music

The grave of the poet

The grave of the poet

Around 430 BC a poet and musician died in ancient Athens. An excavation of his grave in the deme of Alopeke revealed a lyre, an avlos, a harp, papyri, wax tablets and a pen, all of which gave us clues about his professional life. The findings proved to be crucial for the study of ancient music, since no other harp has been found until then (only representations on vases), while the papyri were the oldest to be found in Greece. The excavation took place in 1981. Since then, the precious artefacts... »