Zachary Fisher

Bibliography
Anderson, Warren D. Music and Musicians in Ancient Greece. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1994. Print.
This book covers the topic of music in the ancient Greek society that existed from the
Archaic periods to the Graeco-Roman periods. The author Warren D. Anderson is nearly
invisible on the web. Any website that offers the text gives little information on its
creator. Even Cornell University Press has nothing on Anderson. The only information I
have found on Mr. Anderson comes from his book reviews which call him one of the
most distinguished presences in the field.
Calter, Paul. "Pythagoras & Music of the Spheres." Geometry in Art & Architecture. Dartmouth
College, 1998. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
This article actually comes from what appears to be a math textbook of sorts on the
Dartmouth Colleges math department website. While the rest of the book would be of no
use, this section goes surprisingly in depth on the history of the Greeks mathematical
discoveries in the field of pitch and instruments. Needless to say, Paul Calter is no
musicologist, be he certainly seems to know his math behind the ancient Greek
discoveries.
Hagel, Stefan. Ancient Greek Music: A New Technical History. Cambridge: Cambridge UP,
2010. Print.
This book works to make connections between ancient musical practice and the modern
notational system that evolved partially in Greece. Major topics include old pitch
systems, the music theory of the time, and mathematical approaches to said theory. The
publisher calls this piece indispensable in its history of musicology. Author Stefan Hagel

Zachary Fisher
is a professor at the Austrian Academy of Sciences where he is currently researching
ancient music. His past works also discuss ancient music and music theory.
Mathiesen, Thomas. Apollo's Lyre: Greek Music and Music Theory in Antiquity and the Middle
Ages. U of Nebraska, 1999. Print.
This book takes a look at musics presence in the ancient Greek society and its effect on
Greek culture. It also discusses a little amount of music theory of the time period.
Thomas Mathiesen is Distinguished Professor and Chair of Music at Indiana University
where he researches the history of music and music theory in the ancient world and the
Middle Ages. Among many awards, most prominent is his award from the American
Musicological Society.
Mathiesen, Thomas. "Harmonia and Ethos in Ancient Greek Music." The Journal Of Musicology
3.3 (1984): 264-79. Print.
Much like the articles title describes, this text works to explain the ancient Greek ideas
of harmony and its effect on ones character (ethos). Mathiesen writes about the Greek
wonderings of how music can effect the human.
Mathiesen, Thomas. "Rhythm and Meter in Ancient Greek Music." Music Theory Spectrum 7
(1985): 159-80. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
While ancient Greece is famous for its early concepts of music theory, little attention is
given to the unique rhythms of the famous civilization. This article provides insight on
the unique rhythmic properties of Greeces old music.
Stamou, Lelouda. "Plato And Aristotle On Music And Music Education: Lessons From Ancient
Greece." International Journal of Music Education (2002): 3-16. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.

Zachary Fisher
Without the ability to read ancient Greek, primary sources are useless. Thanks to this
article though, we are informed of Plato and Aristotles opinions and thoughts on music
of their time. Uniquely both Plato and Aristotle advocated hugely for music education
which is another large topic of discussion in this article. Leland Stamou studies at the
University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki, Greece. This would explain Stamous ability to
study the words of Plato and Aristotle. No doubt there is value in Leland Stamous
research.
West, Martin. L. Ancient Greek Music. Oxford: Clarendon, 1992. Print.
This book looks at music in ancient Greeces culture and explains it to the reader with no
prior knowledge of music needed. Using over thirty musical examples, this text gives the
reader an comprehensive education on the music of ancient Greece. Martin L. West is
known to the British Academy as the most brilliant and productive Greek scholar of his
generation. West is known to be one of the leaders on the front of ancient Greek music
with dozens upon dozens of publications.

There is no doubt in my mind that the subtopic of Greek music I will be researching will
be the music of ancient Greece. From the beginning of my research I found that Greece had a
large variety of musical tastes much like the United States. What I soon learned was that the
Greeks were one of the creators of the music theory we know today which made it a highly
researched topic. After that, it became clear to me that this would be the easiest subtopic to
research and indeed it was. I must say though that I already see even smaller subtopics within my

Zachary Fisher
category. Perhaps I will give a general overview of ancient Greek music. I could also specialize
towards the music in society or the beginnings of Greek music theory. Nonetheless, it became
very clear that ancient music was my easiest option as opposed to the desert of unhelpful
research that I faced in late to modern Greek music. Certainly there is much to learn in this
civilizations musical beginnings.