Music education in ancient Greece
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The article below was originally written in the form of an undergraduate assignment for the Greek Open University in 2008, during a period when the author's academic skills were still under development. Although the quality of this article does not match the quality of later examples of the same author's work, it is written in a thorough manner and contains useful information to nowadays students and other readers with non-specialised knowledge; therefore, it has been proudly included on this website.
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Introduction
This article discusses music education in ancient Greece; it focuses on the relationship between music and philosophy, and explains practical aspects of music-teaching in ancient daily life. The article is divided in two sections. The first section discusses the importance of music in ancient Greek education and the way it reflected specific social beliefs of that time. Such beliefs are also noted in the work of various philosophers from Classical antiquity, who stress two aspects of music education: firstly, its intellectual contribution to the youths, and secondly, its impact on the cultivation of ethos to the future citizens. The second section discusses the practicalities of music-teaching in ancient Greece and the pedagogical methods employed. It discusses the broader role of music in the education systems of Athens and Sparta, which offer most of the written accounts on the subject, as well as the different types of music education noted in various textual sources from the Greek antiquity. The final section presents a overview and some basic conclusions on the social importance of music education in ancient Greece, also in relation to the philosophical views of the Classical period.
The pedagogical importance of music in ancient Greece
According to the the views of the ancient Greeks, the highest purpose of education was the cultivation of young peoples’ souls. In this process, the ‘art of the sounds’ was believed to be essential, together with philosophy; both disciplines were perceived as one. Philosophers, such as Plato and Pythagoras, correlated music and philosophy, and suggested that they both had the same goal: to ‘coordinate’ the human soul with ‘universal harmony’ (Papaoikonomou-Kipourgou 2003, 291-3). Regardless what the views of different philosophical schools in ancient Greece, the cultivation of the soul was often presented in a music-related vocabulary.
The pedagogical importance of music was not only promoted by ancient philosophers, but was also a popular belief for most citizens of that time. Nowadays, the greatest problem in understanding music education in ancient Greece is that information is scarce and fragmentary. Most information dates to the Classical period and relates almost exclusively to Athens. Despite this problem, ancient sources confirm a strong correlation between music and psychological development. Indirect sources mention that Pythagoras often pointed out the positive influence of music in the formulation of moral characters, while he also stressed the therapeutic impact of sounds on the human soul. The latter view is even nowadays supported by modern medical science. Damon the Athenian, who used to be the teacher of Pericles and Socrates, agreed with the views of the Pythagoreans, which he passed on to his students. Plato probably adopted Socrates’ views on the impact of music on peoples’ souls, which he then introduced in his dialogues discussing the education of the young Athenians of his era (Papaoikonomou-Kipourgou 2003, 291-3).
According to Plato, music was a divine art, which led people to the conquest of harmony. Harmony was described as a non-material good, just like every other divine Idea in Plato’s theory. Plato was also the first to introduce theoretical restrictions in the teaching of music; however, it is difficult to say if these restrictions were finally employed in the education system of Classical Athens. Plato was strongly against innovations in music: he believed that the students were obliged to maintain the music traditions of his time, without any additions or modifications. The students were discouraged to mix the sounds, the scales and the rhythms of different music genres. Under the same principle, students were supposed to avoid ‘multi-stringed’ and ‘multi-harmonious’ musical instruments as they could produced mixed musical scales. Furthermore, Plato condemned the practice of music, which aimed in the satisfaction and uncontrolled pleasure of the audience. In relation to this point, Plato was not necessarily against practising music in front of an audience, but most likely against playing music for recreation in various symposia, which probably undermined the essence of music (Papaoikonomou-Kipourgou 2003, 291-3).
Aristotle was the first philosopher who discussed a number of theoretical issues on music. He presented a series of arguments on the necessity of music in the education of the youths; he recognised the importance of music in the formulation of morality; and finally, he forwarded an approach on music education, which was less strict compared to Plato’s. Aristotle argued that music was an essential course for the education of young people and was obligatory to be taught to them for four reasons. Firstly, it entertained and relaxed the students. Secondly, it promoted a moral character to the youths, which was achieved through the cultivation of the mind. On this point, Aristotle believed that music consisted of universal (catholic) laws, which formed universal prototypes. As soon as the human mind came into contact with these laws, it copied their prototypes and applied them on moral behaviour. Thirdly, music offered intellectual and aesthetic pleasure to the humans, which was a manifestation of well-living (eu zein = quality life). In that sense, music promoted and upgraded the daily lives of people. Fourthly, music was believed to be therapeutic and was supposed to cleanse the soul from its passions. This was achieved through a series of mental emotions generated by the sounds, which were based on the standardised structures (e.g. the climaxes) and axioms (e.g. tonic rules) of music (Papaoikonomou-Kipourgou 2003, 294-6).
