May 2, 2025 - Greece
Epidavros
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We left Mycenae, drove south almost back to Nafplio but then turned east for about 20 miles to Epidavros. Per Rick Steves, "This ancient site has an underwhelming museum, forgettable ruins .. and the most magnificent theater of the ancient world. It was built nearly 2,500 years ago to seat 15,000. Today it's kept busy reviving the greatest plays of antiquity."
Unlike Mycenae, this place can handle the crowds, with a huge parking lot, and a place to get food. We walked up the lane to the ticket desk, then it was a short walk to the theater. We went up some stairs and suddenly there it was! Impressive!
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"The Greeks invented modern theater.
In prehistoric times, songs, poems, and rituals were performed to honor Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry. By the sixth century BC, these fertility rites developed into song competitions between choruses of men who sang hymns about Dionysus, heroes, and gods. The contests were held at religious festivals as a form of worship.
Later, Athenian playwrights introduced spoken monologues that alternated with chorus' songs. Over time, these monologues became dialogues between several actors that became as important as the chorus. Plays evolved from Dionysian humns to stories of Dionysus to stories of all sorts -- myths of gods and heroes, and comedies about contemporary events.
Greek plays fall into three categories. Tragedies, the oldest and most prestigious, feature gods and legends -- and usually end with the hero dying. Comedies are satires about contemporary people and events. "Satyr plays" spoof the seriousness of tragedies.
Greek drama, like Greek art and philosophy, put human beings at center stage." ... Rick Steves
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Lynnette sits in the front-row, VIP seats!
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| The seats are made of limestone blocks. |
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| "For about seven centuries (300 BC - 400 AD) the theater at Epidavros hosted song contests and plays, until the Christian Emperor Theodosius II closed the sanctuary in the fifth century. Over time, the theater became buried in dirt, preserving it until it was unearthed in almost original condition in 1881. Today it is once again a working theater." ... Rick Steves |
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| Cutest couple at Epidavros! |
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| Second cutest couple. |
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The theater is in pretty good shape after 2,500 years, I must say.
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| Life will find a way, though. |
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Heading up to the top.
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Going for the high ground!
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Lynnette took this neat panorama shot of the theater. It really is in amazingly good condition after all these years.
The theater has long had a reputation for its exceptional acoustics, which reportedly allowed almost perfect intelligibility of unamplified spoken words from the proscenium or skene to all 15,000 spectators, regardless of their seating,
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| The circular area at center was for the orchestra, where the group of actors known as the chrous sang and danced. The stage is that rectangular area behind the chorus. Notice the background of olive gardens and scenic mountains. |
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| Lynnette carefully works her way back down. |
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As do Dave and I.
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Back at ground level.
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| Hail Dionysus, god of wine and theater! |
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| Enjoying the comedic entertainment. |
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| Group selfie! |
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"The entire site began as a temple to Apollo, god of light, who was worshipped here in Mycenaean times. By the fourth century BC, Apollo had been replaced by his son, Asklepios (who was said to have been born here). Because pilgrims prayed to Asklepios for health, a sanctuary was needed, with a temple, altars, and statues to the gods. The sanctuary reached the height of its popularity in the fourth and third centuries BC, when it boasted medical facilities, housing fo rthe sick, mineral baths, a stadium fo rathletic competitions, and a theater.
These days the famous theater is Epidavros' star attraction. It's the finest and best-preserved of all of Greece's ancient theaters -- and that's saying something in a country with 132 of them.
The once-great sanctuary is now little more than a lonely field of rubble." ... Rick Steves
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| Entrance to the museum. |
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| Basically, the museum consisted of this long room, with statues and sculptures -- recovered from the sanctuary ruinsC -- along the sides. |
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| The god Asklepios (son of Apollo) carrying a staff with a snake wound around it, the forerunner of today's medical symbol. The entire sanctuary was built so pilgrims could pray to Asklepios for their health. |
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Columsna dn cornice that were part of the sanctuary's impressive entryway.
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| Must have been quite something back in the day. |
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| I was fascinated with the Greek writing on this stone tablet. |
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| Statue of a Roman wearing his battle tunic. |
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We stopped at a food stand on our way to the parking lot for lunch. The food -- I think we had hot dogs -- was forgettable but not the cats.
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| The cats were friendly enough but mostly they were interested in the food. |
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"What are you looking at, stupid American tourist? Give me some more of that hot dog!"
Eventually a big dog ambled over and chased away all the cats.
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