Overview

The Routledge Handbook of Music and Dance Performances in the Ancient Mediterranean: An Interpretive Approach brings together research from the subdiscipline of archaeomusicology, or music archaeology, with new perspectives from art history, the archaeology of performance, and sensory studies, to provide a comprehensive overview of music and dance in the ancient Mediterranean world. Through an archaeological approach to performance that places musical and dance activities within an actual or symbolic space, the book utilizes the study of instruments and sound objects to provide a valuable investigation that can shed light on the ritual meaning and social function of sonic events, as well as on the role of musicians and dancers in antiquity Including Egypt, the Near East, Greece, Etruria, and Rome, this handbook emphasizes the evidence from material culture for both ritual and everyday contexts. Providing a useful reference for anyone coming to this field of research for the first time, this volume introduces the varied modes of inquiry that have directed the study of ancient music and dance, and offers new possibilities for future study.

Full Product Details

Author:   Angela Bellia ,  Clemente Marconi
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
ISBN:  

9781032118161

ISBN 10:   1032118164
Pages:   416
Publication Date:   29 May 2026
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Table of Contents

List of Figures Preface Notes on Contributors Abbreviations 1. Interpreting Music and Dance in the Ancient Mediterranean through Material Culture Angela Bellia and Clemente Marconi PART I: The Religious Sphere 2. Music and Dance Performances in Ancient Egyptian Temples Heidi Köpp-Junk 3. Location of Tableaux with Dance and Music Scenes in Egyptian Temple Architecture: Meaning and Significance? Batyah Schachter 4. Music in Early Mesopotamia Lorenzo Verderame 5. Musical within Festivals Sacrifices, and Processions, in Third- and Second- Millennium Mesopotamia: Insights from Three Remarkable Depictions Daniel Sánchez Muñoz 6. Phoenician-Punic Musical and Dance Performances: Instruments, Contexts, and Significance Meritxell Ferrer Martín and Mireia López-Bertran 7. Choral Dancing on Archaic Greek Sacred Architecture Clemente Marconi 8. Sacred Sounds and Ritual Movements in Greek Sacred Spaces Tyler Jo Smith 9. Instruments and Sound Tools in Sacred Contexts of the Ancient Greek World Sylvain Perrot 10. Musical and Dance Performances among Iberian and Celtiberian Communities Raquel Jaménez Pasalodos 11. Performances in Oriental Cults in Rome: Instruments and Sound Tools in Context Arnaud Saura-Ziegelmeyer PART II: The Sphere of Everyday Life 12. The Sound of Work: An Ancient Near Eastern Perspective Agnès Garcia-Ventura and Mireia López-Bertran 13. Musical and Choral Performances in the Human Cycle of Life: Infancy and Childhood, Wedding and Marriage, and Death in the Ancient Greek World Angela Bellia 14. Sounds, Songs and Ritualized Movements in Work, Hunting, and Travel Activities in the Ancient Greek World Fàbio Vergara Cerqueira 15. Musical and Choral Performances in Theater Spaces and Contexts Luigi Todisco 16. Musical and Dance Performances at the Banquet in Etruria Alessandro Naso 17. Musical and Choral Performances in Banqueting Halls in the Roman World: The Evidence of Material Culture Claudina Romero Mayorga PART III: The Funerary Sphere 18. Dancing with the Dead: Music and Performance in Ancient Near Eastern funerals Nicola Laneri 19. Musical Iconographies on Funerary Attic Vases Elvia Giudice 20. Musical and Dance Performances in the Funerary Spaces in Magna Graecia Fabien Bièvre-Perrin 21. Voice and Body, Emotion and Motion: Music and Dance at Roman Funerals Valerie M. Hope PART IV: Beyond the Ancient Mediterranean 22. Music and Dance Performances beyond the Ancient Mediterranean: A Global Perspective Lars-Christian Koch Index

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Author Information

Angela Bellia is Professor of Musicology and Music History at the University of Palermo. Currently, she is the Principal Investigator of the research project “Voicing Spaces,” supported by an Advanced Grant from the Italian Science Fund (FIS). Clemente Marconi is James R. McCredie Professor of Greek Art and Archaeology at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, and Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Milan.

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