classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

, a crotalum, ( κρόταλον ''krotalon'') plural crotala, was a kind of

clapper Clapper or Clappers may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Clappers (record label), a New York-based reggae label * "Clappers" (song), a 2013 song by Wale * ''The Clapper'' (film), a 2017 American comedy film Places * Clapper, Missouri, a communi ...

castanet Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument ( idiophonic), used in Spanish, Calé, Moorish, Ottoman, Greek, Italian, Mexican, Sephardic, Portuguese, Filipino, Brazilian, and Swiss music. In ancient ...

used in religious dances by groups in

ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

and elsewhere, including the

Korybantes According to Greek mythology, the Korybantes or Corybantes (also Corybants) (; ) were the armed and crested dancers who worshipped the Phrygian goddess Cybele with drumming and dancing. They are also called the ''Kurbantes'' in Phrygia. Etymology ...

. The term has been erroneously supposed by some writers to be the same as the

sistrum A sistrum (plural: sistra or (in Latin) sīstra; from the Greek ''seistron'' of the same meaning; literally "that which is being shaken", from ''seiein'', "to shake") is a musical instrument of the percussion family, a form of rattle, used mo ...

. These mistakes are refuted at length by Friedrich Adolph Lampe (1683–1729) in ''De cymbalis veterum''. From the ''

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; ; ) is a large 10th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine encyclopedia of the History of the Mediterranean region, ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas () or Souidas (). It is an ...

'' and the

Scholiast Scholia (: scholium or scholion, from , "comment", "interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of the manuscript of ancient au ...

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

(''Nubes'', 260), it appears to have been a split reed or cane, which clattered when shaken with the hand. According to

Eustathius Eustathius or Eustathios (Greek Εὐστάθιος) is a Greek masculine given name, in English rendered Eustace. It may refer to: * Saint Eustace, martyr (d. 118) * Sint Eustatius, Dutch island in the Caribbean * Eustathius of Antioch, Patriarch ...

(''Il.'' XI.160), it was made of shell and brass, as well as wood.

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria (; – ), was a Christian theology, Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and Alexander of Jerusalem. A ...

attributes the instruments invention to the

Sicilians Sicilians () are a European ethnographic group who are indigenous to Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean, as well as the largest and most populous of the autonomous regions of Italy. History The Sicilian people are indigenous to ...

, and forbids the use thereof to the

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, because of the motions and gestures accompanying the practice. Attic red figure pelike Rhodes

Women who played on the crotalum were termed ''crotalistriae''. Such was Virgil's Copa (2), :''Crispum sub crotalo docta movere latus.'' This line alludes to the dance with crotala (similar to castanets), for which we have the additional testimony of

Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...

(''Saturnalia'' III.14.4‑8). As the instrument made a noise somewhat like that of a crane's bill, the bird was called ''crotalistria'', "player on crotala". Pausanias affirms by way of the epic poet Pisander of Camirus that

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

did not kill the

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

Lake Stymphalia Lake Stymphalia (Greek: Λίμνη Στυμφαλία - ''Límnē Stymphalía'') is located in the north-eastern part of the Peloponnese, in Corinthia, southern Greece. It is a closed karst basin with a wetland area and an agrarian area. The lak ...

, but that he drove them away by playing on crotala. Based on this, the instrument must be exceedingly ancient. Wilkinson, John Gardner (1878).
The Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians
'. Vol 1. London: John Murray. p. 494. The word ''krotalon'' is often applied, by an easy metaphor, to a noisy talkative person (Aristoph. ''Nub.'' 448; Eurip. ''Cycl.'' 104).

Gallery

:''See:

Cymbalum :See also Carillon and Bell chime'' The cymbalum (plural ''cymbala'') was the name of two historical instruments, medieval European bells hung and struck with a hammer and Greek ''kymbalon'' cymbals. The two instruments may possibly be related, bas ...

'' The instrument continued to be used in a modified form through the early medieval period. The variant illustrated in the Byzantine and Carolingian Empires consisted of a forked stick with cymbals attached to the ends. File:Pedieus Painter ARV 86 5 dancing maenad with krotala (01).jpg, Circa 520-510 B.C., Athens. Dancing maenad with krotala. File:Krotala player, from the Mosaic of the Female Musicians, Mariamin.jpg, 4th century A.D., Byzantine Empire. Krotala player, from the Mosaic of the Female Musicians, Mariamin. The crotala and cymbala were played by musicians in the same group. File:Maenads dancing in Dionysus's Procession from a 4th century mosiac in Augusta Traiana, Byzantine Empire, now Stara Zagora, Bulgaria.jpg, 4th century A.D. Mosaic from the city of

Augusta Traiana Stara Zagora (, ) is a city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of Stara Zagora Province. It is located in the Upper Thracian Plain, near the cities of Kazanlak, Plovdiv, and Sliven. Its population is 121,582 making it the sixth largest c ...

showing

maenad In Greek mythology, maenads (; ) were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of his retinue, the '' thiasus''. Their name, which comes from μαίνομαι (''maínomai'', “to rave, to be mad; to rage, to be angr ...

s dancing with

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

, playing krotalum and cymbalum (finger cymbals) . File:Aeman holding clappers in the Charles the Bald Bible, illustrated by Master C.jpg, 9th century A.D., Carolingian Empire. Aeman playing crotals, showing a blending of ancient traditions in the medieval period; in the Carolingian Renaissance, the Roman ''cymbala'' cymbals were attached to "forked sticks" to make the crotals.

References

{{Greek musical instruments Ancient Greek musical instruments Culture of ancient Rome Greek musical instruments European percussion instruments