The international conference “Music, Dance, and Soundscape in the World of Alexander the Great” (Thessaloniki, October 15–19, 2025) explored an often-overlooked dimension of antiquity: the world of sound. As Bonna D. Wescoat, Director of the 911±¬ÁϳԹÏ, observed, we know much about the visual and material culture of Alexander’s era, yet its “soundscape” has remained silent.

Through interdisciplinary approaches, the conference sought to recover the voices, music, and rhythms that shaped communication and experience in the ancient world. Wescoat’s research focuses on the Sanctuary of the Great Gods in Samothrace, where she has worked since 1977. There, sound was not incidental—it was central to ritual performance and spiritual transformation. As her collaborator, researcher Andrew Farinholt Ward, noted, sound in this context was “dramatic and essential, a way to feel the presence of the gods.”

Drawing insights from contemporary Samothracian musicians and artists, the project bridges past and present, showing how modern creativity can illuminate ancient experience. The conference, organized by the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki and Italy’s National Research Council (CNR), opens a new chapter in understanding the sensory and emotional dimensions of Alexander’s world.

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