Dans la famille des idiophones, le terme de sistre occupe une acception large regroupant plusieurs instruments utilisés dans de nombreuses sociétés. Dans l’Antiquité, le terrain égyptien fournit un exemple de sistre, notamment attaché au culte de la déesse Hathor. Durant la période pharaonique et surtout à la Basse Époque, le sistre en alliage cuivreux semble se modifier. Il bascule ensuite dans le monde gréco-romain par le biais de la diffusion des cultes isiaques et subit de nouvelles modifications. Notre étude porte sur ce sistre isiaque, des premiers Lagides à l’extrême fin du IVe s. av. J.-C. jusqu’au IVe s. ap. J.-C. où il n’est plus attesté archéologiquement. L’étude de l’objet physique soulève plusieurs questionnements et demande la sélection de critères pour permettre une mise en série des realia. La typologie mise au point pour cet artefact nécessitait par ailleurs une comparaison avec le sistre pharaonique antérieur. Elle permet de mieux cerner les étapes de sa diffusion ainsi que les enjeux qui en découlent. Dans ses représentations et utilisations, le sistre isiaque revêt un aspect profondément polysémique. Principalement attribut de la déesse Isis, il est aussi porté ponctuellement par d’autres divinités ou représenté seul. Le sistre est également un instrument de musique et un instrument rituel utilisé dans les cérémonies et les processions, ou encore dans le domaine funéraire. Les différents types documentaires et contextes d’apparition de l’objet, s’ils ne sont pas présentés de façon exhaustive, sont abordés dans le but de mieux cerner les usages, pratiques et symboliques, liés à cet instrument. / In the family of idiophones, the term sistrum has a broad meaning, encompassing several instruments used in many societies. In ancient times, the Egyptian area provided an example of sistrum, especially attached to the cult of the goddess Hathor. During the Pharaonic period and especially in the Late Period, the coper alloy sistrum seems to be modified. Then it passes to the Greco-Roman world through the diffusion of isiac cults and goes through new modifications. Our study concerns this isiac sistrum, from the beginning of the Lagid dynasty to the end of the 4th century BC until the 4th century AD where it is no longer archaeologically attested. The study of the physical object raises several questions and calls for the selection of criteria to allow a serialization of the realia. The typology developed for this artefact also required a comparison with the previous pharaonic sistrum. It allows us to better identify the stages of its dissemination and the stakes arising from it. In its representations and uses, the isiac sistrum has a profoundly polysemic aspect. Primarily attributed to the goddess Isis, it is also worn punctually by other deities or represented alone. The sistrum is also a musical instrument and a ritual instrument used in ceremonies and processions, or in the funerary area. The variety of the documentary types and the contexts of appearance of the object, if not presented in an exhaustive way, are approached in order to better identify the practical, symbolic uses associated with this instrument.

This thesis deals with ancient string and percussion instruments with additional focus on a hydraulic organ, an instrument that is difficult to categorize. The first part of the thesis is a follow-up to the bachelor thesis Wind Instruments of Ancient Greece and Rome, which is devoted to wind instruments, and deals with the classification, description and evolution of the instruments of the other two instrumental groups. This is illustrated on the background of literary, archaeological and iconographic sources, especially on the vase painting. Vase painting well demonstrates the shape, evolution and regional occurrence of these instruments. In the second part of this thesis the Attic and southern Italy vase paintings will be used to compare musical culture in both of these areas. In Attic music scenes the chronological evolution of depicted instruments is examined, while in southern Italian scenes we will concentrate on the differences of depicted instruments in the regions of Campania, Lucania, Sicily, Paestum and Apulia. Finally, the Attic musical instruments are compared with the instruments of southern Italy. The results of the analyses will be entered into graphs. Keywords: ancient music, strings instruments, percussion instruments, Greece, Southern Italy, Campania, Lucania, Apulia, Sicily,...