Music and creativity in Ancient Greece - Tim Hansen

We live in a society

obsessed with music.

We use music to worship,

tell stories,

to celebrate,

to work,

exercise,

declare our love

and sometimes our hatred,

and, arguably most importantly,

to dance.

And, of course, we play music ourselves

because, well, it's a pleasant thing to do.

Thousands of years ago in Ancient Greece,

when it came to music,

things weren't much different.

They might have had lyres and tunics

instead of MP3 players and jeans,

but the Ancient Greeks were just as obsessed

with music as we are today.

In fact, music was such an important part

of Ancient Greek society

that it makes us seem tame by comparison.

To really understand just how integral music was

to the Ancient Greeks,

let's begin by acquainting ourselves

with a bit of their mythology.

In Ancient Greek mythology,

it was believed that human creativity

was the result of divine inspiration

from a group of goddesses known as the Muses.

While scholars have argued over the years

that there are anything between 3 and 13 Muses,

the standard number accepted today is 9.

Each Muse oversees her own specific area

of artistic expertise,

ranging from song and dance

to history and astronomy.

It might seem strange to categorize

history and astronomy as creative pursuits,

but the Ancient Greeks saw these disciplines

as more than just school subjects.

These were the hallmarks of civilization

in what, to their eyes,

was a pretty barbaric world.

An educated, civilized person

was expected to be proficient

in all aspects of creative thought

inspired by the Muses,

and the common medium

through which these disciplines were taught,

studied,

and disseminated

was music.

You see, it's no coincidence

that the word Muse is very similar

to the word music.

It's where the word originates.

Poetry, be it a love poem

or an epic poem about a dragon-slaying hero,

was sung with a musical accompaniment.

Dancing and singing, obviously,

were accompanied by music.

Theater was always a combination

of spoken word and music.

History was recounted through song.

Even the study of astronomy

was linked to the same physical principles

as musical harmony,

such as the belief held by many Greek thinkers

that each of the planets and stars

created their own unique sound

as they traveled through the cosmos,

thrumming like an enormous guitar string

light-years long.

However, music pervaded more aspects of their lives

than just education.

Ancient Greeks considered music

to be the basis for understanding

the fundamental interconnectedness

of all things in the universe.

This concept of connectivity

is known as harmonia,

and it's where we get the word harmony.

Music was used as a form of medicine

to treat illnesses and physical complaints,

as a vital accompaniment to sporting contests,

and as a means to keep workers in time

as they toiled away on monotonous or menial tasks.

One of the most important applications

of music in Ancient Greek society

is found in the belief

that music can affect a person's ethos.

A word we still use today,

ethos is a person's guiding beliefs

or personal ethics,

the way that one behaves

towards oneself and others.

The Greek philosopher Plato,

one of the most famous

and influential Greek thinkers of the time,

asserted that music had a direct effect

on a person's ethos.

Certain kinds of music

could incite a person to violence

while others could placate a person

into a benign, unthinking stupor.

According to Plato,

only very specific types of music

were beneficial to a person's ethos.

One should only listen to music

that promotes intelligence,

self-discipline,

and courage,

and all other kinds of music must be avoided.

Furthermore, Plato fervently denounced

any music that deviated

from established musical conventions,

fearing that doing so

would lead to the degradation

of the standards of civilization,

the corruption of youth,

and eventually complete and utter anarchy.

While Plato's fears can seem extreme,

this argument has appeared in modern times

to condemn musical trends

such as jazz or punk or rap.

What do you think Plato would say

about the music you listen to?

Is it beneficial to your ethos,

or will it degenerate you

into a gibbering, amoral barbarian?