A memorial inscription found in 1883 at Tralles (Aidin) in Asia Minor, of which only a cast now survives, had been dedicated to a woman called Euterpe, by her husband Seikilos.
In it can be found not only the words of a popular song, perhaps her favourite, but also the actual notes of its tune, recorded in an alphabetical notation. Each note is placed above the syllable to which it belongs.
The tune must have been in common use and extremely widespread. It was still being performed centuries later, in Christian times, as one of the Gregorian antiphons for Palm Sunday: Hosanna filio David / Hosanna to the son of David.
The words of the song can be translated as follows:
