Epidavros Brings Ancient Greece Back to Life

People wearing protective face masks make their way next to the Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis hill, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Athens, Greece, January 4, 2022. (Reuters)
People wearing protective face masks make their way next to the Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis hill, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Athens, Greece, January 4, 2022. (Reuters)
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Epidavros Brings Ancient Greece Back to Life

People wearing protective face masks make their way next to the Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis hill, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Athens, Greece, January 4, 2022. (Reuters)
People wearing protective face masks make their way next to the Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis hill, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Athens, Greece, January 4, 2022. (Reuters)

For nearly two millennia, the Little Theater of Epidavros lay underground, The Guardian reported. Its engraved seats, concentric and tiered, belonged to a world of roots; in this case the roots of an olive grove owned by Christos Zafiris, a local farmer.

“They say that had it not been for pigs digging at the soil, we might never have known of its existence. Until the appearance of the stones in 1970, the theater was a secret hidden under the earth for 18 centuries,” says Prof Vassilis Lambrinoudakis.

The classical archaeologist, renowned for his work at Athens University, has spent more than four decades ensuring the chance find would not go to waste. Excavations have not disappointed. Inscriptions discovered at the site, on the slopes of a peninsula overlooking the sea, have shed light on the history of those who may have commissioned the theater. Evidence of multiple phases of construction, starting in the mid-fourth century BC, have further illuminated the ancient city of Epidavros that once surrounded the architectural gem.

For those who flock to the resurrected theater’s festival every July, the venue, roughly 95 miles south-west of Athens, rivals its slightly younger but much more famous sister, the 12,000-seat ancient playhouse barely 10 miles away long regarded as Greece’s best theater acoustically and aesthetically.

“It’s among our top 10 20th century finds. More than any other remnant of the past, ancient theaters speak to us. They contain a message of life that modern society has a thirst to share. It is our duty to bring them alive,” says Lambrinoudakis, a sprightly octogenarian pointing to the Little Theater’s upper tiers.

In a country as culturally rich as Greece, ancient arenas, like other antiquities, are no stranger to abandonment and decay. Overstretched budgets, an unwieldy bureaucracy and public oversight have all been blamed for ruins falling victim to the ravages of neglect and time. But officials are now on a mission to revive the monuments. And, with the aid of private sponsorship and EU funds, headway is being made.



Egypt, Greece Agree to Protect Status of Mount Sinai Monastery

A general view of St. Catherine's Monastery in South Sinai, Egypt, March 7, 2019. Picture taken March 7, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
A general view of St. Catherine's Monastery in South Sinai, Egypt, March 7, 2019. Picture taken March 7, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
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Egypt, Greece Agree to Protect Status of Mount Sinai Monastery

A general view of St. Catherine's Monastery in South Sinai, Egypt, March 7, 2019. Picture taken March 7, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
A general view of St. Catherine's Monastery in South Sinai, Egypt, March 7, 2019. Picture taken March 7, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo

Greece and Egypt have agreed to safeguard the status of one of the world's oldest sites of Christian worship, foreign ministers of both countries said late on Wednesday, after an Egyptian court ruling last week cast uncertainty over its future.

The St Catherine's Monastery, at the foot of Egypt's Mount Sinai, was founded in the 6th century and is the oldest Christian monastery still in use for its original function, says UNESCO, which has listed the area as a World Heritage site, Reuters reported.

Revered by Christians, Muslims and Jews, the monastery is at the site where by Biblical tradition Moses received the Ten Commandments.

But last week, an Egyptian court ruling seen by Reuters ordered Orthodox monks to vacate several plots of land that the monks have used for years, including vineyards and gardens adjacent to the monastery compound, on the grounds that they were illegally sequestered, prompting a diplomatic flurry between Cairo and Athens over the site's status.

"We agreed in the immediate future to work towards safeguarding the rights of the monastery, as well as its legal status," Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said after meeting his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty in Cairo.

"Both Egypt and Greece intend to move forward based on the long-standing tradition and the already established status of an emblematic monastery for its Greek Orthodox character of worship".

Abdelatty said that the ruling preserves the monastery’s profound spiritual value and religious standing, and confirmed that the monks would continue to have access to and use of the monastery and its religious and historical sites, according to a foreign ministry statement. With a long history of diplomatic ties, Greece and Egypt have deepened cooperation in recent years.

St Catherine's is a sprawling complex, and according to tradition it was built around a burning bush where God was said to have spoken to Moses as described in the Book of Exodus. Its library is one of the most extensive worldwide, containing some of the world's earliest Christian manuscripts.