Lyre

Lyre, the chief musical instrument of the ancient Greeks. It belonged to the harp class, and was very much like the cithara. The body, which was hollow and rested on the lap whilst the instrument was played, commonly consisted of a tortoise-shell covered with bull's-hide; above it rose two horns, united at their upper extremities by a wooden cross-piece, from which the strings descended, their lower ends being attached to a bridge on the body. The strings were usually seven in number. The lyre was introduced into Greece from Egypt, but its original home appears to have been Palestine.