Close encounter with an ancient Water Organ

Several years ago, I was browsing through the Archaeological Museum of Dion after exploring the nearby Macedonian sanctuary and Roman city. It is a lovely little museum but what truly impressed me was the water organ that stood on the first floor and was visited by only a handful of tourists. It was so recognizable as an organ that I even suspected that this reconstruction could be too far away from reality.

 

During excavations outside the beautiful Villa of Dionysus at Dion in 1992, archaeologists discovered a row of pipes together with large copper slabs bearing the imprints of pipes. After further examination in the on-site laboratory, they established that these pipes belonged to a water organ. It turns out to be the oldest surviving musical instrument of its kind, and it has been dated to the 1st century BC, making it 2,200 years old!

 

The ancient Greeks called it a ‘hydraulis,’ which first appeared in Alexandria. The first ‘hydraulis’ was built by Ctesibius and operated by compressed air channeled through a container of water to equalize the pressure. A row of pipes of different lengths produced the sound, and a polyphonic effect could be obtained by adding more pipes. What an invention! 

The arrival of the water organ was received with great success because of its powerful and pleasant sound, making it a favorite instrument in theaters, hippodromes, and other public gatherings. Eventually, it entered the Roman Imperial court. The Byzantines improved the organ and made it work without using water. The amazing fact is that this ‘hydraulis’ has been the ancestor of our church organs since the Middle Ages. 

Ancient music, more specifically Greek music, is an intriguing subject I tackled in earlier blogs (see: Reconstructing ancient music, an impossible task? and An insight into Ancient Greek Music). The history of this ‘hydraulis’ is another exciting contribution to this chapter.

 

The good news is that we will be able to listen to ancient Greek water-organ music at a live event - that is if you have the opportunity to travel to Athens this summer. The Acropolis Museum is organizing a free concert with quite an interesting program entitled "An introduction to the history of the ‘hydraulis’ and the discovery of the elements in Dion", given by Professor Pandermalis. 

[Reconstruction as shown in the Greek Reporter]

After that, the audience will be treated to a virtuoso recital on the ‘hydraulis” by the famous Greek organist, Ourania Gassiou. The concert will end with a special harp recital by harpist Thodoris Matoulas.