The Broken Aulos: Symbol of Lost Art and Sacrifice in Glorious Exploits
What Is the Aulos?
In ancient Greek theatre, the aulos was a double-reed wind instrument, often played to accompany choral odes and dramatic scenes. In Ferdia Lennon’s novel Glorious Exploits, the aulos first appears in Chapter 22 as the weathered instrument of an elderly musician named Alcar. The paint on the pipes is chipped and worn, and the gnarled wood shares the same leather-brown hue as the old man’s hand, as if it were an extension of his body. This physical description immediately connects the aulos to age, wear, and the trials of survival—qualities that will define its symbolic journey.
The Aulos in the Quarry Performances
Alcar is hired to provide music for the makeshift performances of Euripides’ plays staged in the Syracusan quarry. The narrator, Lampo, notes that a chorus more than any other element needs music to come alive. Alcar’s aulos fills that gap, giving the Athenian prisoners and the local children a haunting accompaniment that elevates the raw, desperate drama. At this stage, the aulos symbolizes the fragile attempt to bring authentic art into a brutal environment—a spark of beauty amid starvation and captivity. It represents the commitment of Gelon and Lampo to treat the prisoners not merely as enemies but as fellow participants in a shared cultural heritage.
The Breaking of the Aulos: Sacrifice and Loss
The turning point for the symbol occurs during the final performance of The Trojan Women in Chapter 24. Syracusan men, led by Biton, storm the quarry stage and club the actor Numa to death. In the ensuing chaos, Alcar and another chorus member, Linar, sacrifice themselves to save Lampo. After the attack, Lampo retrieves Alcar’s broken aulos. The instrument is now shattered—both physically and symbolically. It embodies the destruction of art by violence, the silencing of a musician who gave his life for the production, and the profound loss felt by the survivors. The broken aulos becomes a relic of sacrifice: a tangible reminder that war crushes even the most dedicated attempts at beauty.
Repurposing the Aulos: Tool of Survival
Yet the aulos does not remain merely a relic. In Chapter 28, while attempting to rescue the Athenian general Paches from the quarry, Lampo reaches into his pocket and finds Alcar’s aulos. He blows into the pipe, producing a screeching whistle that will guide Paches to the escape point. The melody is long gone; what remains is a raw, functional noise. In this moment, the instrument is repurposed from a tool of art into a tool of survival. It bridges the gap between theatre and real-life rescue, showing that the remnants of creative expression can still serve life-saving purposes. The aulos’s meaning shifts from aesthetic beauty to pragmatic hope, echoing the novel’s larger theme of theatre as survival.
The Aulos in Old Age: Memorial and Continuity
Years later, in the novel’s final chapter (Chapter 32), an elderly Lampo is shown tending Gelon’s grave on the heights of Epipolae. He sometimes plays the aulos there. The instrument, once broken and repurposed, now becomes a medium of memory and mourning. Playing it connects Lampo to Alcar, to Gelon, to the quarry productions, and to all the dead friends he has outlived. The aulos’s sound—even if rough or imperfect—serves as a personal ritual of grief and reconciliation. It no longer needs to accompany a formal play; the act of playing itself is a testament that art, though fragile, can endure beyond war and loss.
Character Connections
- Alcar: The original owner of the aulos. He is introduced as a quiet, weathered musician who humbly offers his skill. His death while protecting Lampo makes him a martyr for art and friendship. The aulos is his legacy.
- Lampo: Inherits the aulos and uses it in three distinct ways—first as a memento, then as a signaling device, finally as a memorial instrument. His relationship with the aulos mirrors his own growth from impulsive potter to reflective caretaker of memory. See the full Lampo character page.
- Gelon: Although not a direct player of the aulos, Gelon is the visionary who insisted on proper music for the quarry productions. His commitment to art gives the aulos its initial purpose. The fact that Lampo plays it at Gelon’s grave cements their shared devotion to theatre. Visit Gelon’s character page.
Theme Connections
- Theatre as Survival: The aulos is integral to the quarry productions that keep the prisoners’ spirits alive. Later, Lampo’s whistle directly enables a prisoner’s escape, literalizing the idea that art can save lives. Explore the theatre as survival theme.
- Empathy Across Enemy Lines: The aulos helps create a shared emotional experience between Syracusan audiences and Athenian captives. It is a sound that transcends enmity. Read about empathy across enemy lines.
- Art vs Violence: The breaking of the aulos during the mob attack illustrates how violence shatters art. Yet the instrument’s subsequent reuse shows that art’s fragments can still resist brutality. More on art vs violence.
- Grief and Reconciliation: In his old age, Lampo uses the aulos to mourn Gelon and the lost Athenians. The instrument becomes a tool for processing sorrow and preserving bonds across death. For deeper analysis, see grief and reconciliation and class and friendship.
Study Questions and Answers
1. How does the aulos’s condition change throughout the novel, and what does each stage symbolize?
Initially, the aulos is old but functional—chipped paint and worn wood reflect the survival of art through hardship. During the attack, it is broken, symbolizing the violent rupture that war inflicts on creative expression. Later, Lampo uses the shattered instrument to produce a whistling signal, repurposing it as a tool for rescue: art adapts to serve life. In the final chapter, the aulos is played again at Gelon’s grave; its continued use, despite being broken, symbolizes the persistence of memory and the enduring power of artistic ritual.
2. What does Alcar’s sacrifice with the aulos reveal about the value of art in wartime?
Alcar dies while trying to protect Lampo during the quarry massacre. His aulos, which he had used to bring music to the prisoners, becomes a relic of that sacrifice. Alcar’s death shows that creating art in wartime can be an act of profound courage—one that may cost the artist everything. The value of art is not diminished by its fragility; rather, its creation becomes an assertion of humanity against the dehumanization of conflict. Alcar’s broken aulos stands as a testament that beauty and violence can coexist, and that the artist’s gift may outlast their own life.
3. In what way does Lampo’s use of the broken aulos to signal Paches invert the original purpose of the instrument?
The aulos was designed to produce melodic, structured music for theatrical performances. When Lampo blows into the broken pipe, the result is a “screeching whistle”—noise rather than melody. Instead of accompanying a staged drama, it now functions as a practical signal to guide an escaping prisoner. This inversion underscores the novel’s theme that art can be repurposed in extreme circumstances: the same object that once served beauty now serves survival. Yet the very act of using the instrument keeps its essence alive, suggesting that utility does not erase symbolic meaning.
4. How does the final image of Lampo playing the aulos at Gelon’s grave tie together the novel’s themes of art, grief, and memory?
Old Lampo, who never learned to read or write, uses the aulos to maintain a connection with his dead friend Gelon. The grave is on Epipolae, overlooking the city, and the music is likely rough and imperfect—a far cry from the quarry performances. Yet the act of playing enacts a personal ritual of mourning. The aulos becomes a bridge between past and present, between the vibrant theatre they created and the quiet solitude of old age. It affirms that art—even in broken, private form—can carry the weight of memory and serve as a means of reconciling with loss. This final image crystallizes the aulos as a symbol of enduring creative expression amid the wreckage of war and friendship.