Year: 2016

Luthieros Music Instruments: Creators of the Lyre 2.0 Project

Published by Jade Koekoe

For the ancient Greeks, music was viewed, quite literally, as a gift from the gods. It was an integral part of life weaving its way into education, athletic and military activities, and events such as weddings and funerals. The term music in ancient Greece also covers dance, lyrics, and the performance of poetry. The ancient Greeks used many instruments to create their music like the panpipes and aulos (flute). However, the most well known would be the lyre a stringed musical instrument. Luthieros Music Instruments is a Greek company and family run business that creates playable lyres based on the structure of those played by the ancient Greeks. In this interview, Jade Koekoe of Ancient History Encyclopedia (AHE) speaks with Mr. Theodore Koumartzis, global communication supervisor and team member of Luthieros Music Instruments.

Visiting the Archaeological Museum of Piraeus

Published by Mark Cartwright

If you’re staying in Athens then you will almost certainly visit the world famous National Museum and so have your breath pleasurably taken from you as you marvel at the treasures of Greece‘s glorious past. As this stupendous collection seems to have been pillaged from every local museum across Greece you might be forgiven for thinking that those other museums must have nothing more to present than empty shelves and little cards indicating, with some apology, that said artefact has been moved to Athens. Astonishingly though, even more wonders await the more intrepid traveller, in this case just down the road in nearby Piraeus.

When in Rome… Visiting the House of Augustus on the Palatine Hill

Published by Carole Raddato

In 2014 Rome celebrated the 2000th anniversary of Emperor Augustus’ death. To commemorate the date, a series of special events and openings were launched in the Italian capital, including the opening of new parts of the ‘House of Augustus’ and ‘House of Livia’ on the Palatine Hill. After years of restoration works, new lavishly frescoed rooms are now on show for the first time. The restoration included installing protective roofing, stabilizing the structures, conserving the frescoes as well as designing a visitation route through the house with lighting and information panels… and the results are impressive! I travelled to Rome and visited for the first time the House of Augustus, the House of Livia and Nero’s Domus Aurea (all on pre-booked tours). I will be writing a blog post for each of these wonderful places. Today, we start with the House of Augustus.