WEBVTT 00:00:06.677 --> 00:00:08.401 We live in a society 00:00:08.401 --> 00:00:10.336 obsessed with music. 00:00:10.336 --> 00:00:12.323 We use music to worship, 00:00:12.323 --> 00:00:13.621 tell stories, 00:00:13.621 --> 00:00:14.738 to celebrate, 00:00:14.738 --> 00:00:16.180 to work, 00:00:16.018 --> 00:00:17.381 exercise, 00:00:17.543 --> 00:00:19.514 declare our love 00:00:19.514 --> 00:00:21.270 and sometimes our hatred, 00:00:21.027 --> 00:00:23.071 and, arguably most importantly, 00:00:23.071 --> 00:00:24.814 to dance. 00:00:25.453 --> 00:00:27.380 And, of course, we play music ourselves 00:00:27.038 --> 00:00:29.679 because, well, it's a pleasant thing to do. 00:00:30.021 --> 00:00:33.026 Thousands of years ago in Ancient Greece, 00:00:33.026 --> 00:00:34.054 when it came to music, 00:00:34.306 --> 00:00:36.779 things weren't much different. 00:00:36.779 --> 00:00:39.020 They might have had lyres and tunics 00:00:39.002 --> 00:00:41.243 instead of MP3 players and jeans, 00:00:41.261 --> 00:00:43.182 but the Ancient Greeks were just as obsessed 00:00:43.182 --> 00:00:45.019 with music as we are today. 00:00:45.019 --> 00:00:47.236 In fact, music was such an important part 00:00:47.236 --> 00:00:48.281 of Ancient Greek society 00:00:48.686 --> 00:00:51.718 that it makes us seem tame by comparison. 00:00:51.718 --> 00:00:54.305 To really understand just how integral music was 00:00:54.305 --> 00:00:55.686 to the Ancient Greeks, 00:00:55.686 --> 00:00:57.329 let's begin by acquainting ourselves 00:00:57.329 --> 00:00:59.658 with a bit of their mythology. 00:00:59.658 --> 00:01:01.265 In Ancient Greek mythology, 00:01:01.265 --> 00:01:03.543 it was believed that human creativity 00:01:03.543 --> 00:01:05.929 was the result of divine inspiration 00:01:05.929 --> 00:01:08.963 from a group of goddesses known as the Muses. 00:01:08.963 --> 00:01:11.266 While scholars have argued over the years 00:01:11.266 --> 00:01:14.308 that there are anything between 3 and 13 Muses, 00:01:14.308 --> 00:01:17.315 the standard number accepted today is 9. 00:01:17.315 --> 00:01:19.960 Each Muse oversees her own specific area 00:01:19.096 --> 00:01:20.850 of artistic expertise, 00:01:21.714 --> 00:01:22.789 ranging from song and dance 00:01:23.464 --> 00:01:26.048 to history and astronomy. 00:01:26.048 --> 00:01:27.714 It might seem strange to categorize 00:01:27.714 --> 00:01:29.900 history and astronomy as creative pursuits, 00:01:29.009 --> 00:01:30.838 but the Ancient Greeks saw these disciplines 00:01:31.729 --> 00:01:33.943 as more than just school subjects. 00:01:33.943 --> 00:01:37.191 These were the hallmarks of civilization 00:01:37.191 --> 00:01:38.240 in what, to their eyes, 00:01:38.681 --> 00:01:40.847 was a pretty barbaric world. 00:01:40.847 --> 00:01:42.909 An educated, civilized person 00:01:42.909 --> 00:01:44.711 was expected to be proficient 00:01:44.711 --> 00:01:46.423 in all aspects of creative thought 00:01:46.423 --> 00:01:48.009 inspired by the Muses, 00:01:48.009 --> 00:01:49.057 and the common medium 00:01:49.057 --> 00:01:50.529 through which these disciplines were taught, 00:01:50.529 --> 00:01:51.274 studied, 00:01:51.274 --> 00:01:52.297 and disseminated 00:01:52.297 --> 00:01:54.520 was music. 00:01:54.052 --> 00:01:55.134 You see, it's no coincidence 00:01:56.034 --> 00:01:58.278 that the word Muse is very similar 00:01:58.584 --> 00:02:00.227 to the word music. 00:02:00.227 --> 00:02:02.320 It's where the word originates. 00:02:02.032 --> 00:02:03.860 Poetry, be it a love poem 00:02:04.148 --> 00:02:07.184 or an epic poem about a dragon-slaying hero, 00:02:07.184 --> 00:02:09.692 was sung with a musical accompaniment. 00:02:09.692 --> 00:02:11.741 Dancing and singing, obviously, 00:02:11.741 --> 00:02:13.494 were accompanied by music. 00:02:13.494 --> 00:02:15.602 Theater was always a combination 00:02:15.602 --> 00:02:18.036 of spoken word and music. 