Music in ancient Greece was considered not any less sacred than many other sorts of divine and moral concepts. It was embedded in ancient Greek socio-religious life and the musical myths were essential features the respect and admiration for music was deeply rooted not just in individuals’ lives, but also in the social beliefs and practices of Greek. Many of Gods and Goddesses in ancient Greek mythology played musical instrument and inspired other gods and humans with the sound of music; for instance, Muses were daughters to Zeus (the king and leader of all Gods) and they all used to play and sing in order to motivate people. Musical instruments often had divine origins as well; Hermes (the God of boundaries and travellers) was considered to be the inventor of Lyre, an instrument which developed to Kithara and eventually guitar. (It should be mentioned that according to some other interpretations of ancient Greek mythology, Apollo was the inventor of Lyre)
Music in ancient Greece was one of the basic parts of religious ceremonies, marriages and funerals, stage dramas, etc; and of course each event had a different music associated with it. In general, it is relatively difficult to separate music, literature, drama, painting and other sorts of arts in ancient Greece.
One of the remarkable figures of music in ancient Greece is Pythagoras; a philosopher, mathematician and scientist who had big influences on Greece in many dimensions. His school and his followers had important impacts on moral and ethical values of Greek society. They were envisioning music as a paradigm of harmonious order reflecting the cosmos and the human soul. Pythagoras’ religious teachings were bases of these impacts for the most part.
According to Edward Lippman’s book Musical Thought in Ancient Greece, one of the elements affecting and dealing with (and also leading) the feelings and the wills of individuals was so-called “Musical magic”. It is notable to take into consideration that in ancient Greece, magic was one of the ways people had to describe their environment with. Not having as powerful tools as we have now, they needed some idea or logic for the world around them to make senses. Myths are after all creations of “humans”, religious responses to human experiences laid down in mythical narratives, which were and referred to phenomena of common reality, such as music. Music had such significant effects which could not be analysed and explained and therefore it was frequently referred to as “Magic”.
On the other hand, as mentioned, there was a deep philosophical conception of music as well; its role was definitely not just providing events with “something”! It was considered to play important roles in daily lives of people, their character and their positions in the society. Lippman describes the relation between ethics, philosophy, education and music in his book:
“The chief basis of the ethical philosophy of music, however, is not magic and orgy, but the customary educational and social uses of art. There is obviously an interrelationship between these fields of musical practice; the ethical value cannot be confined to formal education, for schooling simply foreshadows, or more usually echoes, life in general: the place of music in education should provide a view of its place in society, or in society as it once was or desires itself to be. And at the same time, social occasions not explicitly defined as educative may be of the greatest significance in moulding ideals and character.”
The sacred and divine conception of music was (and is) not unique to Greek culture and history. In many other civilisations and cultures (mostly those with roots in ancient traditions; i.e. Egyptian, Indian, Persian, etc.) music had “heavenly” origins. One of the noteworthy similarities between ancient Greek concept of music and Indian (particularly Hindu) interpretation of this art is the fact that in both of these thoughts, the element of “harmony” plays a significant role in the way the universe works. All the creatures are necessarily supposed to exist and function in harmony with each other, and the harmony by which the universe is systemised is apparent in the way music is created, played and influential. In fact, according to Indian perception of music, one of the ways to realise this comprehensive harmony is to deeply observe how music affects living beings. (It is notable that particularly in Hinduism, the world has effects on ALL humans AND animals more or less in a similar way; thus music –as an important divine creature- deals with the entire spirits of living objects.) In ancient India, one of the worst acts of a person was to play music “badly”, “in the wrong time” or “in the wrong place”.
Persians had both different and similar principals with Greek in the way they regarded music. Music in ancient Persian culture was highly associated with beauty and joy which existed only because of the will of God. During Achaemenid empire period (559 BC–330 BC), the “Palace” musician (whose duty was to play exclusively for the king) was the only person who needed no permission to enter the palace.
Throughout history, however, these concepts of music and musicians dramatically changed. In some cases music became a tool of devil to tempt masses to committing sin. If not that “harsh”, music was some times considered a tool of the “enemy” by which that enemy tried to invade a culture. (Cuba as an example of recent history; during Castro’s revolution Saxophone was banned because it was invented in Germany, a capitalist country and it was a sign of Jazz, an American imperialistic art!)
In general nevertheless, apart from few periods of time and few places, music kept its concept of being adorable, respected and a valuable cultural phenomenon. Amongst other sorts of art, it became a very popular and common way of interconnection between different cultures and traditions. Many classical musicians in Europe were supported, funded and encouraged by the governments to be as much active and creative as they could be. In almost all the cases, these musicians were considered elites of the society; therefore their manners were figures to others. Schools of music were founded to secure and enrich this important part of culture.
The perception of music being divine might not be a predominant idea any more but in practice, in many places it still is a pleasant object with mysterious effects on people and societies.
In recent years, music –as an element with a big role in the industry of media- is frequently used to deliver moral and ethical messages. In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that music has been participating in shaping societies’ lifestyles and defining their values. It was a medium through which morality and philosophy was expressed in ancient Greece; now it is a place where in many senses the world observes the evolution of these values.
In some cases it is amazing to understand how much music is involved in forming the minds of individuals. As one example, having cooperated with (and utilised) the new technology and new-born music styles, “Christian Rock” carries the messages of the Bible and the church to Christians; using music to promote religion is exactly what Pythagoras and his followers were doing. Even in cultures and societies not descendant from Europeans and less acquainted with Europe (and in particular Greece)’s traditions, it is often found that music is a way of exchanging and promoting ideas. A part of Muslims (Shiites) hold funerals on days their religious leaders were killed incorporating music (particularly sad music) and mourning for them every year.
There have even been cases in which music has been considered to be able to inspire non-living objects. Japanese author Masaru Emoto has come up with a controversial idea that says human ideas could shape water crystals. One of the ways he “inspires” water is to play music for a water container. He published his book Messages from Water in 1999.
As the time goes on and human being achieves more and as civilisations develop, ethical and moral values and principals evolve; so does music, its conceptions and interpretations. However, the respect for arts in general and artists in particular has remained an important and obvious part of each and every culture throughout history. In comparison to modern societies, music might have been thought of -or respected- differently in a society like ancient Greece but overall it has been a significant part of every culture. Since naturally people tend to keep their cultural values, music has more or less been taken care of in different parts of the world; and it has been a very common tool to deliver cultural messages. Thanks to the fast-developing technology of today, it has become very easy for people to interconnect and exchange their ideas and feelings; music is no exception to this.
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References:
Gould, J. 1985 "On making sense of Greek religion." in Greek Religion and Society. eds. P.E. Easterling & J.V. Muir Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1-33.
Hemingway, Colette, and Seán Hemingway. 2000. "Music in Ancient Greece". In Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art,. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grmu/hd_grmu.htm (Accessed [08.05.2007])
Lippman, Edward A.1964. Musical Thought in ancient Greece. London and New York: Columbia University Press.
Masaru Emoto, official website http://www.masaru-emoto.net (Accessed [10.06.2007])
Michaelides, Solon. 1978. The Music of Ancient Greece; an Encyclopaedia. London: Faber and Faber Limited in association with Faber Music Limited.
Smith, Hermann. 1904. The world’s earliest music : traced to its beginnings in ancient lands by collected evidence of relics, records, history, and musical instruments from Greece, Etruria, Egypt, China, through Assyria and Babylonia, to the primitive home the land of Akkad and Sumer. London: William Reeves.
West, Martin L. 1992. Ancient Greek Music. Oxford: Clarendon Press
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