MUSIC. 
from Troy, dedicated a temple to Apollo, and founded 
the Pythian games in his honour. After being difcon- 
tinued for fome time, they were renewed by the brave 
Eurylochus of ThefTaly, whofe valour and exploits ac¬ 
quired him the name of the new Achilles. This renewal 
of the Pythic games happened in the third year of the 
forty-eighth Olympiad, 586 before Chrift; after which 
t me they ferved as an asra to the inhabitants of Delphos, 
and the neighbourhood. 
“The Pythic games (fays Paufanias, lib. x. c. 7.) con- 
lifted, in ancient times, of only poetical and mufical con- 
tefts; and the prize was given to him who had written 
and fung the beft hymn in honour of Apollo. At their 
firft celebration, Chryfotliemis of Crete, the fon of Car- 
manor, who purified Apollo after he had killed the 
Python, was viftor. After him, Philammon, the l'on of 
Chryfothemis, won the prize ; and the next who was 
crowned, was Thamyris, the fon of Philammon. Eleu- 
therus is recorded to have gained the prize there, by the 
power and fweetnefs of his voice; though the hymn 
which he fung was the compolition of another. It is faid, 
likewife, that Hetiod was refufed admiftion among the 
candidates, on account of his not having been able to 
accompany himfelf upon the lyre; and that Homer, 
though he went to Delphos to confult the oracle, yet, on 
account of his blindnefs and infirmities, he made but 
little ufe of his talent of finging and playing upon the 
lyre at the fame time.” Hence it appears, that, though 
mufical contefts were, perhaps, not ranked among the re¬ 
gular and eftablifhed exercifes of the Olympic games, 
yet all antiquity agrees, that no others were admitted into 
the Pythic, during the firft ages of their celebration. 
Paufanias, in his enumeration of the mufical contefts 
that were added to the ancient Pythic games, at the clofe of 
the Criflaean war, tells us, that the Ampliidtyons propofed 
prizes, not only for thofe muficians who fung beft to the 
accompaniment of the cithara, the only combat at the 
firft inftitution of thefe games, but others, both to fuch 
as ftiould fing beft to the accompaniment of the flute, and 
to thofe who, with the greateft precifion and tafte, played 
on that instrument alone, without Jinging. Here began 
the feparation of mulic and poetry. All the trials of fkill, 
all the performances at banquets, feftivals, and facrifices, 
have hitherto been confined to vocal mufic, accompanied 
by inftruments indeed, but where poetry had an impor¬ 
tant concern ; at leaft, no inftrumental mufic, without 
vocal, fince the conteft between Apollo and Marfyas, is 
mentioned in ancient authors, before this time, except 
that of the trumpet mentioned in the preceding page, the 
lyre and flute having, in public exhibitions, been mere 
attendants on the voice, and on poetry. 
This was foon after the time when Sacadas is recorded 
to have played his Pythic air, on the flute, at Delphos, 
which reconciled Apollo (orhis prieft) to that inftrument; 
who, till then, was faid to have had it in abhorrence ever 
fince the conteft with Marfyas. This mufician was not 
crowned the firft time he played at the Pythic games, but 
in two lubfequent Pythiads he obtained the prize; which 
furnifiies a proof that inftrumental mufic, feparated from 
vocal, began now to be fuccefsfully cultivated among the 
Greeks. 
After this, the fame games and combats were eftabliftied 
at Delphos as at Olympia. The Amphidlyons retrenched 
the flute-accompaniment, on account of that inftrument 
being too plaintive, and fit only for lamentations and 
elegies, to which it was chiefly appropriated. A proof of 
this, fays Paufanias, is given in the oft’ering which Echem- 
brotus made to Hercules of a bronze tripod, with this in- 
fcription: “ Echembrotus the Arcadian dedicated this 
tripod to Hercules, after obtaining the prize at the games 
of the Amphiftyons, where he accompanied the elegies 
that were lung in the affembly of the Greeks, with the 
flute.” 
At the 8th Pythiad, 559 years B.C. a crown was given 
V.on.XVI. No. 1117. 