On the relationship between ethos and music, Aristotle followed the general approach of other ancient music theorists of his time, who were known as the Harmonic philosophers (αρμονικοί). Such theorists saw ethos as a natural force, which forged human characters and was inherent in music; therefore, music was believed to forge human characters. The same approach saw music as the carrier of total universal ethos. Furthermore, different theoretical components of music, such as the musical notes, the tunes, the genres, the harmonies and the rhythms, were seen as constituent parts of the total universal ethos. Aristotle adopted this rationale and explained the impact of different music styles on the ethos of the human soul. For example, he saw that the ethos of the Dorian Style was modest and manly, as opposed to the Hypolydian Style, which was believed to be intoxicating and flirtatious (Papaoikonomou-Kipourgou 2003, 294-6).
The presence of contrasting bi-poles in the ethos of ancient Greek music styles, at least according to Aristotle and the Harmonic philosophers, suggests that the impact of music on young people might not have always been positive, but also negative. The choice of ‘wrong’ style elements in music education was likely to corrupt the morality of the youths. This was expected to have catastrophic consequences, not only at a personal, but also at a social and political level (Papaoikonomou-Kipourgou 2003, 294-6).
Indirect information about the music education in Classical Athens can also be found in the comedies by Aristophanes. In the Acharnians, presented in 425 BC, Aristophanes recalls the old times, when children used to sit down with modesty and were taught to sing in a strong harmonious tone, which was appropriate to their glorious ancestors. Music instructors used to punish the children who copied “the ways of Phrynes” and bended forwards or imitated inappropriate body postures during class (Fracelière 2003, 129). Of course, the comedies by Aristophanes are not the most relevant texts on music education in Classical Athens; however, they confirm the broader perceptions of his time on the social problems generated when music education was neglected or taught poorly.
From the end of the 5th century, but mainly during the 4th century BC, many intellectuals started to disagree on the moral impact of music education and its positive contribution to the character of young students. During that period, a new music style was introduced in the daily activities of the ancient Greeks, which threatened the traditional structure of music education, at least in relation to its role as the carrier of social ethos. Unfortunately, little is known about this new music style because ancient music was not recorded in ways we can nowadays reproduce. Information about this new style survives through textual accounts, which do not speak about the actual style, but about the social perceptions it created in relation to other traditional styles. This probably suggests that the new style was imported and was perhaps unrelated to older Greek music traditions. We definitely know that the new music style of the 4th century BC was welcomed as an innovation, which altered the strict relationship between music and morality. This situation verified Plato’s fears, who had predicted a ‘demoralisation’ of the Athenian society a lot earlier, and was manifested through the popularity of a rather ‘immoral’ music style of possibly Oriental origin. In relation to ancient theatrical plays, we nowadays know that Aristophanes belonged to those who disapproved the new style, while Euripides and Agathon belonged to those who adopted it in their poetic creations (Papaoikonomou-Kipourgou 2003, 296).
In conclusion, the questioning of the moral influence of music education emerged together with a new music style around the 4th century BC, for which little is nowadays known. Due to the same lack of information, one cannot be totally sure to what extent this new style was adopted in Athenian music education. It is also likely that, despite the undermining of the traditional ethos, the new music style promoted an early form of artistic freedom of expression, which was previously not allowed to young students due to the broader social critique against music innovation. The critique of Aristophanes to Euripides probably reflected the broader social debate on the moral impact of the new style.
Practical aspects of music education in ancient Greece
The surviving information on the music education of the ancient Greeks relates almost exclusively to Athens and Sparta. The education systems of the two city-states used to set the standards for the education of the youths in most parts of the Greek world throughout Classical antiquity. Unfortunately, information on music education during the Geometric and Archaic periods is almost absent; therefore, research in limited on sources from the Classical and Hellenistic periods, the standards of which continued during the Roman period (Papaoikonomou-Kypourgou 2003, 163).
