Novel soundscapes from imperial Greece to the modern stage

This paper explores the presence and role of sound in the interpretation of the ancient Greek novel.

While scholarship has focused largely on vision, narrative perspective, and space, the sonic dimension of these texts (voices, song, music, and environmental sound) remains comparatively unexplored. Yet these narratives are filled with moments in which listening shapes how characters perceive their surroundings, respond emotionally, and interact with others.

Using selected examples from imperial Greek fiction, the paper considers how attention to sound may open new perspectives on voice, gender, and the relationship between human and more-than-human actors within the narrative world. The discussion also turns briefly to the afterlife of these novelistic soundscapes on the modern stage, particularly in musical adaptations such as Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé.

By bringing ancient narrative acoustics into dialogue with modern musical performance, the paper reflects more broadly on how the imaginative soundscapes of Greek fiction have continued to resonate within later European artistic traditions.