explore the celebrated
past of a godly instrument
Discover the Lyre in Mythos
âI wish to tune my quivering lyre, to deeds of fame, and notes of fire.â â Lord Byron
Embark on a journey with the lyreâfrom myth to legend, poetry, and finally, realityâas we explore her rich history in ancient literature through the works of some of antiquityâs greatest dramatists, poets, and authors.
â The Song of the Lyre (back-cover blurb)
Deciphering the
True Meaning of the Lyre
from ancient Greek philosophers to Renaissance artists
by Nikolaos Koumartzis, D.Phil., Lyre Mythos’ editor-in-chief
Lyre Mythos Publishing team
Nikolaos Koumartzis, D.Phil.
Editor-in-Chief & Art Director in the series
Fotios Giantsios, M.Litt.
Research Director & Anthologist
Michael J. Griffin, D.Phil. (Oxford)
Scholarly Advisor
To have a future, we must bring forward her glorious past
and everything that made the lyre be the Lyre.
Why was it so important to be associated with the lyre in the ancient world? How did the lyre gradually become a powerful symbol of culture and education? Why was it crucial for even great heroes like Achilles and Alexander the Great to master her playing? Why did Ludwig van Beethoven, a highly-famed pianist, choose to be portrayed holding a lyre in his most well-known portrait? And what led the esteemed Socrates to become a lyre student in his later years?
Welcome to a brand-new book series titled Lyre Mythos, a SEIKILO original. It is a multifaceted project, mindfully moderated by a team of skillful authors and scholars, all closely affiliated with the worldwide lyre community.
Our goal is to introduce the mythos of the lyre to the general audience, exploring the celebrated past of this unique ancient musical instrument through mythology, history, literature, and arts.
All the above questions might sound unexpected and disconnected from each other, but they can help us understand the essence of the lyreâs symbolism. To answer each one of them (and every similar question that might pop up while you are reading this bookâor days, months, or years after), we have to dive into the vast ocean of Greek & Roman mythology, history, and literature.
This is what all the Lyre Mythos books are aiming for. But they are also part of something bigger, a worldwide ecosystem that began to form around the lyre almost a decade ago, including (but not limited to)Â the LUTHIEROS workshop, the SEIKILO Ancient World Music Channel on YouTube, the LyreAcademy, and the SEIKILO Museum of Ancient Music in Greece.
So far, we have focused on the future of the lyre, as this is our true passion. But to have a future, we must bring forward her glorious past and everything that made the lyre be the Lyre. With the book The Song of the Lyre and its companion art book, Lyre as a Symbol, we launch a series of publications uncovering the depth of the Lyreâs mythos. Soon, more books, equally compelling, will follow.Â
What to Expect?
Premium publication
We only use state-of-the-art printing technologies for our premium publications.Â
Help us dive deeper
Rest assured that your order finances the research needed for the next installment of the Lyre Mythos series so we can dive deeper and bring you the next valuable insight into the rich lyre mythos.
Delivery
Help us dive deeper
Rest assured that your order finances the research needed for the next installment of the Lyre Mythos series so we can dive deeper and bring you the next valuable insight into the rich lyre mythos.
Premium publication
We only use state-of-the-art printing technologies for our premium publications.Â
Delivery
What they said
about the books?
Armand DâAngour, Professor of Classics, University of Oxford
A collection of ancient Greek & Roman stories that teaches us not only about the instrument but about philosophy, war, politics, education, and culture in general.
(about The Song of the Lyre)
Zdravko BlaĹžekoviÄ, Director of the Research Center for Music Iconography, City University of New York
The image of the lyre is a universal symbol of music throughout Western culture. […] This entire iconographic corpus facilitates our understanding of the symbolic power of the lyre in Western paintings.
(about The Lyre as a Symbol)
Stella Kourmpana, Ph.D., Head of the Athens Conservatoire Historical Archives
The Lyre as a Symbol embarks on an enchanting journey through pivotal moments in portraying this unique instrument in paintings.
(about The Lyre as a Symbol)
From the instrument of gods and heroes to the hands of poets and singers, the lyre gradually became a symbol so powerful that her journey through history has no equal. Let us witness how the lyre transcended her material nature to become, in the hands of artists, the symbol of an entire civilization and a direct connection to the divine that lies in all of us.
â The Lyre as a Symbol (back-cover blurb)
Get in touch with us
Contact our publishing team at mythos [at] seikilo [dot] com
This is an open call to every scholar
who works on a related project.
The ancient lyre is a musical artifact that is gradually reclaiming her place in the modern music scene. Her mythos is divine – unlike any other existing instrument.
Our sincere hope for every installment of the Lyre Mythos series is to become the spark for more people to engage with this topic and explore further the lyreâs mythological halo. Soon, new books will emerge, and some will definitely be part of our SEIKILO publications. This is an open call to every author or scholar who works on a related project. Contact the SEIKILO publishing team if you believe your book can be part of our series.
Until then, enjoy this fascinating journey while discovering some of the most significant myths, stories, legends, and paintings ever created by human noesis. By doing so, you will understand why the Lyre has this otherworldly power to soothe the human soul and unveil profound feelings – feelings that only she can evoke.Â