357 
to players upon Jb inged in (liniments, without tinging, which 
was won by Agelaus of Tegea. 
Strabo, fpeaking of the different kinds of contefts efta¬ 
bliftied by the Amphiftyons, at the firft Pythic games 
after the Crifiasans were fubdued, mentions a particular 
fpecies of compolition, which was fung to the hymn in 
praife of Apollo, and accompanied by inftruments. It 
was called the Pythian nome: and was a kind of long 
cantata, confifting of five parts, or movements, all allud¬ 
ing to the viftory obtained by the god over the ferpent 
Python. The firft part was called the prelude, or prepa¬ 
ration for the fight; the fecond, the onfet, or beginning of 
the combat; the third, the heat of the battle; the fourth, 
the Jong of viflora, or the infults of Apollo over the fer¬ 
pent Python, compofed of lambics and Dactyls ; and the 
fifth, the luffing of the dying monjler. This air, Paufanias 
tells us, was compofed, and firft played at Delphos, by 
Sacadas, who, according to Plutarch, was an excellent 
poet, as well as mufician, and author of lyric poems, of 
elegies, and of a compolition confifting of three ftrophes 
or couplets, performed fucceflively in the three modes 
chiefly ufed in his time, the Dorian, Phrygian, and Ly¬ 
dian ; and this air was called trimeles, on account of its 
changes of modulation. Both Plutarch and Paufanias 
mention his having been celebrated by Pindar; but, as 
we are not in pofleflion of all that poet’s works, this 
honourable teftimony cannot be found at prefent. The 
reputation of Sacadas mult doubtlefs have been very 
great: for Flutarch fays, that his name was inferted in the 
Pythic lift of good poets; and Paufanias, that he found 
his ftatue, with a flute in his hand, on mount Helicon, 
and his tomb at Argos. We are the more particular in. 
fpeaking of this perlonage, as he is the firft upon record 
who detached mufic from poetry, and who, though a good 
poet himfelf, engaged the public attention in favour of 
mere inftrumental mufic ; a fchifm (fays Dr. Burney) that 
has been as feverely cenfured as any one in the church. 
The cenfurers, however, have forgotten that fuch fchifms 
in the arts are as much to be defined as thofe of religion 
are to be avoided ; fince it is by fuch feparations only, 
that the different arts, and different branches of the fame 
art, becoming the objefts of feparate and exclufive cul¬ 
tivation, are brought to their laft refinement and per¬ 
fection. 
After Sacadas had pointed out the road to fame by 
means of inftrumental mufic, it was fo fuccefsfully pur¬ 
ified by Pythocri'tus, of Sicyon, whofe ftatue was ereCted 
at Olympia, that he gained the prize of Delphos, asafolo- 
player on the flute, fix different times. 
Sir Ifiiac Newton obferves, that by the encouragement 
of the Pythic games, after their regular celebration was 
eftablifhed, feveral eminent muficians and poets flourifhed 
in Greece; and gives a catalogue of more than twenty, 
concerning feveral of whom particular mention has been 
made already, in the courfe of this article. 
Aleman, the firft of thefe ancient bards, was a native of 
Sardis, and flourifhed about 670 years B.C. Heraclides of 
Pontus allures us, that he was a Have in his youth at 
Sparta; but that, by his good qualities and genius, he ac¬ 
quired his freedom, and a confiderable reputation in 
lyric poetry. He was confequently an excellent performer 
on the cithara; and, if he was not a flute-player, he at 
leaft fung verfes to that inftrument. Clemens Alexan- 
drinus makes him author of mufic for choral dances ; and, 
according to Archytas Harmoniacus, quoted by Athe- 
naeus, Aleman was one of the firft and moft eminent com- 
pofers of longs upon love and gallantry. If we may credit 
Suidas, he was the firft who excluded hexameters from 
verfes that were to be fung to the lyre, which afterwards 
obtained the title of lyric poems. 
Alcaeus was born at Mitylene, the capital of T.efbos 
lie flourifhed, according to the Chronicle of Eufebius, 
in the 44th Olympiad, tfiat is to fay, about 604 years B.C 
and was confequently the countryman and cotemporary 
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