Posted on 09/30/2026 9:30:21 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Seikilos Epitaph is the earliest surviving music composition, written in ancient Greek in the 1st or 2nd century CE. Isn't it amazing we're playing a tune 2000 years old?
I made 2 versions. The first one's just the melody. The second adds simple accompaniments.
Tuning: G, A, B, C D E F G A B C' D' E' F' G' A' Seikilos Epitaph (The Oldest Complete Tune)
- Lyre Harp Cover & Tutorial | 0:52
Samantha on Mars | 43.4K subscribers | 25,046 views | January 23, 2022
Seikilos epitaph YouTube search
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
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https://protesilaos.com/interpretations/2022-10-12-seikilos-epitaph/
While alive shine
Grieve none at all
Life amounts to little
Time demands the end
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seikilos_epitaph
In English the poem translates as: “As long as you’re alive, shine, don’t be sad at all; life is short, time asks for its due” per Rohland (2022). Landels (1999) provides the alternative translation: “As long as you live, let the world see you, and don’t make yourself miserable; life is short, and Time demands his due”.
“the Seikilos Epitaph is not the absolute first or oldest musical piece in human history, but it is the oldest surviving complete song with fully readable musical notation.”
The Oldest Complete Song: Created around the 1st or 2nd century CE in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), it features both lyrics and specific pitch notation written on a stone monument.
Other musical recordings are older, but they are incomplete. For example, the Hurrian Hymn to Nikkal dates back to around 1400 BCE, but it only survives in broken pieces and tuning instructions rather than a fully intact melody. Sumerian cuneiform tablets from around 1900 BCE contain music theory and tuning guides, but they cannot be fully played today like the Seikilos Epitaph. Curse of being a music major.
wy69
Feels Like Rain | 4:50
John Hiatt | 23K subscribers | 64,520 views | December 12, 2018
🎵 Hey, FR has at least one topic about the Hurrian hymn. 🎶
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