Salpinx

A salpinx (/ˈsælpɪŋks/; plural salpinges /sælˈpɪndʒiːz/; Greek σαλπιγξ) was a trumpet-like instrument of the ancient Greeks.

The salpinx consisted of a straight, narrow bronze tube with a mouthpiece of bone and a bell (also constructed of bronze) of variable shape and size; extant descriptions describe conical, bulb-like, and spherical structures. Each type of bell may have had a unique effect on the sound made by the instrument. The instrument has been depicted in some classical era vases as employing the use of a phorbeia, similar to those used by aulos players of the era. Though similar to the Roman tuba, the salpinx was shorter than the approximately 1.5 meter long Roman tuba. A rare example of a salpinx, held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is unique in that it is constructed from thirteen sections of bone connected using tenons and sockets (with bronze ferrules) rather than the long, bronze tube described elsewhere. This salpinx is over 1.57 m long dwarfing the common salpinx which is estimated to have been around 0.8 – 1.20 m long.

The trumpet is found in many early civilizations and therefore makes it difficult to discern when and where the long, straight trumpet design found in the salpinx originated. References to the salpinx are found frequently in Greek literature and art. Early descriptions of the sound of the salpinx can be found in Homer’s Iliad (9th or 8th century BC), however, this Archaic reference is exceptional and frequent references are not found until the Classical period. Similar instruments can be found in Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, though the salpinx is most closely related to the Egyptian version. References to the salpinx in classical literature include mention of the instrument as tyrrhene a derivative of Tyrrhenoi, an exonym often employed by the Greeks as an allusion to the Etruscan people. Bronze instruments were important among the Etruscans and as a people they were held in high regard by the Greeks for their musical contributions. The salpinx as an Etruscan invention is thus supported by the Greeks and various descriptions can be found among the authors Aeschylus, Pollux, and Sophocles. It is likely that the salpinx was introduced to the Greeks in some way through the Etruscans, however, scattered references to the salpinx prior to Greek contact with the Etruscans, as well as the myriad salpinx type instruments described by Eustathius of Thessalonia, suggests some small level of uncertainty in regard to whether or not the instrument came to the Greeks directly from the Etruscans or through some intermediary source.

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