Instruments Used in Greek Mythology

When he was a mere infant, Hermes, god of thieves and travel, constructed the world's first lyre out of a hollow turtle shell and seven strings. Later, he stole Apollo's cattle and sacrificed two of them. Apollo was angry when Hermes finally led him to the incomplete herd. Yet when Hermes took out his lyre and began to sing, Apollo's anger vanished, replaced by wonder at the sweet sound of the new instrument. Instead of punishing the child, Apollo offered to trade his cattle and his wand for the lyre.

Hermes' son Pan, the goat-bodied nature god, didn't fare as well when he challenged Apollo to a musical contest. Pan had glued reeds together with wax, creating the instrument known as the panpipe. Apollo, in the meantime, had upgraded his lyre to one made of gems and ivory. The contest's judge, the mountain god Tmolus, listened very briefly before telling Pan to stop playing, as Apollo's instrument and skill were clearly superior. The foolish King Midas preferred Pan's playing, so Apollo turned his ears into that of a donkey as punishment for his poor judgment.

Apollo's half-sister Athena was the goddess of wisdom, and used her knowledge to develop the double-flute. But while the instrument created beautiful music with little effort, Athena felt she looked undignified when she played it. She gave it to the satyr Marsyas, who found the instrument captivating. Unfortunately, like Pan, Marsyas was foolish enough to challenge Apollo to a musical competition. Unlike Pan, Marsyas paid the price for his insolence. When Apollo won the contest, he tied Marsyas to a tree and skinned him alive.

Though his colleague, Linus, invented the harp, the great musician Thamyris showed his superior skill by playing the instrument with no vocal accompaniment, amazing listeners with his deft playing. However, Thamyris was equally proud of his singing voice, going to far as to claim he could sing more beautifully than the Muses, goddesses who inspired all creative thought. Affronted, the Muses punished him by making him forget how to play music and by physically maiming him.