Music education in ancient Greece is likely to have started long before the spread of the alphabet and the general use of writing. The Homeric Epics, which describe an era of orality, include various mentions of musicians and other performers. Achilles, for example, who used to portray the aristocratic ideals of the ancient Greek elites, is described as someone who had been taught music and never neglected practising it, even during his military campaigns (Fracelière 2003, 126). It is likely that during the early Greek antiquity, education in general, and music education in particular, were just privileges of the elites. From the Classical period onwards, however, music was seen as the foundation for educating free citizens (Papaoikonomou-Kypourgou 2003, 126). This shift probably suggests that during the Classical period, music education became more accessible to the youths of the less prominent social strata. Despite this expansion of music education, there were also youths who could not follow any music lessons due to the broader social limitations of that time. In general, learning how to play music was neither feasible nor affordable for a large proportion of Athens’ and Sparta’s populations.
Music education in the ancient Greek world is officially attested for the first time in textual sources of the 6th century BC, which consists of the early Archaic period. Although Athens and Sparta followed different education models, they both had incorporated music into their education systems. The modern notion of a public education system probably matches the Spartan model, where the schooling and training of children was strictly regulated and supervised by the state. By contrast, Athens had a private education system, where the type of education for the children was decided by their parents (Papaoikonomou-Kypourgou 2003, 164-5).
In both city-states, education began at the age of six or seven. Along with music, children were taught how to read and write, while physical exercise and sports were compulsory. In that sense, there used to be three main types of educators: the guitarist (κιθαριστής) who taught music; the grammar teacher (γραμματιστής), who taught language, spelling, writing and reading; and finally the children-trainer (παιδοτρίβης), who was tasked with physical education. The knowledge and fluent use of the Greek alphabet in ancient education was highly important for three reasons. Firstly, the alphabet was used to record the spoken language of the time and was seen as essential proof of literacy. Secondly, the alphabet was used in mathematics to record numbers and proportional relationships between sums. Thirdly, it was used in music to represent sounds, which somehow coincided with modern notes. The above relationship shows that music education in ancient Greece was directly connected with literacy (Papaoikonomou-Kypourgou 2003, 164-5).
In Sparta and the Dorian city-states of Crete music education was not only connected with schooling, but also had military importance. The Spartans used to conduct their battle manoeuvrers under the sounds of the flutes, which kept the marching rhythm and ensured coordinated movement in the fighting divisions. Music education in Sparta probably aimed to accustom the youths to the sounds of the battle flutes and teach them how to coordinate their movements under the flute rhythm. This coordination was partly responsible for the notorious discipline of the Spartan hoplites (Papaoikonomou-Kypourgou 2003, 164-5).
In Athens the education system was not connected with soldiering and military activities, at least not directly. The education system was private and paid by the parents, which meant that the orphans were less likely to receive proper education. In such cases, the state used to pay for the schooling of ‘the nation’s orphans’, who were children of fallen soldiers. Unlike Sparta, in Athenian music education the students were offered a choice between ‘lyre’ lessons and ‘flute’ lessons (Papaoikonomou-Kypourgou 2003, 164-5).
The ancient Greek word ‘lyre’ describes a series of stringed musical instruments played with a key. In modern musicology, this category of instruments is described as yoke lutes. Such instruments consist of three parts: a yoke (know as the chordotone), a number of strings attached on the yoke , and a hollow ‘speaker’ right under the strings. The most common types of ancient Greek ‘lyres’ were seven: the phorminx, also known as the kitharis; the lyre, which resembled a small harp; the barbitos, also know as chelone (turtle), which was made of turtle shell; the Kithara (guitar), which was in reality a seven-stringed forminx; the aeoric kithara, which was mostly connected with female performers; the harp and the lute (Neubecker 1986, 78-84).
The ancient Greek word aulos (αυλός) translates as flute; however, the term included a variety of woodwind musical instruments, which consisted of single or double pipes of equal length, carrying three or four perforations. Ancient Greek flutes were rarely played solo (by a single performer); most of the times, music was simultaneously played by two performer, who either carried single or double-piped flutes. Despite the use of flutes in music education, the Athenian aristocrats believed that stringed musical instruments were more suitable for their social status and matched their social position. This was due to the origins of stringed musical instruments, which were known to be indigenous, as opposed to woodwind musical instruments, which were introduced from Asia Minor together with the cult of Dionysus. According to the ancient textual sources, Plato and Aristotle disapproved of flutes, while Alcibiades hated flutes as they deformed the faces of the musicians (Neubecker 1986, 84-6).
