An Introduction to Ancient Greek Music
Etymologically the term "music" comes from muses the daughter of Zeus and patron goddesses of creative and intellectual endeavors. Indeed music has been an indispensable part of the ancient Greek society as there was music for all occasions like the traditional Greek wedding music to the Greek folk music or the religious hymns. Although there are a few fragments surviving of the ancient Greek music, all is not lost; specially the discovery of the musical papyri (containing musical notations) which has been dug from the sands of Egypt. Indeed a good deal of information about the rhythm of the metrical patterns of Greek verse has been deciphered from these two fragments. Moreover the works of several Greek musical theorists survive which permit us to begin to sketch with some specificity what ancient music was like, particularly for early Roman Empire.