Welcome to an Overview of Ancient Roman Music
While their music is not the most notable aspect of Ancient Roman culture, it was certainly prominent in their society. Like many things in their culture, their instruments and styles were adopted from the Greeks, Etruscans, and other lands they conquered.
The Romans enjoyed and appreciated music, but the nobles preferred to leave the production of music to lower classes and sometimes slaves. The exception to this is of course Nero, the infamous emperor who loved singing and dancing. |
The Ancient Roman lyre (example at right) was almost identical to the Greek lyre. There was also a larger version, called the kithara, which was exactly the same as Greek kithara.
While some musicians were hired by nobles for private parties, some were paid to fill the downtime between battles in the amphitheaters, or perform at large religious ceremonies. |
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Example of how the Ancient Roman lyre might have been played.