Significant information on music education in ancient Athens comes from decorative representations on Attic vases from the Classical period (490/478 – 323 BC). Such representations depict young men following music classes, offered by adult male instructors. During flute lessons, students practised without phorbeia, which was a leather strap worn around the head that fixed the flute on the musician's lips. This strap was most likely used by professional flute performers. For yoke lute lessons, pottery representations depict students and teachers seated across each other. It is likely that during the lesson, the teacher played a specific tune, which the student had to repeat right after him. In the same representations, students are depicted with seven-stringed guitars, which they played with bear fingers or a key (plectron). The lesson was probably empirical, based on the acoustic repetition of the taught material; music semiotics were most likely not employed in music education for the recording of sounds, although they actually existed. The main advantage of yoke lutes was that they did not occupy the musician’s mouth, which was the case with flutes. This allowed the students to simultaneously practise singing and playing the strings. Archaeology has revealed a decorated vase, which depicts a music teacher playing kithara and singing, while his student accompanies the performance with his flute. This shows that in ancient music education, singing was taught together with playing stringed musical instruments (Neubecker 1986, 128-9).
Music education in ancient Greece was not only important for cultivating the souls of the city-state’s future citizens, but also for preparing and integrating them to the city-state’s social life and religious activities. Cult and other religious activities for adult citizens, which formed the backbone of social unity and cohesion, were directly connected with songs and music. The hymns to the gods, the paeans, the musical nomoi, the dithyrambs, the prosodies, the pathenia and the hyporchemata were songs dedicated to the city-state’s patron gods; they combined singing and music, and most likely demanded a generalised level of music education by the citizens, in order to enjoy them or even participate in their execution. In ancient Athens, in particular, music education was never meant to be exclusively for the youths. Drama contests were an essential element of Athenian social life and were also regulated by the city-state. All adult Athenian citizens participated in the drama contests, either as actors and members of the chorus, or as members of the audience at the theatre of Dionysus. The citizens who participated in the chorus learned and rehearsed songs that were embedded in the plays; these were conducted by professional musicians, and during their rehearsals, the chorus was supervised by music teachers and choreographers. Such songs consisted of the choric parts of tragedies and the parabaseis (parabasis in singular) of comedies (Neubecker 1986, 52-65).
Although most of the pottery representations on Attic vases depict young males in music education and adult male musicians, there used to be significant participation in music and dance performances by women, particularly in relation to official religious events. The unfavourable social position of women in Classical Athens probably meant that girls were not offered the same education as boys; however, music was an exception. The Pathenia, which were festive songs primarily associated with the cult of Dionysus, were executed by choruses of young maidens. This probably suggests that there used to be groups of young female artisans, who received some sort of music and dance training to be able to participate in the ceremonies of state religion (Neubecker 1986, 75). The teaching of music to young maidens is also attested by the painted representation on ceramic marital cauldrons (gamekos leves = γαμικός λέβης). Such pots usually depicted the bride and her female friends playing music with triangular harps and flutes (Papaoikonomou-Kipourgou 2003, 165).
On the participation of women in music education, there is surviving information about the House of the Nursing Muses (Οίκος των Θεραπαινίδων Μουσών), which was directed by the poetess Sappho at the island of Lesbos during the early 6th century BC. The House was a type of boarding school for young females, who were taught to read, write, play music and sing (Papaoikonomou-Kipourgou 2003, 165). Of course, historical accounts on schoolmistress Sappho are ambiguous. Certain ancient textual sources accuse Sappho of prostitution, while her female boarding school is seen as an enterprise of organised pimping (Vanoyeke 2006, 65-6). The teaching of flute to women was also connected with prostitution; textual accounts and pottery representations suggest that professional ‘companions’ (hetairai = εταίραι, in plural) used to entertain men in their symposia by playing flute. This practice was so well-established in the ancient Greek world, that the word auletris (αυλητρίς = female flute performer) was synonymous to the word hetaira (paid female companion) (Fracelière 2003, 130). Whatever the case, it is almost certain that professional female flute performers in ancient Greece were thoroughly and intensively trained in music at a young age. This was probably done by professional music teachers, who were employed by the prostitution industry of that time.
