The Lyre of Hermes - Ancient Greek Lyre (Chelys) - Top Quality HandCrafted Musical Instrument

Name: The Lyre of Hermes - Ancient Greek Lyre (Chelys) - Top Quality HandCrafted Musical Instrument
Brand: Luthieros
SKU: 188606073
Availability: InStock
Rating: 5.0 (163 reviews)

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Handmade

Materials: natural glue, sheep guts, animal skin, wood, maple

“So then, I will give you this lyre, glorious son of Zeus…” – Homeric Hymn to Hermes, line 490

This is a replica of a chelys lyre, named after the ancient god Hermes. According to ancient Greek mythology, Hermes was the one who invented the lyre in the first place. As the story goes, the young god Hermes stole a herd of sacred cows from Apollo. Along the way, Hermes slaughtered one of them and offered all but the entrails to the gods. From the entrails, he created the lyre. Apollo was furious, but after hearing the sound of the lyre, his anger faded. He offered to trade the herd of cattle for the lyre.

LUTHIEROS Lyre of Hermes has 7 or 9 strings, and it can be considered as a base instrument for anyone willing to learn how to play it, as many top-players and lyre instructors use 7-strings lyres for their courses. A 9-strings version is also available, giving a chromatic range of a full octave. With the use of harmonics and other advanced playing techniques, a 7-strings or 9-strings lyre can produce three to four full octaves, along with the sharps!

FREE SHIPPING, our way! LUTHIEROS Etsy shop uses only FedEx, a premium international delivery service, with a top-notch tracking system, ultra-fast shipping, and reliable delivery even amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, all our shipments are 100% insured, to ensure optimum gentle handling for our instruments during their entire journey from our Workshop to your hands.

“He sang the story of the deathless gods and the dark earth, how at the first they came to be, and how each one received his portion.” – Homeric Hymn to Hermes, line 414-435

Historic Accuracy & Playability
It's not a battle. It's about finding the right balance.

Bringing Ancient Artifacts Back to Life

To handcraft premium ancient-replicas with a focus to the modern musician, you have to research a lot, analyze hundreds of ancient depictions, build a lot of prototypes, test them with great musicians, etc.

And all of these, to conclude to meaningful compromises that have to be made, that are both deeply justified and make sense in terms of usability/playability. All in all, our ultimate goal is to serve the modern musician, and to bring ancient artifacts back to life as fully functional musical instruments.

Manufactured at the premises of the ancient Europos (Northern Greece) by a family of musicians and luthiers, the LUTHIEROS Lyre of Hermes is made exclusively using natural materials available during the antiquity. All parts are made of quality wood with great musicality, the soundbox is a reproduction of an actual tortoiseshell, while the tuning pegs are made by ebony and mulberry wood. The bottom part of the strings is attached to animal skin, while the plectrum is manufactured by wood.

This ancient artifact was evolved to become a modern musical instrument ready to be used by both amateur and professional musicians. For all the minor (but very important) alterations, top-notch technologies were used during the prototyping phase (such as 3d Modeling and rapid prototyping) as part of University-based research by members of LUTHIEROS family. Key collaborations include the International Hellenic University and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Order today to get by May 22-30
Returns & exchanges accepted within 21 days
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Ships from Greece

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Familia Koumartzis

Owner of Luthieros

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163 reviews

Excellent build quality, like the sound, the provided materials and information on the instrument are very helpful including build details and lengths/weights of active string. Includes info on how to get jnto lyre playing

Alexander Dec 6, 2023

Item quality
5
Shipping
5

All of the glowing reviews you have heard about Luthieros are right. I was a little hesitant to make such a large purchase, without having seen their lyres in person before. Wow! The Lyre of Hermes I ordered is some quality craftsmanship! Totally worth it. The instrument looks, feels, and sounds amazing. It arrived with extra strings, a lyre music CD, a book on the history of the lyre, and a detailed owners sheet with care instructions. I could not be happier. It takes a few weeks for the tuning to stick long-term while the materials adjust to the tension so keep that in mind. The easy to remove and adjust pegs make travel and storage super easy as well. I could not be happier. If you are on the fence about it, definitely don’t doubt the quality.

Tony Rapoza Mar 14, 2023

Item quality
5
Shipping
5
Customer service
5

An impressive and authentic instrument! Truly a work of art!

Ben Lucas Jun 14, 2022

Item quality
5
Shipping
5
Customer service
5

I got my lyre and I am stunned by its beauty! I can’t wait to start to play on that magical ancient instrument. Thank you to the familia for such a beautiful work and great service!