t the same order of accents is
maintained whether the line be read backward or forward, the
short and long syllables falling into exactly the same places in
either case. The line "Hercules, the patron deity of Thebes,"
may be taken as an example, [(- ' ' ' - )'( - ' ' ' -)]. Such
devices occur all through his poems. We find in them also that
magnificence of diction which is the forerunner of "virtuosity";
for he speaks of his song as "a temple with pillars of gold,
gold that glitters like blazing fire in the night time."

In the hands of Aristophanes (450-380 B.C.), the technique
of poetry continued to advance. In "The Frogs," "The
Wasps," and "The Birds" are to be found marvels of skill in
onomatopoetic[07] verse. His comedies called for many more
actors than the tragedies had required, and the chorus was
increased from fifteen to twenty-four. Purple skins were
spread across the stage, and the _parabasis_ (or topical song)
and satire vied with the noble lines of Aeschylus and Sophocles
for favour with the public.

Meanwhile, as might have been expected, instrumental music
became more and more independent, and musicians, especially
the flute players, prospered; for we read in Suidas that they
were much more proficient and sought after than the lyre and
kithara players. When they played, they stood in a conspicuous
place in the centre of the audience. Dressed in long, feminine,
saffron-coloured robes, with veiled faces, and straps round
their cheeks to support the muscles of the mouth, they exhibited
the most startling feats of technical skill. Even women became
flute players, although this was considered disgraceful.
The Athenians even went so far that they built a temple to the
flute player Lamia, and worshipped her as Venus. The prices
paid to these flute players surpassed even those given to
virtuosi in modern times, sometimes amounting to more than
one thousand dollars a day, and the luxury in which they lived
became proverbial.

During this period, Aristophanes of Alexandria (350 B.C.),
called "the grammarian," devised a means for indicating the
inflection of the voice in speaking, by which the cadences
which orators found necessary in impassioned speech could be
classified, at least to some extent. When the voice was to fall,
a downward stroke [\] was placed above the syllable; when the
voice was to be raised, an upward stroke [/] indicated it;
and when the voice was to rise and fall, the sign was [/\],
wh