Citharode
Professional musician in Classical antiquity
A kitharode (Latinized citharode) (Ancient Greek: κιθαρῳδός [kitʰarɔː'dós]; Latin: citharoedus) was a professional performer in Classical antiquity who sang and played cithara to accompany their singing. A citharist was a performer who only played, and did not sing. Famous Greek citharodes included Terpander, Sappho, and Arion.
Citharodes remained common from classical Greece into the Roman imperial period and throughout antiquity; Roman emperor Nero was famously a citharode himself. In his day, a citharode sang a tragic monologue in full theatrical costume, including a mask.
"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.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Citharode”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Kitharaspieler Kreta asb 2004 PICT3430.JPG by Agon S. Buchholz, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Apollo Musagetes Pio-Clementino Inv310.jpg by Unknown artistUnknown artist, Public domain
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.
