kitharas

Kitharas are a large ancient Greek stringed instrument in the lyre family. The term refers to the instrument itself and to its players, with the singular kithara and the plural kitharas used in English texts. The name kithara is the source of the Latin cithara and, indirectly, of words related to the guitar in various languages.

Construction and playing: The kithara features a wooden soundbox, a relatively long neck, and multiple gut strings. Unlike smaller handheld lyres, it is designed for projection in public performance and typically bears seven or more strings, sometimes up to eleven. Strings were stretched to tuning pegs at the top of the neck and to a tail end on the opposite side. It was played with a plectrum held in the right hand, while the left hand fretted or stopped strings along the neck to alter pitch.

Historical context and use: The kithara was the professional instrument of ancient Greek music, favored by skilled musicians known as kitharodes. It was associated with formal, epic, and ritual music and was commonly used to accompany poetry and choral performances in civic and religious settings. Iconography and literary references link the instrument to Apollo, the god of music, and to public competitions and festivals such as the Panathenaia.

Legacy: The kithara influenced later Western string instruments through the broader family of lyres and the later concept of the cithara in Roman and medieval traditions. Its exact construction varied by period and region, but it remained a symbol of skilled, ceremonial Greek music until the decline of ancient Greek musical practice.