Editing Lyre (section)

=== Origin ===
[[File:A reconstruction of an ancient lyre, Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology.jpg|left|thumb|A modern reconstruction of [[Hermes]]' lyre by [[Museum of Ancient Greek Technology|Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology]], in [[Athens]], Greece.]]
According to ancient [[Greek mythology]], the young god [[Hermes]] stole a herd of sacred cows from Apollo. In order not to be followed, he made shoes for the cows which were facing backwards, making it appear that the animals had walked in the opposite direction. Apollo, following the trails, could not follow where the cows were going. Along the way, Hermes slaughtered one of the cows and offered all but the entrails to the gods. From the entrails and a [[tortoise]]/[[turtle shell]], he created the Lyre. Apollo, figuring out it was Hermes who had his cows, confronted the young god. Apollo was furious, but after hearing the sound of the lyre, his anger faded. Apollo offered to trade the herd of cattle for the lyre. Hence, the creation of the lyre is attributed to Hermes. Other sources credit it to Apollo himself.<ref>For example, the ''[[Annales Cambriae]]'' (B Text).</ref>

Some of the cultures using and developing the lyre were the [[Aeolis|Aeolian]] and [[Ionia]]n Greek colonies on the coasts of Asia (ancient [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]], modern day [[Turkey]]) bordering the Lydian empire. Some mythic masters like [[Musaeus of Athens|Musaeus]], and [[Thamyris]] were believed to have been born in [[Thrace]], another place of extensive Greek colonization. The name ''kissar'' ([[cithara]]) given by the ancient Greeks to Egyptian box instruments reveals the apparent similarities recognized by Greeks themselves. The cultural peak of [[ancient Egypt]], and thus the possible age of the earliest instruments of this type, predates the 5th century classic [[Greece]]. This indicates the possibility that the lyre might have existed in one of Greece's neighboring countries, either [[Thrace]], [[Lydia]], or [[Egypt]], and was introduced into Greece at pre-classic times.