musical instrument that young Greeks had to learn in school, as described in Plato’s Republic.
Musical Instruments in Ephesus
Ephesus musical instruments were stringed, blown and percussive. The ones we’ve mentioned so far were the most popular lyre, aulos (double beat) and syrinx. However, other instruments include rattle (sistrum and seistron), cymbals (kymbala), guitar (kithara), bagpipes (askaulos), conch and triton shells (kochlos), trumpet (salpinx), shofar (keras), tambourine (rhoptron). ), shallow drums (tympanon), clappers (crotala), maracas (phormiskoi), xylophone (psithyra), four-stringed lyre (phorminx), multi-stringed and long barbiton, and various types of harps (psalterion), usually triangular in shape.
There are also two interesting instruments. One of them is the rhombos (a wind instrument). This instrument was in the shape of a flat rhombus hung on a string through its holes and played by turning the string. The second was the hydraulis, a complex Hellenistic organ held by two pedals, using compressed air and water pressure. Stringed instruments were always played with the fingers or a plectrum instead of a bow.
In the Classical Period, string instruments were preferred over wind instruments as they allowed the player to sing, and for Ephesians and musicians in Ionian cities, words were more important than musical sounds.
Ephesus musical instruments were stringed, blown and percussive. The ones we’ve mentioned so far were the most popular lyre, aulos (double beat) and syrinx. However, other instruments include rattle (sistrum and seistron), cymbals (kymbala), guitar (kithara), bagpipes (askaulos), conch and triton shells (kochlos), trumpet (salpinx), shofar (keras), tambourine (rhoptron). ), shallow drums (tympanon), clappers (crotala), maracas (phormiskoi), xylophone (psithyra), four-stringed lyre (phorminx), multi-stringed and long barbiton, and various types of harps (psalterion), usually triangular in shape.
There are also two interesting instruments. One of them is the rhombos (a wind instrument). This instrument was in the shape of a flat rhombus, hung on a string through its holes, and played by turning the string.
The second was the hydraulis, a complex Hellenistic organ held by two pedals and using compressed air and water pressure. Stringed instruments were always played with the fingers or a plectrum instead of a bow. In the Classical Period, string instruments were preferred over wind instruments as they allowed the player to sing, and for the Ephesians and musicians in Ionian cities, words were more important than musical sounds.
Ephesians studied music theory at the beginning of the 5th century BC. These works were harmonic, acoustic, scalar, and melodic. The oldest extant (but fragmented) text on the subject is The Harmonic Elements, written by Aristoxenus in Ancient Helen in the 4th century BC.
Considering music to be a mathematical expression of the cosmic order, Pythagoras‘ followers made his music an element of philosophical study. Music was also thought to have some therapeutic benefits, even medicinal powers over physical and mental illnesses.
Moreover, one of their unique contributions to the history and development of music of the Hellenic era is the belief that music can have a moral and emotional impact on the listener and the listener’s psyche. In short, they thought that music had an ethical role in society. Therefore, Plato, considering it corrupt, banned any musical instrument. Similarly, music with complex rhythms and fast tempos was considered morally dangerous in the ideal republic of the great philosopher.
When we look at written music, 52 works of Greek music have survived, albeit in fragments. A musical excerpt from Euripedes’ play Orestes and a musical inscription from the Athenian Treasure at Delphi are some of them. The most complete extant piece of Hellenic music is the song of Seikilos, dating from the 1st century BC and found on a tombstone in the ancient city of Tralleis, near Ephesus. Seikilos is the person who wrote the first notated song lyrics. He lived 2300 years ago in the ancient city of Tralleis in Aydin.
Seikilios had the first musical notes and lyrics written on the marble tombstone he had built while he was alive, but the tomb inscription was abducted in the 1920s. This tombstone has been exhibited at the Copenhagen Museum since 1996. The words of the poem in Greek are as follows:
Famous Composition of Seikilos from Tralleis
Seikilos erected me, I am a stone statue,
To keep his memory alive is my duty forever As long as I live in the light,
Don’t worry about anything
Life is short time
When the day comes to pay the price
The city, which ancient sources and archaeological documents describe as Tralleis and sometimes Trallais, was founded on the southern skirts of the Mesogis (Kestane) mountains of Aydn Province by the Thracians and Argosians after the Doric migrations (13th century BC).
