0:00:06.677,0:00:08.401
We live in a society

0:00:08.401,0:00:10.336
obsessed with music.

0:00:10.336,0:00:12.323
We use music to worship,

0:00:12.323,0:00:13.621
tell stories,

0:00:13.621,0:00:14.738
to celebrate,

0:00:14.738,0:00:16.180
to work,

0:00:16.180,0:00:17.543
exercise,

0:00:17.543,0:00:19.514
declare our love

0:00:19.514,0:00:21.270
and sometimes our hatred,

0:00:21.270,0:00:23.710
and, arguably most importantly,

0:00:23.710,0:00:25.453
to dance.

0:00:25.453,0:00:27.380
And, of course, we play music ourselves

0:00:27.380,0:00:30.021
because, well, it's a pleasant thing to do.

0:00:30.021,0:00:33.026
Thousands of years ago [br]in Ancient Greece,

0:00:33.026,0:00:34.306
when it came to music,

0:00:34.306,0:00:36.779
things weren't much different.

0:00:36.779,0:00:39.020
They might have had lyres and tunics

0:00:39.020,0:00:41.261
instead of MP3 players and jeans,

0:00:41.261,0:00:43.182
but the Ancient Greeks [br]were just as obsessed

0:00:43.182,0:00:45.019
with music as we are today.

0:00:45.019,0:00:47.236
In fact, music was such [br]an important part

0:00:47.236,0:00:48.686
of Ancient Greek society

0:00:48.686,0:00:51.718
that it makes us seem [br]tame by comparison.

0:00:51.718,0:00:54.305
To really understand just [br]how integral music was

0:00:54.305,0:00:55.686
to the Ancient Greeks,

0:00:55.686,0:00:57.329
let's begin by acquainting ourselves

0:00:57.329,0:00:59.658
with a bit of their mythology.

0:00:59.658,0:01:01.265
In Ancient Greek mythology,

0:01:01.265,0:01:03.543
it was believed that human creativity

0:01:03.543,0:01:05.929
was the result of divine inspiration

0:01:05.929,0:01:08.963
from a group of goddesses [br]known as the Muses.

0:01:08.963,0:01:11.266
While scholars have argued [br]over the years

0:01:11.266,0:01:14.308
that there are anything [br]between 3 and 13 Muses,

0:01:14.308,0:01:17.315
the standard number accepted today is 9.

0:01:17.315,0:01:19.960
Each Muse oversees her own specific area

0:01:19.960,0:01:21.714
of artistic expertise,

0:01:21.714,0:01:23.464
ranging from song and dance

0:01:23.464,0:01:26.048
to history and astronomy.

0:01:26.048,0:01:27.714
It might seem strange to categorize

0:01:27.714,0:01:29.900
history and astronomy [br]as creative pursuits,

0:01:29.900,0:01:31.729
but the Ancient Greeks [br]saw these disciplines

0:01:31.729,0:01:33.943
as more than just school subjects.

0:01:33.943,0:01:37.191
These were the hallmarks of civilization

0:01:37.191,0:01:38.681
in what, to their eyes,

0:01:38.681,0:01:40.847
was a pretty barbaric world.

0:01:40.847,0:01:42.909
An educated, civilized person

0:01:42.909,0:01:44.711
was expected to be proficient

0:01:44.711,0:01:46.423
in all aspects of creative thought

0:01:46.423,0:01:48.009
inspired by the Muses,

0:01:48.009,0:01:49.057
and the common medium

0:01:49.057,0:01:50.529
through which these [br]disciplines were taught,

0:01:50.529,0:01:51.274
studied,

0:01:51.274,0:01:52.297
and disseminated

0:01:52.297,0:01:54.520
was music.

0:01:54.520,0:01:56.340
You see, it's no coincidence

0:01:56.340,0:01:58.584
that the word Muse is very similar

0:01:58.584,0:02:00.227
to the word music.

0:02:00.227,0:02:02.320
It's where the word originates.

0:02:02.320,0:02:04.148
Poetry, be it a love poem

0:02:04.148,0:02:07.184
or an epic poem about [br]a dragon-slaying hero,

0:02:07.184,0:02:09.692
was sung with a musical accompaniment.

0:02:09.692,0:02:11.741
Dancing and singing, obviously,

0:02:11.741,0:02:13.494
were accompanied by music.

0:02:13.494,0:02:15.602
Theater was always a combination

0:02:15.602,0:02:18.036
of spoken word and music.

0:02:18.036,0:02:20.749
History was recounted through song.

