In
music, the
organ (from
Greek ὄργανον
organon, "organ, instrument, tool") is a
keyboard instrument of one or more
divisions, each played with its own keyboard, played either
with the hands or
with the feet. The organ is a relatively old
musical instrument, dating from the time of
Ctesibius of Alexandria, who is credited with inventing the
water organ. It was played throughout the Greek and Roman world, particularly during races and games. During the early medieval period it spread from the
Byzantine Empire, where it continued to be used in secular and imperial court music, to Western Europe, where it gradually assumed a prominent place in the
liturgy of the
Catholic Church. Subsequently it re-emerged as a secular and
recital instrument.