The Deipnosophists; or, Banquet of the Learned of Athenæus, Vol. 3 (of 3)Athenaeus, of Naucratis
Philosophy
The Deipnosophists; or, Banquet of the Learned of Athenæus, Vol. 3 (of 3)
Athenaeus, of Naucratis
Civilization, Greco-Roman; Dinners and dining -- Greece; Greece -- Social life and customs; Homosexuality -- Greece
And Euphorion, in his treatise on the Isthmian Games, says, that the
magadis is an ancient instrument, but that in latter times it was
altered, and had the name also changed to that of the sambuca. And,
that this instrument was very much used at Mitylene, so that one of the
Muses was represented by an old statuary, whose name was Lesbothemis,
as holding one in her hand. But Menæchmus, in his treatise on Artists,
says that the πηκτὶς, which he calls identical with the magadis, was
invented by Sappho. And Aristoxenus says that the magadis and the
pectis were both played with the fingers without any plectrum; on which
account Pindar, in his Scolium addressed to Hiero, having named the
magadis, calls it a responsive harping (ψαλμὸν ἀντίφθογγον), because its
music is accompanied in all its keys by two kinds of singers, namely,
men and boys. And Phrynichus, in his Phœnician Women, has said—
Singing responsive songs on tuneful harps.
And Sophocles, in his Mysians, says—
There sounded too the Phrygian triangle,
With oft-repeated notes; to which responded
The well-struck strings of the soft Lydian pectis.
37. But some people raise a question how, as the magadis did not exist
in the time of Anacreon (for instruments with many strings were never
seen till after his time), Anacreon can possibly mention it, as he does
when he says—
I hold my magadis and sing,
Striking loud the twentieth string,
Leucaspis.
But Posidonius asserts that Anacreon mentions three kinds of melodies,
the Phrygian, the Dorian, and the Lydian; for that these were the only
melodies with which he was acquainted. And as every one of these is
executed on seven strings, he says that it was very nearly correct
of Anacreon to speak of twenty strings, as he only omits one for the
sake of speaking in round numbers. But Posidonius is ignorant that the
magadis is an ancient instrument, though Pindar says plainly enough
that Terpander invented the barbitos to correspond to, and answer the
pectis in use among the Lydians—
[Sidenote: MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.]
The sweet responsive lyre
Which long ago the Lesbian bard,
Terpander, did invent, sweet ornament
To the luxurious Lydian feasts, when he
Heard the high-toned pectis.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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