Archytas (Ancient Greek: Ἀρχύτας) of Mytilene was a celebrated musician of ancient Greece. In his "Life of Archytas", Diogenes Laërtius says that there were four, perhaps five men of this name; Archytas of Tarentum, a polymath and disciple of Pythagoras, was the main subject of the biography, but Diogenes mentions Archytas of Mytilene second, and relates an anecdote about the musician: that once when criticized for speaking too softly, he replied, "my instrument speaks for me".^[1]

In the Deipnosophistae, Athenaeus of Naucratis mentions that Archytas wrote an essay on flute playing, Περὶ Αὐλῶν (Peri Aulon, "about flutes"); but here the musician seems to be identified with Archytas of Tarentum. Athenaeus says that Archytas was a flute player, like many Pythagoreans.^[2] Whether Peri Aulon is the work of the musician or the philosopher is uncertain.^[3][4]