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.



Rains from Typhoon Wipha Batter Hong Kong as it Heads for Mainland China

Collapsed bamboo scaffolds of a residential building are seen as Typhoon Wipha approaches, in Hong Kong, China, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Collapsed bamboo scaffolds of a residential building are seen as Typhoon Wipha approaches, in Hong Kong, China, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
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Rains from Typhoon Wipha Batter Hong Kong as it Heads for Mainland China

Collapsed bamboo scaffolds of a residential building are seen as Typhoon Wipha approaches, in Hong Kong, China, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Collapsed bamboo scaffolds of a residential building are seen as Typhoon Wipha approaches, in Hong Kong, China, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Rain pounded Hong Kong on Sunday as Typhoon Wipha skirted southwards, packing winds exceeding 167 kph (103 mph), disrupting 400 flights and public transport, felling hundreds of trees, and damaging a construction site.

Just after 4 p.m. on Sunday, weather authorities lowered the typhoon signal in the Asian financial hub to 8 from the maximum of 10, which had been hoisted for nearly seven hours, while more than 110 mm (4 inches) of rain fell within three hours.

Much of the rain concentrated on the northern region neighbouring the mainland, the city's observatory said, warning of more to come.

In a statement, the government said 26 people sought treatment in public hospitals, while 253 flocked to its shelters, and 471 fallen trees were reported, Reuters reported.

In North Point near the city's harbour, large swathes of scaffolding were swept off a residential building and onto the road.

As Wipha tracks westward across the South China Sea it is expected to make landfall later on Sunday between Zhuhai and Zhanjiang in the southern province of Guangdong, state-run broadcaster CCTV said.

Authorities in neighbouring Macau, the world's biggest gambling hub, also downgraded the typhoon signal to 8 from 10, warning of flooding in its inner harbour area and urging residents to stay safe, public broadcaster TDM said.

Hong Kong's airport authority said 80,000 travellers were hit by the rescheduling of 400 flights forced by the typhoon.

Cathay Pacific Airways cancelled all flights with Hong Kong airport between 5 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday. It waived ticket change fees and arranged for rebooking.

Most public transport in Hong Kong was suspended, including ferries amid high sea swells.