Epidaurus

The Sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus was where ancient Greeks went to heal their bodies and minds. It was the original health and wellness resort, with a temple, a guest house, a banquet hall, and a gymnasium. There was also a huge theater, since drama was believed to be beneficial for physical and mental health. Today, the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus (or as the locals call it, Epidavros) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We walked along a wide shady path and climbed a series of steps. Then the theater came into view. WOW! It was truly awesome to behold, with elegant and enormous proportions. The stage was a large circle of packed earth. Around the stage, the circular amphitheater had been carved Into the hillside, with seats of carved limestone. There were 55 rows, enough to seat an audience of 14,000!

I had fun taking a little selfie video from the center of the stage. The theater had such wonderful symmetry.

We walked up the stone steps on one side to the very top, and then walked across to the other side. From up here, we could see how the lush trees provided a beautiful, natural backdrop for the stage.

The most remarkable thing about the theater was the perfect acoustics. A young man recited something dramatic while standing in the center of the stage, and up in the last row, 190 feet away, we could hear every word. We couldn’t understand him, as he was speaking Greek (I think), but we definitely could hear him. Wow!

A small museum housed artifacts found at the site. There were headless and limbless statues of Greek gods and other notable figures. The more significant statues were replicas, as the originals are at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. There were also fragments from temples dedicated to Asclepius, the god of medicine, and Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, who was knowledgeable about medicinal herbs.

We didn’t visit the other parts of the Sanctuary of Asclepius, but we could see these columns in the distance.

How did the Greeks achieve such perfect acoustics 2,400 years ago? And why don’t modern theaters, many of which were modeled after this one, have the same marvelous sound? Amazingly, the Ancient Theatre at Epidaurus is still used for live performances today, with no artificial sound amplification needed. Again, WOW!