One of the oldest of the Ancient Greek stringed musical instruments, in the yoke lute family, intermediate between the lyre and the kithara. It consisted of 2 to 7 strings, richly decorated arms and a crescent-shaped sound box. It most probably originated from Mesopotamia. While it seems to have been common in Homer's day, accompanying the rhapsodes, it was supplanted in historical times by the 7-stringed kithara.