classics
The Ancients: LIVE! what?
how?
The kithara is an ancient stringed
While other modern replicas exist (about twenty in
instrument in the lyre family. Having
the world, Franklin estimates), Lake endeavored to
been created mostly from organic
create his own research-based version and turned to
materials, like wood and animal hide,
ancient sources to ascertain the instrument’s dimen-
any examples from the period have
sions. First, he focused his efforts on a narrowed
long since decayed. The kithara
timeframe—the fifth century BCE. Using images of
pictured is a modern replica that
kitharas from thirteen photos of ancient red-figure
resides in the Main Street office of
vases, he took measurements of the instruments’
John Franklin, professor of classics.
parts. “But I couldn’t use those measurements to make a real-sized instrument,” Lake says, “so what I needed to do was to convert that in proportion to
who? Franklin’s course on legends of the Trojan War provided the initial inspiration for designing and crafting this twenty-first century kithara. A
something that exists both in the photo and the real world.” In each image, the forearm of the player was outstretched, providing a clear view of the arm from wrist to elbow. “And I thought,” Lake says, “’Hey, I have a wrist and an elbow!’”
scholar of Greek and Latin language and literature with a special interest in the history of ancient music technology, Franklin often plays ancient music for his classes to highlight its importance within the culture. Tanner Lake ’10, a student in the Trojan War course, became intrigued by the idea of researching the ancient kithara to build a modern one. With the help of a McNair Scholarship, he accomplished that work over a summer. Washington state-based lute maker John Butterfield built the instrument from Lake’s blueprints.
By amanda waite ’02 g’04 94