 Man playing aulos, Attic red-figure cup painted by the Euaion Painter, 460 B.C.–450 B.C. | |
| Woodwind instrument | |
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| Classification | woodwind |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | Reed aerophones: 422.121.2 (Double reed instruments – There are two lamellae which beat against one another, double oboes with fingerholes.) |
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Anaulos (pluralauloi;[1]Ancient Greek:αὐλός :aulós, pluralαὐλοί :auloí)[2] orLatin:tibia was awind instrument in ancient Greece, often depicted in art and also attested byarchaeology.
Though the wordaulos is often translated as "flute" or as "double flute", the instrument was usuallydouble-reeded, and its sound—described as "penetrating, insisting and exciting"—was more akin to that of modern woodwind instruments such asoboes orbagpipes with achanter and (modulated)drone.[3][4]
Anaulete (αὐλητής :aulētḗs) was the musician who performed on anaulos. Theancient Roman equivalent was thetibicen (pluraltibicines), from the Latintibia, "pipe,aulos." Theneologismaulode is sometimes used by analogy withrhapsode andcitharode (citharede) to refer to anaulos-player, who may also be called anaulist; however,aulode more commonly refers to a singer who sang the accompaniment to a piece played on the aulos.
There were several kinds ofaulos, single or double. The most common variety was a reed instrument.[6] Archeological finds, surviving iconography and other evidence indicate that it wasdouble-reeded, like the modernoboe, but with a larger mouthpiece, like the survivingArmenianduduk.[7] A single pipe without areed was called themonaulos (μόναυλος, from μόνος "single").[6] A single pipe held horizontally, as the modern flute, was theplagiaulos (πλαγίαυλος, from πλάγιος "sideways").[6] A pipe with a bag to allow for continuous sound (abagpipe) was theaskaulos (ἀσκαυλός from ἀσκόςaskos "wineskin").[8]
Like theGreat Highland Bagpipe, theaulos has been used formartial music, but it is more frequently depicted in other social settings.[9] A normal flute would produce insufficient volume to be of any use in military application, where adouble-reed could be heard over larger distances, and over the clamour of marching whilst wearing armour. It was the standard accompaniment of the passionateelegiac poetry. It also accompanied physical activities such as wrestling matches, the broad jump, the discus throw and to mark the rowing cadence ontriremes, as well as sacrifices and dramas.[7]Plato associates it with the ecstatic cults ofDionysus and theKorybantes, banning it from hisRepublic[10] but permitting it in hisLaws.
Players of the aulos used a tool known as thePhorbeia or theCapistrum. It was a device that consisted of two straps. One was placed on top of the head and another was placed on the back of the head and stretched from ear to ear to support the cheeks.[11][12] It was used by ancient musicians to play the aulos by allowing them to create noise through circular breathing and steady the instrument.[13][14] It may have also been used to prevent the reeds of the instrument from falling down the throat of the player.[15] Another potential use for thephrobeia was holding thelips in place, taking some strain off of the lip muscles.[16]
Although aristocrats with sufficient leisure sometimes practiced aulos-playing as they did thelyre, after the later fifth century the aulos became chiefly associated with professional musicians, often slaves. Nevertheless, such musicians could achieve fame. The Romano-Greek writerLucian discusses aulos playing in his dialogueHarmonides, in whichAlexander the Great's auleteTimotheus discusses fame with his pupil Harmonides. Timotheus advises him to impress the experts within his profession rather than seek popular approval in big public venues. If leading musicians admire him, popular approval will follow. However, Lucian reports that Harmonides died from excessive blowing during practicing.
In myth,Marsyas thesatyr was supposed to have invented the aulos, or else picked it up afterAthena had thrown it away because it caused her cheeks to puff out and ruined her beauty. In any case, he challengedApollo to a musical contest, where the winner would be able to "do whatever he wanted" to the loser—Marsyas's expectation, typical of a satyr, was that this would be sexual in nature. But Apollo and his lyre beat Marsyas and his aulos.[17]
Marsyas's blood and the tears of the Muses formed the river Marsyas in Asia Minor.[18]
This tale was a warning against committing the sin of "hubris", or overweening pride, in that Marsyas thought he might win against a god. Strange and brutal as it is, this myth reflects a great many cultural tensions that the Greeks expressed in the opposition they often drew between the lyre and aulos: freedom vs. servility and tyranny, leisured amateurs vs. professionals, moderation (sophrosyne) vs. excess, etc. Some of this is a result of 19th century AD "classical interpretation", i.e.Apollo versus Dionysus, or "Reason" (represented by the kithara) opposed to "Madness" (represented by the aulos). In the temple to Apollo at Delphi, there was also a shrine to Dionysus, and his Maenads are shown on drinking cups playing the aulos, but Dionysus is sometimes shown holding akithara or lyre. So a modern interpretation can be a little more complicated than just simple duality.
This opposition is mostly an Athenian one. It might be surmised that things were different atThebes, which was a center of aulos-playing. AtSparta—which had no Bacchic or Korybantic cults to serve as contrast—the aulos was actually associated with Apollo, and accompanied thehoplites into battle.[19]
The battle scene on theChigi vase shows an aulos player setting a lyrical rhythm for thehoplitephalanx to advance to. This accompaniment reduced the possibility of an opening in the formation of the blockage; the aulete had a fundamental role in ensuring the integrity of the phalanx. In this particular scene, the phalanx approaching from the left is unprepared and momentarily outnumbered four to five. More soldiers can be seen running up to assist them from behind. Even though the front four are lacking a fifth soldier, they have the advantage because the aulete is there to bring the formation back together.[20]
An amphora fromc. 540–530 BC depictsHerakles in the process of completing histenth labor. Auletes can be seen playing in a procession going around on the neck of the amphora.[21]
The sounds of the aulos are being digitally recreated by the Ancient Instruments Sound/Timbre Reconstruction Application (ASTRA) project which usesphysical modeling synthesis to simulate the aulos sounds. Due to the complexity of this process the ASTRA project uses grid computing to model sounds on hundreds of computers throughout Europe simultaneously.[22][23]
The aulos is part of the Lost Sounds Orchestra, alongside other ancient instruments which ASTRA have recreated the sounds of, including theepigonion, thesalpinx, thebarbiton and thesyrinx.[24]
The aulos was also featured in the 2009 movieAgora, wherein a character performs a solo in an amphitheatre. It is also visible in the 2007 movie300.
Modern evolutions of the aulos exist inSoutheastern Europe. In southernAlbania, specifically, a double non-freeaerophone resembling the aulos – called the cula diare or longari – is still played in theLabëria region to accompanyAlbanian iso-polyphony.[25] These instruments arewoodwind but not double-reeded like the aulos of antiquity.
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The single reed or clarinet mouthpiece was known to other ancient peoples, and I should not venture to assert that it was not known to the Greeks. But the evidence of both art and literature indicates that it was the double reed that was standard in the Classical period. Under the Hornbostel-Sachs system, therefore, the aulos should be classified as an oboe. It must be admitted that 'oboe-girl' is less evocative than the 'flute-girl' to which classicists have been accustomed, and that when it is a question of translating Greek poetry 'oboe' is likely to sound odd. For the latter case I favor 'pipe' or 'shawm.'
Thetibiae (is) an instrument of the Romans.
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