Citharode
 Bronze cast figure of a kithara player from Crete. | |
| Occupation | |
|---|---|
Occupation type | professional performer |
Activity sectors | self-accompanied musical performance |
| Description | |
| Competencies | singing, strummed string instrument (lyre family), music theory, music notation |
Related jobs | Aulete / aulist (aulos player, "piper"), Citharist (non-singing kithara player) |
A kitharode (Latinized citharode) (Ancient Greek: κιθαρῳδός [kitʰarɔː'dós]; Latin: citharoedus) was a professional performer in Classical antiquity who sang and played cithara to accompany their singing. A citharist was a performer who only played, and did not sing. Famous Greek citharodes included Terpander, Sappho, and Arion.
Citharodes remained common from classical Greece into the Roman imperial period and throughout antiquity; Roman emperor Nero was famously a citharode himself. In his day, a citharode sang a tragic monologue in full theatrical costume, including a mask.
"Citharoedus" or "Citharede" was also an epithet of Apollo (Apollo Citharede), and the term is used to refer to statues which portray Apollo with his lyre.