Seikilos epitaph
Encyclopedia
The Seikilos epitaph is the oldest surviving example of a complete musical composition, including musical notation, from anywhere in the world. The song, the melody of which is recorded, alongside its lyrics, in the ancient Greek musical notation, was found engraved on a tombstone, near Aidin, Turkey
(not far from Ephesus
). The find has been dated variously from around 200 BC
to around AD 100
.
Also on the tombstone is an indication that states in Greek
"" , "I am a tombstone, an icon. Seikilos placed me here as an everlasting sign of deathless remembrance".
While older music with notation exists (for example the Delphic Hymns
), all of it is in fragments; the Seikilos epitaph is unique in that it is a complete, though short, composition.
Although the material is sparse, it indicates that the Greeks had developed a musical system in the third or fourth century BC. It was probably only used by professional composers and choir leaders, while others learned the tunes by listening to them. Texts of plays, regardless of type, were often copied without music, so the lyrics with music like that of the Seikilos epitaph are extremely rare. There is no evidence that the Greek musical system survived into the Middle Ages, but texts from Byzantine times and the early Renaissance have added notations after the Greek system.
Translated into modern musical notation, the tune is something like this:
The following is the Greek text (in the later polytonic
script; the original is in majuscule), along a transliteration of the words (which are sung to the melody), and a (somewhat free) English translation:
(Nationalmuseet), in Copenhagen.
.)
Some scholars believe that an extant corpus of Chinese music, first recorded in the Tang dynasty
(AD 618-907), predates this work as well as the earlier fragments of Greek music. This is based on the conjecture that because the recorded examples of Chinese music are ceremonial, and the ceremonies in which they were employed are thought to have existed "perhaps more than one thousand years before Christ" (J. A. Van Aalst
), the musical compositions themselves were performed, even in 1000 BC, in precisely the manner prescribed by the sources that were written down in the seventh century AD. (It is based on this conjecture that Van Aalst dates the "Entrance Hymn for the Emperor" to c. 1000 BC.) Even allowing for the hypothesis that the Emperor's court musicians transmitted these melodies with complete fidelity over sixteen centuries, there is no material evidence to date the composition, or any other piece of Chinese music, to earlier than the Tang dynasty (Pan). This leaves the Epitaph of Seikilos the oldest complete musical composition that can be reliably dated.
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
(not far from Ephesus
Ephesus
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...
). The find has been dated variously from around 200 BC
200 BC
Year 200 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Maximus and Cotta...
to around AD 100
100
Year 100 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Traianus and Frontinus...
.
Also on the tombstone is an indication that states in Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
"" , "I am a tombstone, an icon. Seikilos placed me here as an everlasting sign of deathless remembrance".
While older music with notation exists (for example the Delphic Hymns
Delphic Hymns
The Delphic Hymns are two musical compositions from Ancient Greece, which survive in substantial fragments. They were long regarded as being dated circa 138 BCE and 128 BCE, respectively, but recent scholarship has shown it likely they were both written for performance at the Athenian...
), all of it is in fragments; the Seikilos epitaph is unique in that it is a complete, though short, composition.
Although the material is sparse, it indicates that the Greeks had developed a musical system in the third or fourth century BC. It was probably only used by professional composers and choir leaders, while others learned the tunes by listening to them. Texts of plays, regardless of type, were often copied without music, so the lyrics with music like that of the Seikilos epitaph are extremely rare. There is no evidence that the Greek musical system survived into the Middle Ages, but texts from Byzantine times and the early Renaissance have added notations after the Greek system.
The tune
Above the lyrics (transcribed here in modern Greek font) is a line with letters and signs for the tune:Translated into modern musical notation, the tune is something like this:
Tune performed on a computer |
The following is the Greek text (in the later polytonic
Greek diacritics
Greek orthography has used a variety of diacritics starting in the Hellenistic period. The complex polytonic orthography notates Ancient Greek phonology...
script; the original is in majuscule), along a transliteration of the words (which are sung to the melody), and a (somewhat free) English translation:
- Hoson zês, phainou,
- While you live, shine,
- mêden holôs su lupou;
- don't suffer anything at all;
- pros oligon esti to zên,
- life exists only a short while,
- to telos ho chronos apaitei.
- and time demands its toll.
Dedication
The last two words on the tombstone are , Seikilos Euter[pei] meaning "(from) Seikilos to Euterpe"; hence the tombstone and the thereon epigrams were dedicated from Seikilos to his (most probably) wife Euterpe.The Epitaph
The Epitaph was discovered in 1883 by Sir W.M. Ramsay. The stone had been placed in a museum in Smyrna where it remained until the city was destroyed during the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922), but was lost. Later it was found in the possession of a Turkish woman who had had the base ground down so it would serve as a support for a pot in her garden. While the stele would now stand upright, the grinding had obliterated the last line of the epitaph. The marble stele is now located in the National Museum of DenmarkNational Museum of Denmark
The National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen is Denmark’s largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main domicile is located a short distance from Strøget at the center of Copenhagen. It contains exhibits from around the world,...
(Nationalmuseet), in Copenhagen.
Older musical compositions
There is a tradition of music notation older than the Greek system. A corpus of music fragments recorded on cuneiform tablets goes back to about 2000 BC. (See ancient musicAncient music
Ancient music is music that developed in literate cultures, replacing prehistoric music.Ancient music refers to the various musical systems that were developed across various geographical regions such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, India, China, Greece and Rome. Ancient music is designated by the...
.)
Some scholars believe that an extant corpus of Chinese music, first recorded in the Tang dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
(AD 618-907), predates this work as well as the earlier fragments of Greek music. This is based on the conjecture that because the recorded examples of Chinese music are ceremonial, and the ceremonies in which they were employed are thought to have existed "perhaps more than one thousand years before Christ" (J. A. Van Aalst
J. A. van Aalst
J. A. van Aalst was a Belgian customs and postal officer in China, known for chronicling the history of Chinese music and dance....
), the musical compositions themselves were performed, even in 1000 BC, in precisely the manner prescribed by the sources that were written down in the seventh century AD. (It is based on this conjecture that Van Aalst dates the "Entrance Hymn for the Emperor" to c. 1000 BC.) Even allowing for the hypothesis that the Emperor's court musicians transmitted these melodies with complete fidelity over sixteen centuries, there is no material evidence to date the composition, or any other piece of Chinese music, to earlier than the Tang dynasty (Pan). This leaves the Epitaph of Seikilos the oldest complete musical composition that can be reliably dated.