Epigonion – Ancient Greek Harp (24 strings) Rosewood

This is a replica of an Epigonion, an ancient Greek harp-like musical instrument invented by a legendary musician and inventor: Epigonus of Ambracia. An Epigonion was an ancient stringed instrument mentioned in Athenaeus (183 AD). It is made almost solely by wood, and it was played during antiquity as the modern harp is played today.

According to ancient sources, Epigonion was during antiquity the instrument with the largest number of strings (Polydeuces). The LUTHIEROS Epigonion has 24 strings, and it is an ideal instrument for introducing modern musicians to the ancient musical heritage.

Epigonion may owe its name to the fact that it was played “on the knee” (in ancient Greek: “epi gonu”). Its alternative name is Psaltery, which derives from the ancient Greek ψαλτήριον (psaltērion): a “stringed instrument, psaltery, harp”, a name that comes from the verb ψάλλω (psallō), “to touch sharply, to pluck, pull, twitch”. It was invented by Epigonus of Ambracia, a Greek legendary musician, who was admitted to citizenship at Sicyon as a recognition of his great musical ability and of his having been the first to pluck the strings with his fingers, instead of using a plectrum.


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Juba II, king of Mauretania, who reigned from 30 B.C., said that Epigonus brought the instrument from Alexandria and played upon it with the fingers of both hands, not only using it as an accompaniment to the voice, but introducing chromatic passages, and a chorus of other stringed instruments, probably citharas, to accompany the voice. Epigonus was also a skilled citharist who was playing without a plectrum but only with his bare hands.


Bringing Ancient Artifacts Back to Life

To handcraft premium ancient replicas with a focus on the modern musician, you have to research a lot, analyze hundreds of ancient depictions, build a lot of prototypes, test them with great musicians, etc.

And all of these, to conclude to meaningful compromises that have to be made, that are both deeply justified and make sense in terms of usability/playability. All in all, our ultimate goal is to serve the modern musician and to bring ancient artifacts back to life as fully functional musical instruments.

Manufactured at the premises of the ancient Europos (Northern Greece) by a family of musicians and luthiers, the LUTHIEROS Epigonion is made exclusively using natural materials available during the antiquity. All parts are made of quality wood with great musicality, while the tuning pegs are made by ebony and mulberry wood, the bottom part of the strings are attached to animal skin, while the plectrum is manufactured by wood.

This ancient artifact was evolved to become a modern musical instrument ready to be used by both amateur and professional musicians. For all the minor (but very important) alterations, top-notch technologies were used during the prototyping phase (such as 3d Modeling and rapid prototyping) as part of University-based research by members of the LUTHIEROS family. Key collaborations include the International Hellenic University and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.