Classical Wisdom Litterae - March 2020

Pictured left is a lituus , or hooked trumpet. It’s a long, slender tube curved upwards at the end to form a bell and produced a shrieking sound. Similar to a French horn, the cornu , or curved trumpet, was slender and conical and sat over the shoulder. It was played in infantry bands, at funerals, bacchanals and circus plays. Its s ound wa s a t h r e a t en i ng rumble. The Roman army also had a short circular cornu variety. Among the most impressive is the hydraulis , or water organ. Ktesibios (c285 - c222 BCE) invented the hydraulis in the 3rd Century BCE in Alexandria. His invention supplied wind pressure not by a bellows but with a water compressor and pistons. His pipes were played by a simple keyboard. Hydraulic pumps were worked by men on either s i d e o f t h e w a t e r t a n k mechanism which was housed in a waist-high box ( pnigeus ) the player stood in front of. This area also held the 24-key keyboard. These 24 keys were connected to 24 bronze valves that opened and closed on 24 upright pipes of differing lengths to elicit two complete octaves of musical notes. The hydraulis was known in the Roman Circus and in the later Christian epoch of the Empire. With its loud penetrating tone, it’s a forerunner of the church organ in sound as well as in sight. Cleverly, with this invention, Ktesibios was able to extend the range of the humble aulos to offer together with the Lydian and Phrygian modes, the Hyperlydian, Hyperiastian, Hypolydian and Hypophrygian and save the musician his or her breath! With that, we have come full circle: a mathematician (Pythagoras) started Greek invention in music by expressing the nature of music in terms of notes and modes/tonalities. It is fitting that it’s most inspired revelation was the invention of an organ by a physicist and engineer near to the end of the Greek period. For, in Ancient Greece and Rome, music was never just in the realm of art but touched on science, philosophy, religion and mathematics as well. The Zliten mosaic featuring Salpinx, Hydraulis and Cornu players Salpinx in front of Hydraulis, 1st Century BCE XLIX