The Greeks honored Zeus with performances and games, the Romans turned it into an arena with beasts

The Ancient Theater of Dodoni is located 22 km from the city of Ioannina. Its construction was connected with the performance of the temples, which were games in honor of Zeus. In the Roman period, the theater was transformed into an arena for gladiators and animal fights and duels. It is estimated that it was built in the 3rd century BC, during the reign of Pyrrhus in Epirus. Restoration work after disasters began in 1875 and continues to this day. It is one of the largest ancient theaters in Greece, as its capacity reaches 17,000 spectators. The hollow of the theater was placed at the foot of Mount Tomaros to take advantage of the natural slope of the ground and the basic building material used was limestone.

The ancient theater was an integral part of the sanctuary of Ancient Dodoni, which was a center of worship of the god Zeus and the oldest oracle in Greece from 2,600 BC. According to mythology, the election of Dodoni originated with two doves that flew from Thebes, Egypt. One landed in Libya, where the temple of Ammon Zeus was built, and the other in Dodoni, where the oracle was built.

During the reign of Pyrrhus, the Naia were held in the Ancient Theater in honor of Zeus at Dodoni. The Naia was an event similar to the Olympic Games. It was held every 4 years and participants took part in athletic, equestrian and dramatic competitions. Competitions included wrestling, jumping, pancratium, javelin throwing, and pentathlon, while equestrians competed with their horses or carriages with two or four horses. Tragedies and comedies were performed at the dramatic games.

From a center of worship, the theater was transformed in Roman times into an arena of beastly fighting. The first rows of seats were removed and a wall 2.80 meters high was built to protect the audience from the beasts. The backstage was converted into animal shelters, while a shelter for the fighters was built in the middle of the arena walls.

The first attempts to excavate the archeological site of Dodoni began in 1875 by archeologist K. Karapanos. In 1929, the work was continued by the archeology professor D. Evangelidis and his collaborator S. Dakaris, who continued their excavation activity after the Second World War and contributed to the restoration of the theater. In August 1960 it received an audience and the first performance in modern times was staged. In the same year, the fall of an orthostasis led to the prohibition of both performances and general admission of visitors. Today, performances are held in the theater from time to time and the archeological site of Dodoni can also be visited.

The ancient theater of Dodoni, seen from above. In the years of Augustus the theater was transformed into an arena for beast fights and duels. To protect the spectators, a wall was built in the lower part, separating the foreground and the stage.

The ancient theater of Dodoni hosted the spectators for the first time in its modern era in August 1960. The first play performed in the "modern" ancient theater was "Electra" by Sophocles.

Watch the video for the Ancient Theater of Dodoni with a drone flight by Epirustravel eu - Drone Flights below