Hi, thanks for tuning in to ancient Greece Declassified.

Episode 58, ancient Greek music.

What did music sound like two and a half thousand years ago?

Well, for most ancient civilizations, it's exceedingly difficult to say.

But in the case of Greece, we have some striking and intriguing evidence.

Interestingly, much of this evidence comes to us in the surviving ancient theater plays.

And yes, I mean like Greek tragedies and comedies, which were elaborate musical productions,

more akin to modern operas or musicals than to what we think of as normal theater plays.

Another fun fact about ancient music is that the theatrical stage was the birthplace of the celebrity singer. It was the architectural innovation of a space with massive seating capacity and incredible acoustics that enabled the rise of the superstar vocalist.

The first time in history when one person sang a song that enthralled over 10,000 spectators

was on the Athenian stage, probably during a play by Euripides.

So what does the evidence tell us about what ancient and Greek music sounded like,

and how exactly did the theater change music history forever?

That's what we're going to find out today.

Our guest today is Claire Katanaccio, an assistant professor of classics at Georgetown University,

who specializes in the study of ancient drama and its modern reception.

Her new book, Monody in Euripides, explores Monody, namely solo actor's song, in the tragedies of Euripides.

And her scholarship is informed by her experience as a director and historical consultant in many modern productions of ancient Greek theater plays. Claire Catanachio,

welcome to ancient Greece to classify. Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.

I want to start by asking you what does or what did ancient Greek music sound like and how can

one even begin to investigate such a question? So I'd like to answer that with an analogy based on modern American music, since most

people are more familiar with that.

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