The goddess Athena discarded and cursed her flute after discovering her face distorted while playing. Then a poor schmuck – a Satyr named Marsyas – found the discarded instrument, learned to make beautiful music, and wound up dead after challenging Apollo to a play-off. I love Greek mythology, full of egos and drama. And my spouse studied classical archeology. We have…
Month: January 2016
Let’s start with the Pied Piper (and end with dance mania)
In the 1200s a vengeful flute player allegedly lured away the children of Hamelin, Germany. The piper came to Hamelin when it was over-run with rats and struck a deal with the community leaders to get rid of the pests. He dressed in garish clothes (“pied” means multi-colored) and brandished a magical flute. Here’s how Robert Browning describes the…
Lore of Pipers 