Similar instruments can be found in Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, though the salpinx is most closely related to the Egyptian version. 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. References to the salpinx are found frequently in Greek literature and art. 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. Origin Greek drinking bowl, circa 500 B.C., showing a warrior sounding a salpinx 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. 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. Though similar to the Roman tuba, the salpinx was shorter than the approximately 1.5 meter long Roman tuba. 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. Each type of bell may have had a unique effect on the sound made by the instrument. 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. Terracotta figurine made in Alexandria, 1st century BC Greek warrior blowing a salpinxĪ salpinx ( / ˈ s æ l p ɪ ŋ k s/ plural salpinges / s æ l ˈ p ɪ n dʒ iː z/ Greek σαλπιγξ) was a trumpet-like instrument of the ancient Greeks. Musicians playing the salpinx (trumpet) and the hydraulis (water organ). For anatomical references, see salpinx in anatomy.

This article is about the musical instrument.

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