In Greek antiquity the iconography of musical instruments was subject to a hierarchical classification, an influential paragone in cultural history. The zither or lyre, consecrated to Apollo, was a symbol of harmony, of reconciliation of opposites, of the rational part of the universe; wind instruments, on the other hand, associated with Dionysus and appropriated for modulation, were identified with ecstasy, frenzy and the realm of the senses.

In Western culture, from ancient times the state was compared to a musical instrument in which all the strings, with different length and sound, ought to be in tune to produce a melody. The chosen ones were usually chordophones – harp, zither, lyre – able to produce a melody from different voices, and therefore to symbolize plurality. As will be explained, the chordophone came to reflect the total comprehension of the cosmos; for that reason, Greek myths and testimonies show that strings had a nobler connotation than wind instruments, as the zither or lyre was Hermes's and Apollo's instrument, identified with the education of the soul.

The biblical tradition also reinforced the idea of the superiority of string instruments. The Old Testament presents the harp as the royal instrument per excellence, as it is the attribute of King David, the tool with which he calmed the bad spirit that tormented Saul's soul and with which he accompanied his prayers to God in the Psalms.