Pontic lyra

The Pontic lyra is a three-stringed instrument, complete in itself for the music it is used for. It is played in fourths and accompanies song and dance. It stands out for its distinctive bottle shape, with a long neck and a narrow, elongated body, which is said not to have changed since it first appeared. The way it is held and played shows clear signs of Byzantine origin.

The Pontic lyra player plays either standing or sitting. Most often, though, he stands in the middle of the circle dance, playing cheerfully and spurring the dancers on.

The Pontic lyra is also called kemenche (in Greek both 'o kemetzes' and 'i kemenje'). According to researchers, the name probably comes from the Persian 'kamancha', a type of lyra that appeared in northern Persia in the 10th century AD, although it may also come from the ancient Greek word 'kelis' (boat) or the verb 'kelomai' (to urge on), with the l changing to m. The Pontic lyra became better known in Greece after the genocide of the Pontic Greeks and their uprooting in 1922–1923.