The Discovery Of The Lyre - 1357 Words

Ancient Mesopotamia was home to many artistic and mechanical developments. This was due to the emerging civilizations in the fourth millennium BCE. Among these creations, archaeologists discovered musical instruments, which were carefully crafted by Sumerian artists. One of the most acclaimed artifacts from ancient Mesopotamia is the Bull-Headed Lyre. The discovery of the lyre has reinvented the way that history professionals evaluate early human civilization. The Bull-Headed Lyre has impacted history by creating a foundation for an expression of beliefs about wealth in the Sumerian culture. This will be examined through a visual analysis of the Bull-Headed Lyre, evaluating its discovery, and analyzing its representation of wealth. There is a lot of meaning behind the Bull-Headed Lyre. The bull’s head is a representation of the sun god, Shamash, â€Å"the divine judge who shines light on all things† (â€Å"Lyre†). This is the only god that can enter the underworl d and return to earth, which corresponds to the Sumerian’s belief in an afterlife (â€Å"Lyre†). Due to this, it is reasonable that the four registers on the front of the sound box signify a funeral ritual. The first register depicts a man grasping onto a composite creature, part man part bull, on both his left and right side. This may signify a victory. The second register displays a dog walking with a table that has animal remains on top. A lion is holding a canister and follows behind the dog. This scene may represent one’sShow MoreRelatedAccoustic Science: The Epitaph of Seikilos1353 Words   |  5 Pagesof a particular hammer would all generate harmonious sounds† . On the other hand, the hammer that was generating disharmony when struck along with any of the other hammers had a weight that bore no simple relationship to the other weights. This discovery made it possible for other musicians to use Pythagoras’ theory of building buildings to am plify sounds of vocalist and instrumentalist. Important Percussion Instruments There are three main categories of instruments that were produced during AncientRead MorePrincess Atyah Song Analysis1211 Words   |  5 PagesIt was the year 1929, and the oldest discovered piece of ancient sheet music was inscribed on a stone tablet unearthed in a Hurrian ruin near Lake Van, Turkey. The lyre piece, translated from Hurrian as â€Å"Princess Atyah’s Song† was then transcribed and interpreted by modern string aficionado Michael E. Levy into a contemporary rendition at an Ancient History symposium in Chicago. It was perhaps an ill-fated decision, to take something filled with some much sacred potential, and bring it into the modernRead MoreThe Tomb Of The Diver1760 Words   |  8 PagesThe Tomb of the Diver is a very odd and unique discovery, that challenged what we generally think about Greek funerary practices in terms of the artwork and subject matter used. It is the only known Greek tomb from the Orientalizing, Archaic, or Classical periods that ha s remained entirely intact that depict humans figures. It looks on at least a surface level to be inspired by etruscan tombs that were being made in the same time period. However it is overwhelmingly Greek in nature, stylization,Read MoreEssay on Pythagoras and His Contributions to Modern Mathematics1209 Words   |  5 Pagesdue to the fact that his society shared ideas and intellectual discoveries among the group members, and individual credit for each theory was not given out at the time. Because of this fact, it is difficult to determine whether the theories attributed to Pythagoras were actually his, or rather an effort from the group that he created. While the students of Pythagoras would eventually write down the theories, teachings, and discoveries of the group, there were certain findings that the PythagoreansRead MorePythagoras of Samos921 Words   |  4 Pageswritten about Pythagoras and his journey are generally seen as legend. Historians accept that Pythagoras spent his childhood in Samos and traveled with his father, a merchant. He was schooled by tutors in Chaldea and Syria, was able to ‘play the lyre, learn poetry and recite Homer (O’Connor and Robertson, 1993). His greatest influences were his teachers Pherekydes, Thales, and Anaximander. Thales and Anaximander were the two who ‘introduced him to mathematical ideas’ (O’Connor and Robertson)Read MoreEssay on The Genius that Was Pythagoras1440 Words   |  6 Pagesdue to the fact that his society shared ideas and intellectual discoveries among the group members, and individual credit for each theory was not given out at the time. Because of this fact, it is dicult to determine whether the theories attributed to Pythagoras were actually his, or rather an eort from the group that he created. While the students of Pythagoras would eventually write down the theo- ries, teachings, and discoveries of the group, there were certain ndings that the PythagoreansRead MoreTransition of Music from Classical Era to the Postmodern Era1058 Words   |  5 Pagespoints in music history. Because the speed of twentieth-century innovation in all areas has been so accelerated, music has also moved from one new idea to another with such speed that no previous era can be compared to. Technology and scientific discovery are probably the basic influences on musical creativity and production. Dissonance became very important and in fact most of the pieces are made up of dissonant chords (Palisca). During the Modern era, many new musical techniques emerged. They wereRead MoreThe Classical Period Of Greek Art1397 Words   |  6 PagesEarly Classical Period of Greek art. Though it was found in Rome, it is not a Roman copy of the relief, which makes it incredibly unique. The Three Sided Relief was found in a private villa on via Boncampagni. The intriguing part of this discovery was that the Three Sided Relief was found in the same region as the Ludovisi Relief, a relief of a similar proportion, subject matter, and creation date. The artwork, though found in Rome, is very easily identified as Greek due to the materialRead More odysseus: an epic hero Essay1134 Words   |  5 Pagesseveral heroic traits such as; having superior or super-human strength; being intellectual and courageous; and being a strong and responsible leader. An epic hero struggles and is overwhelmed with difficulties. An epic hero is on a quest of self discovery, war or some sort of goal. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is on a quest to return home to Ithaca after ten years of war in Troy. Odysseus, during his quest, is forced to venture through a merciless Cyclops, angered Gods, deeply obstinate Goddesses, theRead MoreThe Renaissance : A Period Of Creative Explosion1516 Words   |  7 PagesGreek music expert Girolamo Mei implies, â€Å"not only the chorus but actors on stage†¦sang to the accompaniment of a lyre, aulos, or other instrument, which duplicated the pitches of the voice at the unison or the octave† (Palisca 50). This is the first time the Camerata thought to set the rest of the lines in the play, bey ond the chorus sections, to music. This is one of the discoveries that lead to their monumental creation of tools such as the recitative, which helped them to develop the basic structure