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Ancient stringed instrument

Musical Instrument
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A historical musical device, such as the lyre or kithara, used to accompany lyric poetry in antiquity

Detailed Definition
An ancient stringed instrument refers to historical musical devices such as the lyre, kithara, or harp used in classical antiquity to accompany poetic recitations or songs; these instruments were integral to Greek and Roman lyrical performance, symbolizing the union of music and poetry in early Western literary culture.
Example
Example in poetry:
The Greek lyre, used by poets like Sappho to accompany recitations; the kithara, a larger lyre played in public performances; the Roman cithara, derived from Greek models; the Mesopotamian bull-headed lyre from the Royal Cemetery of Ur
Additional Notes
Ancient stringed instrument: Refers to early lyres, harps, or similar instruments (e.g., Greek kithara or lyre) used to accompany lyric poetry; understanding these instruments helps contextualize the performative origins of lyric forms like the lyric poem (10079).
Also Known As
Lyre Kithara Harp of antiquity Classical chordophone
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