You re not simply going to stay with us, you will spend some time just by one of the most important cultural sites of the world: The Ancient Theater of Epidavros
Did you know? The art of theatre was born in Ancient Greece. People used to rush to theatres, theatrical authors (named poets) were enjoying great respect and it was a great honour to be nominated as a sponsor for a theatrical performance!
It was long long ago when people used to present theatrical acts, in form of rituals in honour to Dionysus, the God of passion, which acts later got the form of Ancient Drama. These acts always had a religious, mystic and sacred character, and that way followed the Ancient Drama too: each performance never aimed to solely amusing or entertaining the audience, rather was it a sophisticated tribute to human and divine virtues and values: Gods and mortals, heroes and mythical figures met together in the context of a known myth or a story, victims of fate or passion, bearing the consequences of trespassing the boundaries of ethics, punished for being arrogant or unjust, seeking for redemption... Ancient drama was a form of mass education, and thats why the theatrical performances were called 'didaskaliae' (meaning teaching).
In classical times, drama festivals and contests were held all over Greece during the celebrations in honour of Dionysus. Open air theatres were built to accommodate these festivals, and great authors like Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes presented their plays there. In the medieval times, theatre was banned as a devilish act and the once full of spectators theatres were abandoned and ruined, but, surprisingly, a large number of ancient drama scripts were rescued till today.
The theatre of Epidavros was one of the largest and most important ancient theatres. It is still a marvel of design, construction and acoustics. Completely lost until the end of the 19 century, buried under ground, was accidentally discovered by Archaeologist Panagiotis Kavadias, excavated, completely exposed and restored in the early years of the 20th century.
It was till Sunday, September 11 1938 that the theater remained silent. On that day, a group of actors led by the great Greek director Panagiotis Rontiris gave the first performance after centuries. It was 'Electra' by Euripides, with Katina Paxinou, a prominent Greek actress in the leading role. This performance was given just as in the old times: no artificial lighting, no sound equipment, no scenery on stage, words in ancient greek language. It was the first attempt to revive the Ancient Theater and the Ancient drama as well.
In 1954 the Epidavros Theatrical Festival was officially established. From this year on and each summer the theatre became home to great actors from all over the world and hosted some of the most important cultural performances worldwide. From Katina Paxinou to Damme Hellen Mirren, from Alexis Minotis to Kevin Spacey, from Mikis Theodorakis and Manos Chatzidakis to Maria Kallas, from Dimitris Rontiris and Karolos Kuhn to Peter Stein and Matthias Langhoff, a great number of artists enjoyed the privilege and honour of performing at the Ancient Theater of Epidavros, regarded as the ultimate achievement of an actor.
Nowadays, the Theatrical festival takes place during the summer moths of July and August. The open air performances are given on Friday and Saturday evenings from 21:00. Being here and not visiting the theatre or watching a performance, is something you must not allow happen!
The small theatre of Ancient Epidavros, is located in the seaside village of Palia Epidavros. Until recently, it was burried under ground, but now it has been excavated and partially renovater. Each July, it hosts mostly musical and theatrical performances, in a beautiful and nostalgic scenery.
You will probably never forgive yourself if it happens that you are around and miss the chance to watch a performance in the Ancient Theatre.
If you re into getting there, you should book your tickets as soon as possible.. It may be that the theatre can host at about 13000 spectators (yes, that many), but sometimes all tickets get sold out!
The same applies to the performances being given at the Small Theater of Ancient Epidavros, as it can host only a few hundreds of people.
But you dont have to worry! We can arrange it for you! Just let us know and we 'll be glad to help you live an unforgettable experience!
