Chapter 02 of 5
The Seikilos Epitaph
The oldest complete song in the world, carved on a grave, and its near-miss as a flowerpot stand.
- The Stone
A marble pillar
The Seikilos Epitaph is a small marble pillar from the ancient Greek world, in what is now western Turkey.
- The Date
Around 2,000 years
It probably dates from around the 1st century CE, when the region was part of the Roman Empire.
- The Record
Oldest complete song
It carries the oldest surviving complete musical composition, with both words and notation intact.
17 more cards in this chapter
Could you answer this?
Why is part of the Seikilos Epitaph's text damaged?
🏺 The Lost Sound of Ancient Music
- 01The Oldest SongClay tablets from an ancient Syrian city hold the oldest known written melody.
- 02The Seikilos EpitaphThe oldest complete song in the world, carved on a grave, and its near-miss as a flowerpot stand.
- 03Reading Ancient NotationHow the Greeks wrote down music, and how scholars bring it back to life.
- 04Guido's HandHow a medieval monk invented the musical staff and gave us do, re, mi.
- 05Playing the PastTutankhamun's trumpets, the lyres of Ur and the challenge of hearing lost sounds.