Epitaph of Seikilos, 1st century A.D.

In class I was able to hear listen to three different versions of this song. At home I found many more on youtube.

This is my favorite version because the melody is played over and over and different instruments are played.  This video also has the ancient Greek images throughout which always helps to transport me to ancient Greece.  The main instrument is a stringed instrument that is most likely a lyre, and a woman singing the words with that beautiful clear voice.  Then some flute-like instrument comes in, maybe an aulos.  In this version it played and sung slowly at first and then speeds up with some percussion which makes it sounds like a dance.  While listening to it with my eyes closed I could definitely picture some ancient Greek men and women dancing around with their instruments, and maybe some fawns, centaurs and other woodland creatures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xERitvFYpAk&NR=1

Before listening to this song, I was able to read the English translation of the lyrics.

I am an image in stone. Seikilos put me here, where I am
forever, as the symbol of eternal remembrance.
As long as you live, shine:
Afflict yourself with nothing beyond measure:
your life is of brief duration;
time clams it's tribute.

 In class, I read the words but did not quite understand what the words meant because of the rough English translation.  I understood that it was a tombstone and that the theme was about how short life is.  I assumed that the moral of the text was "Life is short, so make it count."  But after hearing about it in class the next day and reading some different translations that were worded slightly differently, I now understand it to mean "Life is short, so enjoy it."  :)  The line that reads "Afflict yourself with nothing beyond measure" probably just means, "Don't work to hard, because you're just going to die anyway."  This is kind of a funny thing to put on your wife's tombstone.  I don't think
I have not seen anything like that on any tombstones in today's world. I wonder if this reflects the general mood of the population at that time.

This theme fits more with the music which has a lighthearted feel to it, even in the slower versions that were purely instrumental.  This made me curious as to what Greek mode it is in, and what emotions were associated with the mode.   It turns out that it is in Phrygian mode (Greek Phrygian) which was believed to create feelings of agitation and emotionalism, and is associated with the god Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry.  I don't think that Plato would have approved.  I didn't find that it made me feel agitated or emotional, but it is an enjoyable tune that's been stuck in my head for the past three days.