The _barbitos_ was likewise a stringed instrument of this kind. The
_sambyke_ is traditionally said to have been invented by Ibykos, about
560 B.C. The _simikon_ had thirty-five strings, and derived its name
from its inventor, Simos, who lived about 600 B.C. It was perhaps a
kind of dulcimer. The _nabla_ had ten, or according to Josephus,
twelve strings, and probably resembled the _nevel_ of the Hebrews, of
which but little is known with certainty. The _pandoura_ is supposed
to have been a kind of lute with three strings. Several of the
instruments just noticed were used in Greece, chiefly by musicians who
had immigrated from Asia; they can therefore hardly be considered as
national musical instruments of the Greeks. The _monochord_ had (as
its name implies) only a single string, and was used as a tuning
string.
The _aulos_, of which there were many varieties, was a highly popular
instrument, and differed in construction from the flutes and pipes of
the ancient Egyptians. Instead of being blown through a hole at the
side near the top it was held like a flageolet, and a vibrating reed
was inserted into the mouth-piece, so that it might be more properly
described as a kind of oboe or clarinet. The Greeks were accustomed to
designate by the name of _aulos_ all wind instruments of the flute and
oboe kind, some of which were constructed like the flageolet or like
our antiquated _flûte à bec_. The single flute was called _monaulos_
(Fig. 7), and the double one _diaulos_ (Fig. 8). A _diaulos_, which
was found in a tomb at Athens, is in the British Museum. The wood of
which it is made seems to be cedar, and the tubes are fifteen inches
in length. Each tube has a separate mouth-piece and six finger-holes,
five of which are at the upper side and one is underneath.
[Illustration: FIG. 8.――A Muse playing the DIAULOS.]
The _syrinx_, or Pandean pipe, had from three to nine tubes, but seven
was the usual number. The straight trumpet, _salpinx_, and the curved
horn, _keras_, made of brass, were used exclusively in war. The small
hand-drum, called _tympanon_, resembled in shape our tambourine, and
was covered with parchment at the back as well as at the front. The
_kymbala_ were made of metal, and resembled our small cymbals. The
_krotala_ were almost identical with our castanets, and were made of
wood or metal.
THE ETRUSCANS AND ROMANS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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