L'armonia della lira tra storia, música e archeologia. L'evidenza egea del II millennio a.C.

Abstract

A recent stream of studies on the spread of musical instruments within Greek culture, as well as on the genesis of the heptatonic cycle and of the seven stringed lyre - preferred instrument of archaic Greek aristocracy - has presumed a very early acquisition of these instruments, namely during the Aegean Bronze Age. Therefore, palatial traditions seem to have been pursued by archaic Greek music, as the lyre could represent the Mycenaean Court's favourite musical instrument. This description is corroborated and detailed not only by paintings representing musicians and musical instruments from Minoan and Mycenaean areas but also by possible official titles designating professional musicians attested in Linear B. These findings place Aegean cultures in a musical koine, which has its own background in Mesopotamia, and identify Minoans as a crucial link between Near Eastern traditions and the Mycenaean world.