Citharode
A kitharode (Latinized citharode)[lower-alpha 1][2] (Ancient Greek: κιθαρῳδός [kitʰarɔː'dós] and κιτηαρῳδός;[3] Latin: citharoedus) or citharist,[1] was a classical Greek professional performer (singer) of the cithara, as one who used the cithara to accompany their singing. Famous citharodes included Terpander, Sappho, and Arion.
Apollo kitharoidos (Apollo holding a cithara and wearing the customary kitharōdos’ robes) and musagetes (leading the Muses). Marble, Roman artwork, 2nd century CE.
 Bronze cast figure of a kithara player from Crete. | |
| Occupation | |
|---|---|
| Synonyms | kitharist (citharist)[lower-alpha 1] |
Occupation type | professional performer |
Activity sectors | self-accompanied musical performance |
| Description | |
| Competencies | singing, strummed string instrument (lyre family),[lower-alpha 2] music theory, music notation[lower-alpha 3] |
Related jobs | Aulete / aulist (aulos player, "piper") |
"Citharoedus" or "Citharede" was also an epithet of Apollo (Apollo Citharede), and the term is used to refer to statues which portray Apollo with his lyre.
See also
- Relevant musical instruments
- Related type of statuary
Footnotes
- There are an elaborate variety of spellings, each altered to pronounce correctly in different languages, and to incorporate partial translations; since there is no modern form of kithara, that is typically left un-translated. (Strictly speaking, kitharoedos / citharoedus translates to "zitherist", but that seems to never be used.) Variants include:
- Ancient Greek: κιθαρῳδός [kitʰarɔː'dós]
- Latin: citharoedus (translit. Greek)
- citharode (Anglicised translit. Latin)
- kitharode (Anglicised translit. Greek)
- citharede (rare)
- citharoede (rare)
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A kitharode would automatically be expected to be able to also play a barbiton, lyre, and phorminx, provided it was a version with the same number of strings as the standard kithara.
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It is unclear how far back Greek musical notation goes. It may have only been a competency of kitharodes during the late classical period; from some point, both kitharodes and auletes would have required to simultaneously read two separate systems of notation: One for instrumental music and the other for sung music.
References
- "citharist". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
- "citharode". Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World.
- Charlton T. Lewis, An Elementary Latin Dictionary, citharoedus
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