kithara

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Arts & Culture

kithara

musical instrument

Also known as: cithara, cithera

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

fresco: woman with kithara and child

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Category: Arts & Culture

Roman:: cithara

Key People:: Terpander

Related Topics:: lyre; kinnor; beganna

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kithara, stringed musical instrument, one of the two principal types of ancient Greek lyres. It had a wooden soundboard and a box-shaped body, or resonator, from which extended two hollow arms connected by a crossbar. Three, originally, but later as many as 12 strings ran from the crossbar to the lower end of the instrument, passing over a bridge on the soundboard. The strings were usually played with a plectrum, the left-hand fingers damping unwanted strings and at times apparently stopping the strings or producing harmonics. In solos, the fingers of both hands sometimes plucked the strings. The kithara was ...(100 of 203 words)

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