Aulos – double pipe playing.

Aulos – for work and play.

The aulos was a double-pipe played in ancient Greece and which features on a number of vases. The aulos was used for entertainment but also possibly to keep marching hoplites in step. In the below two images this is shown, the second image shows the aulos player to the rear of the army (on the left).

A woman plays the aulos (circa 480 BC). © Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY 2.5
A detail from the Chigi vase (circa 650 BC).

A channel on Youtube (Aulos Collective) features some performances with this instrument. Here’s an example:

 

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