concept
the tortoise-shell lyre
the lyre
also: χέλυς, chelys
The stringed instrument Hermes invents on the day of his birth, hollowing a tortoise's shell and stringing it with seven sheep-gut strings over an ox-hide sound-box; he later trades it to Apollo, who becomes its patron god.
Reading notes
- The Homeric Hymns §4.1 lyre
The stringed instrument Hermes invents on the day of his birth, hollowing a tortoise's shell and stringing it with seven sheep-gut strings over an ox-hide sound-box; he later trades it to Apollo, who becomes its patron god.