Ephesian musicians and musical instruments
Batalus, the most famous flutist known in Ephesus, appeared on the stage wearing the women’s shoes mentioned in a comedy by Antiphanes. (The politician Demosthenes was later nicknamed Battalus.)
Ephesian musicians were usually the composers and lyricists of the music they performed.
Musicians known as ‘songmakers’ or melopoioi created melos, a combination of words, melody, and rhythm. We can say that musicians have a high status in society, as we can tell by their special clothing and their presence on royal household lists. Professional musicians were male, although the hetaera who performed at the symposiums were the exception. However, there are still depictions of female musicians playing the lyre in Palekastro.
Other professional musicians included trieraules, who set the rhythm for rowers in triremes, trumpeters, and choral singers accompanying marching soldiers.
Music and Religious Culture in Ephesus
Music and dance accompanied processions on special religious occasions in various Ionian cities. Metageition, Gamelion, Thesmophoria, Apaturia, Elaphebolion, and Mounikhion Artemis festivals in Ephesus were among the most famous. Some religious ceremonies, such as sacrifices and spilled wine in honor of the gods, were performed with music.
Hymns (parabomia) and prayers (kateuches) were also sung at funeral processions and altars. Those who read them were choir groups (especially aulos musicians) made up of professional musicians affiliated with particular temples, such as the aoidoi and epispondorchestai.
Music, dance, poetry, and drama recitals were also competitive competitions. However, just like athletic competitions, music competitions were of a religious nature, as the gods were honored. There were two types of such musical competitions: stephanites, in which a sacred symbolic wreath was awarded, and chrematites (or thematikoi), in which more tangible prizes such as money or valuables were awarded.
In Hellenistic times, music festivals and competitions became so common that musicians and performing artists began to introduce themselves as guilds (or Koina).
Music and Education in Ephesus
Plato says that the schools providing music education were first established by the Cretans. However, it was during the 6th and 5th centuries BC that music schools were established in Athens that taught students aged 13 to 16 to play the lyre and kithara and to sing with teachers in the aulos.
Music taught discipline and order. Intelligent people appreciated the musical performances. Athletics and other sports activities, another important element of Hellenic education, were accompanied by music, especially to increase synchronization. BC in the ancient city of Ephesus. We learn from written and visual sources that Ephesian students were given music education in gymanisums at the end of the 5th century and the beginning of the 4th century.
Music in Daily Life in Ephesus
Music was the main element of the symposium (a men-only drinking party). After the meal, the men sang (skolia) with an aulos, lyre, or barbiton. They often sang amusing satirical songs (silloi). At the end of the evening, the band would take to the streets as a komos (pleasure band) and sing and dance.
Women were also enjoying the music inside the houses. Usually women played string instruments and recited poetry over music. In addition, housework such as knitting and cooking was done with music. Children sang songs (agermos) at people’s doors to get small pocket money and sweets, just as singers do today.
All the comedies and dramas played in the theater were accompanied by music, and a certain chorus of 24 singers sang in the 5th-century BC Helen and Ephesus theater plays.
Art and Music in Ephesus
Musicians and musical instruments were popular in frescoes, sculptures, and Ephesian pottery, particularly in geometric, black-figure, and red-figure styles. Late Archaic and Early Athenian pottery often depicted the hero with a kithara, and perhaps this was the physical form necessary for balanced training. It would symbolize the relationship between musical exercise and musical exercise.
Other great heroes, such as Achilles, Theseus, and Paris, were also sometimes depicted playing a musical instrument (usually a lyre), thus reinforcing the dual purpose of aristocratic education and the virtue of music. Also, many school scenes on 5th-century BC pottery depict students with both a lyre and a book roll, once again demonstrating the importance of music in education.
Finally, Lekythoi, slender jars for putting perfume, were often found in tombs and decorated with musical symbols, perhaps for the deceased to travel to the next life with musical accompaniment.
