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About The Song of the Lyre

“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.” — Armand D’Angour, Professor of Classical Languages and Literature, Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford

For the Greeks, there was no education without the lyre. No feast, no sorrow, no ritual was complete without her. Such was her significance that the Greeks honored the instrument by placing her in the hands of their greatest gods and heroes, including Apollo, Achilles, and Orpheus.

Homer, Sappho, Hesiod, Alcaeus, and Ovid are some of the names the reader encounters in this collection of myths, odes, stories, and hymns, all with a common theme: the instrument of the gods—the lyre.

But why did the lyre consistently triumph over the flutes? What prompted Zeus to immortalize her among the stars as the constellation Lyra? Why was it crucial for even great heroes like Achilles and Alexander the Great to master her playing? And what led the esteemed Socrates to become a lyre student in his later years?

Embark on a journey with the lyre—from myth to legend, poetry, and finally, reality—as we explore her rich history in ancient literature through the works of some of antiquity’s greatest dramatists, poets, and authors.

_Publication ID
Hardcover Premium Edition
Dimensions: 14 x 20,5 cm
Pages: 328
Color: Duotone
With Dust Jacket (full color)

About The Lyre as a Symbol

“The Lyre as a Symbol embarks on an enchanting journey through pivotal moments in portraying this unique instrument in paintings.” — Stella Kourmpana, Head of the Athens Conservatoire Historical Archives

“A collection of artistic masterpieces that demonstrate how the lyre inspired artists throughout the ages. The symbolism detectable in each painting makes us aware of how ancient myths that are intertwined with the instrument and how the ideas they express were transformed throughout three and a half millennia to embrace not just music but all the arts and human culture in general.” — Armand D’Angour, Professor of Classical Languages and Literature, Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford

“This entire iconographic corpus facilitates our understanding of the symbolic power of the lyre in Western paintings.” — Zdravko Blažeković, Director of the Research Center for Music Iconography, The Graduate Center, City University of New York

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.

It is this journey that The Lyre as a Symbol traces, from the ancient world to the Renaissance and into the 20th century, through the eyes of painters and artists of all disciplines and movements, from the masters of the High Renaissance and the realism of the Neoclassicists to the illusions of the Symbolists.

The book features an impressive collection of 59 representative masterpieces depicting the lyre while shedding light on the artist’s intentions and symbolic thought and trying to decipher the cultural and artistic background of each time.

Through its pages, we witness the lyre’s many roles and forms as she 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.

_Credits
Nikolaos Koumartzis, D.Phil (editor in chief)
Fotis Giantsios, M.Litt. (research director)
Michael J. Griffin, D.Phil. (scholarly advisor)

_Publication ID
Hardcover Premium Edition
Dimensions: 24,5 x 34 cm
Pages: 176
Color: Full color
Paper: Art paper