Born in Kothreas in Kefalonia, Panagis Kavvadias was to be the archeologist who associated his name with the unveiling of one of the most important monuments in world culture. The ancient theater of Epidaurus. Kavvadias was born in 1850 and studied philology at the Kapodistrian University of Athens and archeology at the University of Munich on a scholarship. From 1879 he worked at Archeological Service, where he did important archeological and administrative work.
In 1881 he succeeded in obtaining from the Hellenic Archeological Society only 800 drachmas to begin excavations for the ancient theater of Epidaurus. This had already been preceded by a failed excavation by French archeologists, namely the French Archeological Scientific Committee of Morea, but the persistent and inept Kefalonian archeologist was determined to continue his research into the "archeological discovery of the century" with worthless finds.
Kavvadias was the one who, by systematically exploring the sanctuary of Asclepius, Mount Kynartio under a dense forest, would reveal the famous theater that was the work of Polykleitos. Built in the 4th century BC and expanded in the 2nd century, the theater had a capacity of 14,000 spectators and is now protected by UNESCO, as it is considered a true architectural landmark of great cultural and archeological importance. The shocking acoustics of the theater, especially for a space of this size, still impress today.
The archeologist, who had systematically read all the references of the ancient writers and especially from Pausanias, realized that the slope that formed a gentle hollow would hide the ancient theater underneath.
He uncovered all the important monuments in the area, although he was later accused of causing them considerable damage. But he was the one who uncovered the theater and provided for the first restorative interventions. A short time later, in 1885, he began work on the Acropolis, excavating it from one end to the other and founding the first Acropolis Museum, while many of his discoveries adorn the current new museum.
Kavvadias had a very difficult personality and was often accused of arrogance, for which he was expelled from the Archeological Society in 1909. As the journalist Vassilis Kavvathas wrote in his book "The Excavation in the Sanctuary. In the Court of Dreams and Miracles", how controversial he was is also evident from the diametrically opposed opinion that two professors had of him, whom the king at one point asked to speak about Kavvadias. One said: "He is the most eminent teacher in the world" while the other that he was a destroyer.
It is significant that in the archeological service he was called a tyrant, while in the years he remained in Greece he managed to make many fanatical enemies. So he was forced to go abroad again for a while, but later returned and continued both his work and his provocations. But it was this "tyrant" who instigated and introduced the first law "on antiquities", which secured the exclusive right of ownership of the state to all antiquities in Greece. He also introduced for the first time scholarships for archeological studies abroad. He also had great literary output. Finally, we should not forget his important discoveries in Kefalonia, but also the fact that many of the objects he found on the island where he was born were exhibited in the first archeological museum of Argostoli, founded by Germanos Calligas and merged with the Public Library of Kefallinia. Kavvadias, it is said, began to go mad towards the end of his life. He died on July 21, 1928.
