Music’s influence has shown great strides in the advances of science, religion, as well as social interaction and livelihood of Greek Culture. Although music was central to Roman religious ceremony, civic activity, and entertainment, it was not as highly esteemed as in Greek life. Among the Greeks, music was an important part of the education, and was incorporated into every aspect of a Greek citizen. During the years of Pythagoras’ life, (570B.C-490 B.C.) much of his contributions to philosophy and science came from the effects of music. In a theory known as the Harmony of the Spheres, he projected that the Sun, Moon and planets all produce their own unique pulsations based on their orbital revolution, and that the quality of life on Earth reflected the “tenor of celestial sounds which are physically imperceptible to the human ear”. For Greek music had a great purpose in Greek society, everyone learned to sing, dance, and play a musical instrument. Professional musicians in Greek society were publicly recognized for their talent and expressive capabilities. Stringed instruments such as the Lyre and the Kithara are musical inventions that have added much more to the aesthetics of Greece’s elegant civilization than that of the Odeion concert hall of Perikles. The Heilbruun Timeline of Art History states that the Odeion is the greatest physical testimony of music from this time, but a primitive instrument with the ability to express the music that was played throughout the era is truly the supreme testimony of music during the Athenian Era. The significance of music during the time of the Ancient Greeks can be directly related to their perspective on society, science, and religion. It has without a doubt made a great impact on civilizations like the Ancient Romans and even American Society today.
First off, it is a little confusing when it’s stated that music was central to basically all parts of Greek culture and that it is incorporated in every aspect of a Greek citizen, but it is not highly esteemed. It’d be very helpful if this was elaborated, because to a reader, it seems contradictory. Also, it is noted that professional musicians in Greek society were publicly recognized for their talent, without mentioning that music is not highly esteemed anywhere else in the rest of the paragraph. At about the end of the response, it also mentions that the significance of music is related to the Greeks’ perspective on society, science, and religion, and while scientific research is described here supporting this statement, the rest of the statement isn’t further elaborated. It would be very interesting and useful if music’s connection to religion and other aspects (such as perspective of society) were described more in detail. Another detail that would probably be useful to include is the actual musicians that influenced musical history and who have played roles in shaping certain aspects of music during this period.
ReplyDeleteI believe there may have been mistake on your part. I stated that, "Although music was central to Roman religious ceremony, civic activity, and entertainment, it was not as highly esteemed as in Greek life." I was merely contrasting the two and stating that the musical influence on Greek Life was greater. Most of your argument seems to be based off of a misreading. I understand that we did not highlight on a specific work of music that contributed directly to the ancient Greek life and we will surely highlight that in the future. You state that we did not highlight the fact that music was highly esteemed throughout our paragraph. The fact that Pythagoras made much of his contributions to philosophy and science while delving into the effects of music pulls very heavy weight in describing the significance of music. "The theory known as the Harmony of the Spheres projected that the Sun, Moon and planets all produce their own unique pulsations based on their orbital revolution, and that the quality of life on Earth." Religion and societal effects of music were not left out in our response. We highlighted how every person learned to play music and professional musicians were placed in high esteem. The religious aspect was that music is played constantly in religious ceremonies. We feel as though we included everything except a specific musician who impacted the ancient Greek society.
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