The kithara (Greek: κιθάρα, spelled kithára in Roman letters), called cithara in Latin, was an ancient Greek musical instrument in a group of instruments called yoke lutes. It was a seven-stringed version of the lyre, which was a simpler instrument used to teach music to beginners. Unlike the lyre, the cithara was played by professional musicians known as kitharodes. In modern Greek, the word kithara now means "guitar." The word "guitar" comes from the Greek word kithara.

Origin and uses

The cithara came from swan-neck lyres used by the Minoans and Mycenaeans during the Aegean Bronze Age. Experts like M.L. West, Martha Maas, and Jane M. Snyder have linked the cithara to stringed instruments from ancient Anatolia.

While the basic lyra was commonly used to teach boys in schools, the cithara was an instrument for skilled musicians and required a lot of practice to play well. The cithara was mainly used to accompany dance, epic stories, rhapsodies, odes, and lyric songs. It was also played alone at events like receptions, banquets, national games, and skill contests.

Aristotle stated that these string instruments were used for enjoyment, not for education. Players used a stiff plectrum made of dried leather, held in the right hand with the elbow straight and palm turned inward. The left hand used straightened fingers to mute unwanted notes on the strings.

Construction

The cithara had a large, wooden sound box made of two sound panels, which could be flat or slightly curved. These panels were connected by wooden strips of the same width. At the top, the strings were tied around a crossbar or yoke, or passed through rings that went over the bar, or wrapped around pegs. The other ends of the strings were attached to a tail piece after going over a flat bridge, or the tail piece and bridge were joined together.

Most paintings on ancient vases show citharas with seven strings, which matches what ancient writers described. However, these same writers also noted that sometimes a very skilled musician would use more than seven strings.

Apollo as a kitharode

The cithara is believed to have been created by Apollo, the god of music. In art, Apollo is often shown playing a cithara rather than a lyre, and he is frequently dressed in the formal clothing of a kitharode. The term kitharoidos or citharoedus is a name given to Apollo, meaning "lyre-singer" or "one who sings while playing the lyre."

A statue or image of Apollo holding a cithara is called an Apollo Citharoedus or Apollo Citharede. One famous example is the Apollo Citharoedus at the Vatican Museums. This large marble statue was made in the 2nd century CE by an unknown Roman artist.

Famous cithara players

• Phrynnis of Lesbos: The Suda mentions that Phrynnis was the first person to play the cithara in Athens and won a competition at the Panathenaea. The cithara likely refers to a new musical instrument with 12 strings, created by Melanippides of Melos.
• Athenodoros of Teos: He was a musician who performed at the weddings held in Susa during the time of Alexander the Great.

Other instruments called "cithara"

During the Middle Ages, the word "cythara" was used to refer to various stringed instruments, such as lyres and lute-like instruments. The name "cythara" was connected to the ancient Greek instrument called "kithara," which was known for its ability to affect people's feelings.

Biblical references

An instrument called the kinnor is mentioned many times in the Bible. It is usually translated into English as "harp" or "psaltery," but in older historical writings, it was called "cithara." In Psalm 42 of the Latin Vulgate (Psalm 43 in other translations), it says:

This verse is translated in the Douay-Rheims version as:

The King James version of the Bible translates this verse as:

The cithara is also mentioned in other places in the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible, including Genesis 4:21, 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 16:16, 1 Paralipomenon (1 Chronicles) 25:3, Job 30:31, Psalms 32:2, Psalms 56:9, Psalms 70:22, Psalms 80:3, Psalms 91:4, Psalms 98:5, Psalms 107:3, Psalms 146:7, Psalms 150:3, Isaiah 5:12, Isaiah 16:11, 1 Machabees 3:45, and 1 Corinthians 14:7.

The kaithros mentioned in the Book of Daniel could have been the same instrument.

Gallery

• Bronze figurine from Crete, c. 850 BCE
• Kithara player by the Berlin Painter, c. 490 BCE
• Nike flying with kithara by the Providence Painter, c. 480 BCE
• Kithara player from 445–435 BCE, painted on a vase by the Achilles Painter
• Muse tuning two phorminx instruments. The phorminx was a step in the development of the cithara. Detail from an Attic white-ground cup from Eretria, c. 465 BC E.
• Apollo and Marsyas, 4th century BC
• A Roman depiction of a woman playing the cithara (Villa Boscoreale, c. 40–30 BC).
• Cithara on the back of a hemidrachm from Cragus (Lycian League).
• Apollo Kitharoidos. Painted plaster sculpture, Roman artwork from the Augustan period.
• 1st century CE, Herculaneum: Woman playing a kithara; two straps are visible that hold the instrument up while she uses both hands to play (one blue, one yellow).
• Orpheus Mosaic in Rottweil
• Alcaeus of Mytilene playing a cithara while Sappho listens in the artwork Sappho and Alcaeus by Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1881; The Walters Art Museum).
• Girl with Lute by