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An aulos (plural auloi; , plural αὐλοί αὐλός, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus) or tibia (Latin) was a wind instrument in ancient Greece, often depicted in art and also attested by archaeology.
Though the word aulos is often translated as "flute" or as "double flute", the instrument was usually double-reed, and its sound—described as "penetrating, insisting and exciting"—was more akin to that of modern woodwind instruments such as Oboe or bagpipes with a chanter and (modulated) drone.The History of Musical Instruments, Curt Sachs, 1940Arosemena-Ott, G. W. (2019). The aulos and tibia: Variation across the Ancient Mediterranean’s principal woodwind. Conservatory Students Academic Work. [2]
An aulete (αὐλητής, aulētēs) was the musician who performed on an aulos. The ancient Roman equivalent was the tibicen (plural tibicines), from the Latin tibia, "pipe, aulos." The neologism aulode is sometimes used by analogy with rhapsode and citharode (citharede) to refer to an aulos-player, who may also be called an aulist; however, aulode more commonly refers to a singer who sang the accompaniment to a piece played on the aulos.
Like the Great Highland Bagpipe, the aulos has been used for Military band, but it is more frequently depicted in other social settings.Herodotus, The Histories, 1.17.1, on Perseus A normal flute would produce insufficient volume to be of any use in military application, where a double-reed could be heard over larger distances, and over the clamour of marching whilst wearing armour. It was the standard accompaniment of the passionate elegiac poetry. It also accompanied physical activities such as wrestling matches, the broad jump, the discus throw and to mark the rowing cadence on , as well as sacrifices and dramas. Plato associates it with the ecstatic cults of Dionysus and the Korybantes, banning it from his Republic Rep 399d but permitting it in his Laws.
Players of the aulos used a tool known as the Phorbeia or the Capistrum. 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. It was used by ancient musicians to play the aulos by allowing them to create noise through circular breathing and steady the instrument. It may have also been used to prevent the reeds of the instrument from falling down the throat of the player. Another potential use for the phrobeia was holding the Lip in place, taking some strain off of the lip muscles. Although aristocrats with sufficient leisure sometimes practiced aulos-playing as they did the lyre, after the later fifth century the aulos became chiefly associated with professional musicians, often slaves. Nevertheless, such musicians could achieve fame. The Romano-Greek writer Lucian discusses aulos playing in his dialogue Harmonides, in which Alexander the Great's aulete Timotheus 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.
Marsyas's blood and the tears of the Muses formed the river Marsyas in Asia Minor.
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 a kithara 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 at Thebes, which was a center of aulos-playing. At Sparta—which had no Bacchic or Korybantic cults to serve as contrast—the aulos was actually associated with Apollo, and accompanied the hoplites into battle.
The aulos is part of the Lost Sounds Orchestra, alongside other ancient instruments which ASTRA have recreated the sounds of, including the epigonion, the salpinx, the barbiton and the syrinx.
The aulos was also featured in the 2009 movie Agora, wherein a character performs a solo in an amphitheatre. It is also visible in the 2007 movie 300.
Modern evolutions of the aulos exist in Southeastern Europe. In southern Albania, specifically, a double non-free aerophone resembling the aulos – called the cula diare or longari – is still played in the Labëria region to accompany Albanian iso-polyphony.Eno Koço, "Vocal Iso(n)", Art and Humanities Research Council (British Research Council), July 2012 These instruments are woodwind but not double-reeded like the aulos of antiquity.
File:Aulos female southern theatre Jerash.jpg|A woman playing aulos. Southern theatre at Jerash. File:Nereus Playing Flutes, 1st-3rd Cent. AD.jpg|Helenistic depiction of Aulos, from Gandhara, 1st-3rd centuries BCE.
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