Exploring the Interaction Between Architecture, Music, and Dance in Antiquity: Issues, Approaches, and New Directions in Research

Although research on musical and choreutic performances in the ancient world is growing, the interaction between these activities and the architectural structures that hosted them has hitherto been little investigated. This chapter addresses this lacuna, arguing for the importance of an integrated archaeological approach to understanding how ancient architecture functioned as a performative stage and how performance, in turn, shaped the design, function, and lived experience of built spaces. An interdisciplinary methodology is presented, combining archaeological analysis (spatial, architectural, contextual) with the critical study of iconographic and textual sources, introducing the key concepts of soundscape and dancescape to explore the multisensory and embodied experience of ancient spaces. Several key contexts are analysed – sacred (sanctuaries, temples, altars, wells, steps), public (agoras, processional ways), and funerary (tombs) – illustrating how architecture provided frames and focal points for sound and movement. Furthermore, the active role of performance in the sacralization of spaces is discussed, through cyclical repetition, ritualised movement, and the creation of specific cultic soundmarks, processes fundamental to the construction of collective memory and community identity. Finally, future directions for research are outlined, advocating for greater integration of digital methods, experimental archaeology, and comparative analysis to deepen our understanding of this dynamic interaction.