History of Primitive and Non-Western Trumpets - Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece

The war-trumpet used by the ancient Greeks was called the salpinx, and was probably adapted from the Egyptian sheneb. There is a fine example on display in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts; the tube of this particular salpinx is 157 cm long and consists of thirteen cylindrical parts made of ivory; the instrument’s bell and mouthpiece are both made of bronze, as are the rings used to hold the ivory sections together; the instrument is thought to date from the second half of the 5th century BCE. The Greek playwright Aeschylus described the sound of the salpinx as “shattering”; the word salpinx is thought to mean “thunderer”.

At the Olympic Games, contests of trumpet playing were introduced for the first time in 396 BCE. These contests were judged not by the participants’ musical skill but by the volume of sound they generated! Among the more famous trumpeters who participated in the games was Achias, who was awarded first prize on three occasions and in whose honour a column was erected. Another famous contestant was Herodorus of Megas, a man of immense stature, whose playing was so loud that audiences were allegedly concussed by his performances. By winning the trumpet contest at Olympia, a trumpeter was authorized to perform at the hippodrome and to introduce the athletes for the remainder of the games.

On a painted ceramic knee guard dating from c. 500 BCE, a salpinx call is recorded using the Greek syllables TOTH TOTOTE. This is the earliest example of trumpet notation anywhere in the world.