0:02:20.749,0:02:22.296
Even the study of astronomy

0:02:22.296,0:02:24.038
was linked to the same physical principles

0:02:24.038,0:02:25.383
as musical harmony,

0:02:25.383,0:02:27.553
such as the belief held [br]by many Greek thinkers

0:02:27.553,0:02:29.602
that each of the planets and stars

0:02:29.602,0:02:31.305
created their own unique sound

0:02:31.305,0:02:32.757
as they traveled through the cosmos,

0:02:32.757,0:02:35.105
thrumming like [br]an enormous guitar string

0:02:35.105,0:02:36.971
light-years long.

0:02:36.971,0:02:39.558
However, music pervaded [br]more aspects of their lives

0:02:39.558,0:02:41.141
than just education.

0:02:41.141,0:02:42.639
Ancient Greeks considered music

0:02:42.639,0:02:44.439
to be the basis for understanding

0:02:44.439,0:02:46.479
the fundamental interconnectedness

0:02:46.479,0:02:48.857
of all things in the universe.

0:02:48.857,0:02:50.569
This concept of connectivity

0:02:50.569,0:02:51.940
is known as harmonia,

0:02:51.940,0:02:54.515
and it's where we get the word harmony.

0:02:54.515,0:02:56.580
Music was used as a form of medicine

0:02:56.580,0:02:58.605
to treat illnesses and physical complaints,

0:02:58.605,0:03:01.804
as a vital accompaniment [br]to sporting contests,

0:03:01.804,0:03:03.702
and as a means to keep workers in time

0:03:03.702,0:03:08.522
as they toiled away on [br]monotonous or menial tasks.

0:03:08.522,0:03:10.127
One of the most important applications

0:03:10.127,0:03:12.211
of music in Ancient Greek society

0:03:12.211,0:03:13.173
is found in the belief

0:03:13.173,0:03:16.355
that music can affect a person's ethos.

0:03:16.355,0:03:17.935
A word we still use today,

0:03:17.935,0:03:19.551
ethos is a person's guiding beliefs

0:03:19.551,0:03:20.859
or personal ethics,

0:03:20.859,0:03:22.307
the way that one behaves

0:03:22.307,0:03:24.437
towards oneself and others.

0:03:24.437,0:03:25.851
The Greek philosopher Plato,

0:03:25.851,0:03:27.105
one of the most famous

0:03:27.105,0:03:29.102
and influential Greek [br]thinkers of the time,

0:03:29.102,0:03:31.399
asserted that music had a direct effect

0:03:31.399,0:03:33.328
on a person's ethos.

0:03:33.328,0:03:34.520
Certain kinds of music

0:03:34.520,0:03:36.104
could incite a person to violence

0:03:36.104,0:03:38.024
while others could placate a person

0:03:38.024,0:03:40.791
into a benign, unthinking stupor.

0:03:41.513,0:03:42.880
According to Plato,

0:03:42.880,0:03:44.629
only very specific types of music

0:03:44.629,0:03:47.398
were beneficial to a person's ethos.

0:03:47.398,0:03:49.021
One should only listen to music

0:03:49.021,0:03:50.582
that promotes intelligence,

0:03:50.582,0:03:51.378
self-discipline,

0:03:51.378,0:03:52.517
and courage,

0:03:52.517,0:03:56.259
and all other kinds [br]of music must be avoided.

0:03:56.259,0:03:58.350
Furthermore, Plato fervently denounced

0:03:58.350,0:04:00.190
any music that deviated

0:04:00.190,0:04:01.682
from established musical conventions,

0:04:01.682,0:04:03.160
fearing that doing so

0:04:03.160,0:04:04.806
would lead to the degradation

0:04:04.806,0:04:06.603
of the standards of civilization,

0:04:06.603,0:04:07.896
the corruption of youth,

0:04:07.896,0:04:12.274
and eventually complete [br]and utter anarchy.

0:04:12.274,0:04:14.604
While Plato's fears can seem extreme,

0:04:14.604,0:04:16.780
this argument has appeared [br]in modern times

0:04:16.780,0:04:17.938
to condemn musical trends

0:04:17.938,0:04:20.492
such as jazz or punk or rap.

0:04:20.492,0:04:21.999
What do you think Plato would say

0:04:21.999,0:04:23.888
about the music you listen to?

0:04:23.888,0:04:26.183
Is it beneficial to your ethos,

0:04:26.183,0:04:27.615
or will it degenerate you

0:04:27.615,0:04:30.801
into a gibbering, amoral barbarian?