Ancient Greeks sing

Ancient Greeks sang and played musical instruments – flutes, lyres, tambourines, and similar. We knew that, but were not able to reproduce how they did it. (The image is from www.openculture.com)

Well, the modern musician can play flute, but even 50 years ago historians did not believe it is possible to reproduce the way the people did it 700 years BC, especially the whole experience – the singing and poems reciting with music.

But researchers have made good progress for the last ten years. Here is the reference to the most successful results. And this article describes how they did it.

There are also successful attempts to reproduce even more ancient music. Here, for example, you can listen to the Epic Of Gilgamesh (1,800 – 1,700 BC) in Sumerian. It is the oldest surviving great work of literature. Some versions are even dated by the III millennium BC. It sometimes called a hymn to friendship. Maybe that is why it is close to my heart. It sounds simple and deeply human. The epic describes – long before The Bible was created – the Great Flood (with Noah under a different name, its ark, and the raven), the human quest for immortality, and the snake that has interfered and did not allow a human (the hero Gilgamesh) to become immortal.

And it was written 9,000 years after Göbekli Tepe was first constructed. But the sculpture and reliefs of Göbekli Tepe look so modern! I suspect that people told the same stories at that time too. These stories just happened to be written down later. I can imagine the impression of these stories (accompanied by some music) made on the listeners sitting next to the reliefs and sculptures of Göbekli Tepe. The open fire flames, pushed by the wind, moved the shadows and made the sculptures look alive… It was a movies theater 14,000 years back!

By the way, here is a new very effective way to illustrate music. One can watch it for hours – the same way one can watch fire flames.

For the last several thousand years, a human being did not change much. And our main existential problems remain unsolved. But humans will continue striving to solve them. Especially after so many years of trying to do that. Haven’t we collected a lot of knowledge, acquired relevant skills and experience? Or is it all just a vanity and trying to catch the wind?