Christopher Nolan treats music as a key part of his storytelling, not just background noise. The ticking in Dunkirk, the powerful organ in Interstellar, and the way sound shapes time in Tenet all show how he uses music to drive the story.

For The Odyssey, Nolan and composer Ludwig Göransson took a different path. Instead of using the rich, sweeping orchestral sound often heard in Hollywood’s ancient world films, they built the score using reconstructed instruments, archaeological research, and performances based on history.

This makes the music a main way for the audience to feel part of Homer’s world, not just something playing in the background.

Matt Damon as Odysseus in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. Photo © Melinda Sue Gordon / Universal Studios

Breaking Away from Hollywood’s Ancient Greece

For more than 50 years, movies set in ‘Ancient Greece’ have used full symphony orchestras. Big strings, loud brass, and choirs have become the go-to sounds for showing epic heroism.

This style comes from 19th-century European Romantic music, not real ancient sounds. Movies like Troy, 300, and Alexander use music that feels familiar to us today. Instead of trying to bring back the sounds that might have been heard in Homer’s time, Nolan chose not to follow this usual approach.

Rather than asking Göransson to copy earlier epic films, Nolan wanted him to imagine what the ancient Mediterranean really sounded like. So, the score starts with instruments that go back thousands of years. This fits with Nolan’s usual focus on real, physical details in his movies, bringing that same sense of authenticity to the music. The score uses instruments that were played in the ancient Mediterranean, like the lyre, the aulos, bronze drums, and ceremonial gongs.

The lyre is especially important because it’s strongly linked to Ancient Greece. Myths tie it to Apollo, poetry, storytelling, and learning. Since Homer’s epics were first shared out loud, using the lyre brings us back to the story’s original roots.

The aulos is a double-reed wind instrument with a strong, almost human sound, very different from today’s flutes or oboes. Ancient writers linked it to rituals, battles, celebrations, and deep emotions, so it could express many different feelings.

Adding bronze drums and gongs brings a metallic sound that suggests ceremonies and conflict, giving the music textures you don’t often hear in regular film scores. Together, these sounds feel new but still easy to connect with.

Rather than showing a made-up version of the past shaped by old orchestral traditions, this soundtrack is based on real archaeological research.

Ancient Instruments, Contemporary Emotion

Just because a soundtrack is historically accurate doesn’t mean it will connect emotionally. A score made only with ancient instruments might interest historians but could leave most viewers cold. To solve this, the score mixes these old sounds with the modern voice of James Blake.

Blake’s personal, modern style helps listeners connect across thousands of years. His voice fits well with the ancient instruments, making the music feel unified and powerful.

This also reflects what Homer understood long ago: even though The Odyssey is from a very different world. The themes of wanting to go home, grief, loyalty, temptation, and finding yourself after loss, still matter today.

The music does two things at once: the ancient instruments remind us of the past, while Blake’s voice highlights the timeless human emotions in the story.

Music as World-Building

People usually talk about film music in terms of how it makes us feel, but one of its biggest roles is helping to build the world of the movie.

Like costumes, buildings, or camera work, music sets the scene and mood and often before anyone even speaks.

You can see this best in fantasy films. Howard Shore gave Middle Earth its own musical identity in The Lord of the Rings, and Hans Zimmer did something similar for Dune, creating sounds that feel like they come from far-off cultures.

Göransson is doing something similar, but instead of making up a new culture, he’s using one that really existed. The result is music that feels both ancient and surprisingly modern, drawing us into Homer’s world while still sounding fresh to today’s listeners.

Why Authenticity Matters

We don’t know exactly what Homer’s world sounded like, since only bits of ancient music survive and old ways of performing are lost. So, every note in the score is an educated guess. Being authentic in film isn’t about getting every historical detail right. It’s about creating a world that feels real enough for us to believe in.

This way of working matches Nolan’s usual style, which focuses on real effects, big film formats, and real locations to make things feel real. The score takes this idea into the music, using real instruments instead of the usual orchestra. Even if viewers don’t notice the historical details, the music helps them feel a stronger emotional connection to the film.

This score isn’t just the result of good research. It shows how much sound shapes our experience of a story, builds worlds, holds memories, and connects us across time. In The Odyssey, the music doesn’t just go along with Homer’s epic, it’s what makes the ancient world feel truly alive.

The Odyssey is screening in cinemas nationally.

Dr Alison Cole is a composer, sound designer and researcher based in Sydney, and a Lecturer in Composition for Creative Industries at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (University of Sydney).