There is not a lot known about the earliest Greek music. There was no way of recording the earliest Greek music as there had not yet been a way invented to write music. Despite this, there is some information known about the types of instruments early Greek musicians used thanks to drawings. Pipes, lyres, drums, and cymbals were all types of instruments used in the earliest days of Greek music. The music was often played when people worshiped Dionysos, who was the god of wine and festivals.
The Greek culture and language had a great effect on the way the Western world now knows music. In fact, several musical words were derived from the Greek language. The Greek word "muses," which was believed to be the group that included the daughters of Zeus, was adopted to become the word we now know as "music." The Greek word "rhythmos" became "rhythm," and the word "melos" became the word "melody."
Men and women played music in Greece for different reasons. Most of the women who played musical instruments in Greece were poor women who worked as slaves or as party entertainers for a living. On the other hand, men played musical instruments to compete for prizes in music contests. There were musical competitions in each town. Few people know that the ancient Olympic Games also included musical competitions among the men of Greece.
Although Greek music was very important in ancient Greece, there was a long period of time during which Greek music was all but extinct. With the fall of ancient Greece and the rise of the Roman Empire, Greek music essentially slept for almost 2,000 years. Greek music experienced a rebirth in the 1800s, thanks to the work of artists like Nikolaos Mantzaros, Spyridion Xyndas, and Spyros Samaras, who composed operas that drew on the music of the past.
There are many types of Greek music that influence current Greek music. Greek folk songs can trace their origins back to ancient Greek music and poetry. Cantadha is a romantic serenade developed in the nineteenth century. Nisiotika was created on Greek islands and includes violin, guitar, and clarinet accompaniment along with a high-pitched woman's voice. The late twentieth century music of people like Georgios Ntallaras, Stavros Xarhakos and Nikos Papazoglou mixed old styles of music with modern rock to create yet another genre of Greek music.