trigonon

plural trigona · plural trigonons

1. historicalentertainmentA small triangular harp.

   Soft Lydian pipes, trigonons, silvery flutes, / Blend in the lamp-lit air with gentle lutes.

   1894, Mansfield Lovell Hillhouse, “XIX. The Merchant’s Banquet”, in Iola, the Senator’s Daughter: A Story of Ancient Rome (about 24 B.C.), New York, London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, The Knickerbocker Press, page 175

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   The early Greek Trigonon, like its progenitor the Egyptian harp, appears to have had no fore-pillar; small Trigona were, however, made at some subsequent but unascertained time, with a fore-pilar and a very small sound box.

   1873, W. K. Sullivan, “Introduction”, in On the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish, volume I, page cccclxxxviii

   To say that they represent a height of achievement which the poetry of our own time has not surpassed is just as ridiculous as to say that Aeschylus’ band of lyres, trigonons and sambukas made better music than the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

   1915, The Smart Set: A Magazine of Cleverness, volume 46, page 153, column 2

   Among other musical instruments in the north Pontic area of which we know from archaeological evidence, are the horns, shell-trumpets, trigonons (harps), Pan-pipes, lutes, and zithers.

   1959, George Vernadsky, The Origins of Russia, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 157

   On the other hand, there exists a statuette of a dancing-girl, no doubt dating from the year 5000, a prelude to an abundant choreographic and ritual representation of male and female musicians, and even soldiers, beating a rhythm with tambourines, crotals, (a sort of castanet), sistrums or their hands, to the tunes of slanting (circa 4000) or double flutes, harps (3 to 20 strings), lutes (4 strings) trigonons (harps with 22 strings, held on the knees) and zithers (of Syrian importation circa 2000).

   1970, Afro-Asian Writings, page 249

   Other contemporary representations of trigona show considerable variation in the angle at which the strings are set and in the position of the hands.

   1976, Hesperia, page 57, column 2