The mandolin is a string instrument of the lute family and is a smaller version of the Italian mandola, which evolved around the beginning of the 17th century. In Greece it started to become popular around the end of the 19th century. It became particularly popular in the music of the Ionian Islands, Crete and the Dodecanese with the establishment of mandolins in the big cities. In Crete especially, already from the period between the wars, it began to become popular in the villages mainly of central and eastern Crete, where it was initially an accompanying instrument for the violin and the lyre while slowly acquiring a more soloistic character. Today it is one of the most beloved instruments of the popular music of Crete with many notable representatives-artisans of the instrument.