The Probert Encyclopaedia of Music

LYRE

The lyre was an ancient musical stringed instrument of Eastern origin. It consisted of a hollow resonant body, from each end of which rose a gracefully curved horn-shaped arm, turning out towards the top. The upper parts of the two arms were connected by a cross-bar, to which the strings were attached; and the latter, after passing over a bridge resting on the body, had their lower ends fastened to the bottom of the instrument. The strings, varying in number from three to eighteen, were sounded by being struck with a plectrum held in the right hand, while the fingers of the left hand checked the vibrations of those strings required to be silent. The Greek cithara was a large form of lyre.
Research Lyre