Musical Instruments in Greek Worship

Abstract

To learn that the Greeks knew of no equivalent to the special church music of today might cause some surprise. But, in fact, it was under the auspices of religion that their music in most of its branches was cultivated, its character being as manifold as that of the rites to which it was attached. The music associated with, for instance, the cult of Apollo was restrained, pacific, and harmonious, while the opposite character of turbulence and excitement typified that of Dionysiac worship. These were the classical and romantic strains of Greek music. Although the former approaches the more closely to our own idea of the liturgical style, the one was, to the Greeks, no more inherently sacred than the other.