Music accompanied most, if not all, rites of passage, communal events, and private life in ancient Greece. Here is an introduction to a few of the most well-known and important instruments of the ancient Greek world, including their myths and origin stories — the gods, places, and plants that were connected to the sounds of the ancient landscape.

We venture into the valley of Lake Stymphalia (Λίμνη Στυμφαλία). A storm hovers over the valley, the filtered light illuminating a patchwork of cultivated earth. This entire region is sacred to the goddess Artemis in her form of Artemis Stymphalia, protectress of the lake, fowl and forests.