An aulos (plural auloi; Ancient Greek: αὐλός: aulós, plural αὐλοί: auloí) or Latin: tibia was a wind instrument used in ancient Greece. It appears in ancient art and has been found in archaeological discoveries.

Although the word "aulos" is sometimes translated as "flute" or "double flute," the instrument typically had two reeds. Its sound, described as loud, strong, and attention-grabbing, was similar to modern woodwind instruments like oboes or bagpipes, which have a part that makes a continuous sound and another that changes pitch.

A person who played the aulos was called an aulete (Ancient Greek: αὐλητής: aulētḗs). In ancient Rome, the equivalent term was tibicen (plural tibicines), derived from the Latin word "tibia," meaning "pipe" or "aulos." A new term, "aulode," is sometimes used to describe an aulos player, similar to how "rhapsode" and "citharode" describe performers of other arts. However, "aulode" more often refers to a singer who accompanied music played on the aulos. A person who played the aulos may also be called an aulist.

Background

The aulos was a musical instrument that could be made in different ways. It could have one or two pipes. The most common type was a reed instrument. Evidence from ancient times, such as artifacts and artwork, shows that it had two reeds, like the modern oboe, but with a larger mouthpiece, similar to the Armenian duduk. A single pipe without a reed was called the monaulos (from the Greek word monos, meaning "single"). A single pipe held horizontally, like the modern flute, was called the plagiaulos (from plagios, meaning "sideways"). A pipe with a bag to create continuous sound, like a bagpipe, was called the askaulos (from askos, meaning "wineskin").

The aulos was used for military music, but it was more often shown in other social situations. A regular flute would not be loud enough for use in battle, where a double-reed instrument could be heard over long distances and through the noise of marching soldiers in armor. It was commonly played with passionate poetry and also accompanied activities like wrestling, jumping, throwing a discus, and setting the rhythm for rowing on ships. It was also used during religious sacrifices and plays. Plato connected the aulos to religious groups that worshipped Dionysus and the Korybantes, but he banned it in his ideal society, though he allowed it in his laws.

Musicians who played the aulos used a tool called the phorbeia or capistrum. This tool had two straps. One was placed on the top of the head, and the other stretched across the back of the head from ear to ear to support the cheeks. It helped musicians play the aulos by allowing them to use circular breathing and keep the instrument steady. It may also have prevented the reeds from falling into the player’s throat or helped hold the lips in place, reducing strain on the lips.

Although wealthy people sometimes played the aulos, like they played the lyre, by the later fifth century, the aulos was mostly played by professional musicians, often slaves. These musicians could still become famous. A writer named Lucian wrote about aulos playing in his work Harmonides, where a musician named Timotheus, who played for Alexander the Great, advises his student Harmonides to gain the respect of other musicians instead of seeking popularity in public. However, Lucian notes that Harmonides died from overexertion while practicing the aulos.

Mythic origin

In ancient myths, Marsyas, a satyr, was believed to have created the aulos, or found it after Athena discarded it because it made her cheeks puff out and harmed her appearance. Regardless, Marsyas challenged Apollo to a musical contest, with the winner allowed to "do whatever he wanted" to the loser. Marsyas expected this to involve something sexual, which was typical for a satyr. However, Apollo, playing the lyre, won the contest against Marsyas and his aulos.

Marsyas’s blood and the tears of the Muses formed the river Marsyas in Asia Minor.

This story served as a warning against "hubris," or excessive pride, as Marsyas believed he could defeat a god. Though the tale is strange and harsh, it reflects many cultural conflicts the Greeks explored, such as the contrast between the lyre and aulos, which symbolized freedom versus servility, leisurely amateurs versus professionals, and moderation versus excess. Some of these ideas were influenced by 19th-century interpretations of Greek culture, such as the opposition between Apollo (representing reason) and Dionysus (representing madness). At the temple of Apollo in Delphi, there was also a shrine to Dionysus, and his followers, the Maenads, are often shown playing the aulos on drinking cups. However, Dionysus is sometimes depicted holding a kithara or lyre.

This contrast between the lyre and aulos was mainly an Athenian perspective. In Thebes, a city known for aulos music, the instrument may have been viewed differently. In Sparta, where there were no Bacchic or Korybantic religious practices to contrast it, the aulos was associated with Apollo and used by soldiers in battle.

Depiction in art

The Chigi vase shows a scene where a musician plays an aulos to set a rhythmic beat for a group of soldiers called the hoplite phalanx as they move forward. This music helped keep the soldiers' formation strong and prevented gaps from forming. The musician, called an aulete, played an important role in keeping the group united. In this scene, the soldiers coming from the left are temporarily outnumbered 4 to 5. More soldiers are seen running to help them from behind. Even though the front group is missing one soldier, they have an advantage because the aulete's music helps the formation stay together.

An amphora made around 540–530 BC shows Herakles finishing his tenth task. On the neck of the amphora, musicians are playing in a line as part of a procession.

• Herakles tenth labor
• Neck of Herakles' tenth labor amphora
• Geryon side of Herakles' tenth labor
• Neck of Geryon side of Herakles' tenth labor amphora

Modern use and popular culture

The Ancient Instruments Sound/Timbre Reconstruction Application (ASTRA) project is recreating the sounds of the aulos using a method called physical modeling synthesis. This process is very complex, so the ASTRA project uses grid computing to model sounds on hundreds of computers across Europe at the same time.

The aulos is part of the Lost Sounds Orchestra, which includes other ancient instruments. ASTRA has recreated the sounds of these instruments, such as the epigonion, the salpinx, the barbiton, and the syrinx.

The aulos appeared in the 2009 movie Agora, where a character plays a solo in an amphitheater. It is also shown in the 2007 movie 300.

Some double flutes still exist in Southeastern Europe. In southern Albania, a double non-free aerophone called the cula diare or cyla dyjare is still played in the Labëria region to support Albanian iso-polyphony. Some people believe this instrument has a shared history with the aulos. These instruments are fipple flutes, not double-reeded like the aulos from ancient times.

Gallery

• Marble sculpture of an aulos player, Cycladic civilization, around 2600 BC.
• Attic red-figure column-krater attributed to the Hephaistos Painter, made between about 450 and 425 BCE. It shows a woman playing the aulos at a social event for two men with lyres. It is in the Eskenazi Museum of Art.
• Greek red-figure ceramic calyx crater from 440–430 BC. It depicts a girl dancing to the sound of an aulos.
• Iberian high-relief from 225–175 BCE in Osuna, a Greek settlement in the Iberian peninsula. It shows a woman playing the aulos. This is part of the Sculptures of Osuna.
• Aulos bodies made of bone. Located in the Archäologisches Museum Thessaloniki.
• A male figure playing the aulos. Found in the Southern theatre at Jerash.
• A woman playing the aulos. Found in the Southern theatre at Jerash.
• Hellenistic depiction of an aulos from Gandhara, 1st–3rd centuries BCE.
• Modern 19th-century artwork by Theodoros Rallis.