The word music, (mousike) was first coined by the Ancient Greeks. The word means ‘art of the muses’. If you were looking for music that was either played, or sung during Ancient Greek times you would be well advised to search out Greek folk music. There is a very strong folk tradition in modern Greece, where national pride and cultural history are strongly entwined with a folk tradition that crosses the artistic spectrum of music, dance and other arts, such as painting, sculpture and the written word. The lyricism of Ancient Greece, has been handed down to us by the writings of Greek philosophers, such as Sophocles and Plato. We know the types of instruments the ancient Greeks used, thanks to the many examples of ancient earthenware pottery that have been discovered throughout modern Greece and neighboring countries such as Turkey. Wind instruments such as the flute and simple stringed instruments such as the lyre, featured heavily in the world of Greek music of the time.