According to archaeologists, the first Greek song ever [VIDEO] was composed sometime between 200 BC- 100 AD by the poet Sikilos from Minor Asia, or modern Turkey. The decoding of the song was possible because Sikilos had used a marble column to engrave not only the lyrics but the musical notation as well. That marble column, known as the Sikilos epitaph, is unique in the sense that it is a complete, though short, composition.

Over time, ownership of the marble column has changed, sometimes illicitly. It was first discovered in 1883 by Scottish archaeologist Sir W. M. Ramsay in modern Aydin (ancient city of Tralles), but when the Greco-Turkish War broke out (1919-1922), the epitaph vanished.

Many years later, it was found in the garden of a Turkish home; the owner had cut off the base of the column to use it as a vase. Eventually, it was moved to The Hague, until 1966, when it was acquired by the National Museum of Denmark. Interestingly enough, at the bottom of the column there is an inscription saying that Sikilos dedicates the song to Euterpe, however it is not known whether she was a real person or the Muse of Music!

You Tube: Lyre 'n' Rhapsody - Oson Zeis (Epitaph of Sikilos) & Listen to the history of the song