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Harmonia

To us the harmonia sounds strange as one of the four categories of the quadrivium, but in antiquity the harmonia was an important branch of science.

 

Experimental research and theory joined forces in this ancient discipline.

The ancient Greek scientists studied numbers and attributed special properties to them. All fun & abstract thinking, until numbers got discovered in the physical world.

 

The picture depicts a monochord. Let a string vibrate and listen to the sound. Now halve the length of the string, and let it vibrate again: the vibration frequency doubles. 1/3 of the string length triples the frequency ...

 

And suddenly the Greeks discovered numbers and ratios in nature!

This aulos, a 'double flute', is a reproduction of an archaeological find currently in the Louvre. In antiquity, the aulos was a widespread musical instrument. Does the following ancient prosaic wording sound like music in your ears?

 

One wind, two ships, ten sailors rowing, and one helmsman steering both.

This bronze statue of a Faun playing the aulos is based on a drawing found in Pompeii.

 

As the god of fertility and unbridled freedom, the birth of the flute was attributed to the Faun. In order to escape from the Faun, the nymph Syringe is said to have called upon the Naiads, who transformed her into marsh reeds. The Faun, listening to the wind blowing through the reeds, decided to build the instrument.