00:02:18.036 --> 00:02:20.749 History was recounted through song. 00:02:20.749 --> 00:02:22.296 Even the study of astronomy 00:02:22.296 --> 00:02:24.038 was linked to the same physical principles 00:02:24.038 --> 00:02:25.383 as musical harmony, 00:02:25.383 --> 00:02:27.400 such as the belief held by many Greek thinkers 00:02:27.553 --> 00:02:29.602 that each of the planets and stars 00:02:29.602 --> 00:02:31.305 created their own unique sound 00:02:31.305 --> 00:02:32.757 as they traveled through the cosmos, 00:02:32.757 --> 00:02:35.105 thrumming like an enormous guitar string 00:02:35.105 --> 00:02:36.971 light-years long. 00:02:36.971 --> 00:02:39.558 However, music pervaded more aspects of their lives 00:02:39.558 --> 00:02:41.141 than just education. 00:02:41.141 --> 00:02:42.639 Ancient Greeks considered music 00:02:42.639 --> 00:02:43.647 to be the basis for understanding 00:02:44.439 --> 00:02:46.443 the fundamental interconnectedness 00:02:46.479 --> 00:02:48.857 of all things in the universe. 00:02:48.857 --> 00:02:50.569 This concept of connectivity 00:02:50.569 --> 00:02:51.940 is known as harmonia, 00:02:51.094 --> 00:02:53.669 and it's where we get the word harmony. 00:02:54.515 --> 00:02:56.580 Music was used as a form of medicine 00:02:56.058 --> 00:02:58.083 to treat illnesses and physical complaints, 00:02:58.605 --> 00:03:01.804 as a vital accompaniment to sporting contests, 00:03:01.804 --> 00:03:03.702 and as a means to keep workers in time 00:03:03.702 --> 00:03:07.784 as they toiled away on monotonous or menial tasks. 00:03:08.522 --> 00:03:10.127 One of the most important applications 00:03:10.127 --> 00:03:12.211 of music in Ancient Greek society 00:03:12.211 --> 00:03:13.173 is found in the belief 00:03:13.173 --> 00:03:16.355 that music can affect a person's ethos. 00:03:16.355 --> 00:03:17.413 A word we still use today, 00:03:17.935 --> 00:03:19.551 ethos is a person's guiding beliefs 00:03:19.551 --> 00:03:20.859 or personal ethics, 00:03:20.859 --> 00:03:22.307 the way that one behaves 00:03:22.307 --> 00:03:24.320 towards oneself and others. 00:03:24.437 --> 00:03:25.851 The Greek philosopher Plato, 00:03:25.851 --> 00:03:27.105 one of the most famous 00:03:27.105 --> 00:03:29.102 and influential Greek thinkers of the time, 00:03:29.102 --> 00:03:31.399 asserted that music had a direct effect 00:03:31.399 --> 00:03:33.328 on a person's ethos. 00:03:33.328 --> 00:03:34.520 Certain kinds of music 00:03:34.052 --> 00:03:35.636 could incite a person to violence 00:03:36.104 --> 00:03:37.196 while others could placate a person 00:03:38.024 --> 00:03:40.791 into a benign, unthinking stupor. 00:03:41.513 --> 00:03:42.880 According to Plato, 00:03:42.088 --> 00:03:43.837 only very specific types of music 00:03:44.629 --> 00:03:47.398 were beneficial to a person's ethos. 00:03:47.398 --> 00:03:49.021 One should only listen to music 00:03:49.021 --> 00:03:50.582 that promotes intelligence, 00:03:50.582 --> 00:03:51.378 self-discipline, 00:03:51.378 --> 00:03:52.517 and courage, 00:03:52.517 --> 00:03:56.259 and all other kinds of music must be avoided. 00:03:56.259 --> 00:03:58.350 Furthermore, Plato fervently denounced 00:03:58.035 --> 00:03:59.119 any music that deviated 00:04:00.019 --> 00:04:01.511 from established musical conventions, 00:04:01.682 --> 00:04:03.160 fearing that doing so 00:04:03.016 --> 00:04:04.662 would lead to the degradation 00:04:04.806 --> 00:04:06.603 of the standards of civilization, 00:04:06.603 --> 00:04:07.896 the corruption of youth, 00:04:07.896 --> 00:04:12.274 and eventually complete and utter anarchy. 00:04:12.274 --> 00:04:14.307 While Plato's fears can seem extreme, 00:04:14.604 --> 00:04:16.780 this argument has appeared in modern times 00:04:16.078 --> 00:04:17.236 to condemn musical trends 00:04:17.938 --> 00:04:20.492 such as jazz or punk or rap. 00:04:20.492 --> 00:04:21.999 What do you think Plato would say 00:04:21.999 --> 00:04:23.888 about the music you listen to? 00:04:23.888 --> 00:04:26.183 Is it beneficial to your ethos, 00:04:26.183 --> 00:04:27.615 or will it degenerate you 00:04:27.615 --> 00:04:30.801 into a gibbering, amoral barbarian?