Kithara

What it means

The kithara is an ancient Greek plucked instrument in lyre form, consisting of a resonating body, two upward-rising arms, and a crossbar, over which several strings are stretched. It was held standing and struck with a plectrum.

Musical use

Unlike the simpler lyre, used by amateurs and in music instruction, the kithara was the instrument of professional musicians, the kitharodes and kitharists, who played at competitions and public performances, often while singing. It was more elaborately built, often with a decorated frame, and required a demanding playing technique. The god Apollo is frequently depicted with the kithara in Greek mythology. The word “guitar” also derives from the Greek word for kithara, although today's guitar is not directly descended from it in construction.

The kithara should be distinguished from the lyre, which was smaller, more simply built, and more widespread, and from later plucked instruments such as the lute or guitar, which are linguistically related to the kithara but have a different construction with a fingerboard.

Performance practice

Since no original kithara survives, knowledge of how it was played rests on depictions and written sources from antiquity. When engaging with ancient music, note that the kithara, as the instrument of professional musicians, made greater technical demands than the simpler lyre of amateurs.