The first professional unions for musicians appeared in Athens during the 4th century BC; these were called ‘Commons’ (koina = κοινά) and their members were called The Artisans of Dionysus (tecnhitae Dionysou = τεχνίται Διονύσου). Such artists were guitarists (kitharistes = κιθαριστές); guitar-singers (kitrharodoi = κιθαρωδοί); flute players (auletes = αυλητές); flute-singers (aulodoi = αυλωδοί), which is a relatively convoluted term; singers (aoidoi = αοιδοί); composers, actors and poets. The foundation of ‘Commons’ resulted to the foundation of private music and drama schools, connected with the members of these unions. Such schools used to teach ‘psalms’ (psalmoi = ψαλμοί), which were compositions for stringed musical instruments played without keys; guitar practice (kitharismoi = κιθαρισμοί); singing, accompanied by guitar-playing (kitharodies = κιθαρωδίες); rythmography (ρυθμογραφία), which was the composition of rythms; melography (μελογραφία), which was the composition of melodies; tragedy and comedy. Teaching in such schools was practised by memory, with the use of acoustic repetitions; no music texts were used in this type of music education. The first teaching manuals with ancient music appeared for the first time during the 3rd century AD, towards the end of the Roman era (Papaoikonomou-Kipourgou 2003, 165-6). This suggests that the teaching and transmission of music during the Classical and Hellenistic periods was based solely on orality. This practice contrasts with other forms of cultural production during the same periods, which was characterised by literacy and was recorded in writing.
In relation to the social perceptions of the Greek antiquity, a truly educated man was regarded as a “musical man” (mousikos aner = μουσικός ανήρ). For the ancient Greeks, education could not have been complete, unless it included music. Themistocles, who was one of the most profound Athenian generals, used to feel disadvantageous due to his incomplete education, as he never learned to properly tune the lyre and use the psalterion. The importance of music in education is also confirmed by textual sources from the city of Teo in Ionia, where guitarists were recorded to have been the best-paid teachers of the Classical period (Papaoikonomou-Kipourgou 2003, 166).
Summary and conclusions
In summary, the teaching of music in ancient Greece reflected certain social beliefs, which were also in accordance with the philosophical traditions of the Classical period. According to these beliefs, music was important for the cultivation of young people’s souls and contributed greatly to the building of moral characters. The structure of music education was believed to incorporate elements of ethos, which were introduced to the youths through learning different music styles and sounds. Music tradition was regarded sacred and maintaining it was the duty of every student. When a new music style appeared towards the end of Classical antiquity, this was held responsible for the moral decay and the collapse of social values of that era.
The teaching of music in Athens was private and was offered to the children by their parents as part of their broader schooling. By contrast, the teaching of music in Sparta was under state regulation as every other taught subject of the Spartan public education system, know as the Agoge. In general, the teaching of music included singing and playing different types of musical instruments, which nowadays fall under two broader instrument groups: yoke lutes (‘lyres’) and flutes. The teaching of music was acoustic, empirical and repetitive; no semiography was used, although there used to be a recording system, which portrayed sounds with letters of the Greek alphabet.
In Classical Greece, music was an important element of adult life; therefore, music education was believed to offered strong foundations to the future citizens. For young men, music education prepared them for their military tasks and for their participation in the city-state’s official religion. In Athens, in particular, music training for adult males continued with their participation in religious festivals and drama contests. For young women, music education was limited and related to the participation of young maidens in state religion. Finally, some popular perceptions of Classical antiquity dictated that an educated and socially successful man was a “musical man” (mousikos aner). This approach suggests that music education was not only important for benefiting the youths, but was also used to impose a form of social stratification.
Bibliography
Papaoikonomou-Kipourgou, K., 2003, ‘Supplementary features of ancient Greek music’, in Lekkas, D. (ed.) Arts II: Review of Greek Music and Dance, Volume II, Greek Music Praxis: Ancient and Middle Ages, Patra: Greek Open University, 139-172.
Fracelière, R., 2003, Public and Private Life of the Ancient Greeks, translated by G. Vandoros, Athens: Papadimas.
Neubecker, A.-J., 1986, Music in Ancient Greece, translated by M. Simota-Fidetzi, Athens: Odysseus.
Vanoyeke, V., 2006, Prostitution in Ancient Greece and Rome, translated by A. Karantonis, Athens: Papadimas.