Without doubt, in this amazing area, in the suburbs How does a “ship” end up in a “sacred grove”? orchestra and auditorium. Apart from musical The great crisis of the 3rd century AD did not of , the theatre should not be seen apart Someone who listens about a “ship” but does events, political gatherings were held here – in leave Nicopolis unaffected. The mint closed. from the rest of the buildings, the gymnasium, not see the word written anywhere is right to other words, it also operated as a parliament – The Actia games were no longer held. Public the victory monument and the stadium. It is a wonder. But quotation marks embracing the and could seat approximately 1,000 people. buildings were damaged over time and not part of a monumental building complex which word help us realize that the reference to the repaired. Life, of course, does not stop, but was constructed by order of Octavian to bring ship is metaphorical rather than literal. Because The architectural topography did not Nicopolis would never be the same again over his vision to life, to revive Actia. “Actia” were the locals refer to the stadium as a ship due to its vary from that of the theatres in Roman the centuries that followed. It remains the same local Acarnanian games and were taking place oval shape. The stadium is actually quite special times, so the façade of the two storey stage only for those who, aided by archaeologists and in the sanctuary of Actius, in the mouth of since its long sides, both on the east and on the building would not have been unadorned. It had other specialists, are fascinated by reviving the the Ambracian Gulf. Immediately after his victory, west, are joined by horseshoe-shaped stands three entrances with stairways connecting the past. Octavian gave the god of music an honorary place with slings. stage and orchestra. A narrow passage used for It remains the same only for those who, with the in the Roman Pantheon because he believed he storage of stage props can still be seen today. help of archaeologists and other specialists, are had protected him. He revived the Actia Games The main entrance is on the west side and The floor in the orchestra was very beautiful with fascinated by reviving the past. and established that they would be held every consists of three arch-covered passageways. its colourful geometric marble inlay, a common four years; where else? In Nicopolis, the town Two elongated retaining walls in the north and sight in theatres of that period. The three of his victory. Thus, the elite of culture, art and the south reinforce the outer slopes on the long passageways were also decorated with marble athletic ideals came to Nicopolis from far away sides and define the auditorium with its stands. tiles, one in the centre and two vaulted passages to participate in the athletic competitions of poets, On the perimeter of the exterior, arched openings in the east and the west, where the spectators sophists, tragedians, comedians, preachers, lead to tile covered spaces which are accessed entered the odeion. Officials did not come into FOLLOW A ROUTE to HISTORY from the sides on the exterior of the stadium. trumpeters, troubadors, singing teachers, flutists contact with the crowd, of course, but sat on Games are not held there today. However, the and pantomimists. Along with them came relatives seats in the first row, which were not fixed, but monument comes to life with human voices and admirers and all together were so many that movable. The auditorium, which is divided into filling it every summer when it hosts theatrical there was not room for them in the city. two tiers, consists of twenty rows of seats clad and musical performances. with white tiles from local limestone. HELLENIC REPUBLIC The prestige of the games was so Musical performances in ancient times took ministry of culture and sports great – the name and personality of the man At the base of the seats in the 10th row, small place at the conservatory (odeion), a monumental rectangular openings which communicate with who revived them played a role obviously – building in the centre of Nicopolis. To visit this that Roman emperors felt it was an honour to the semicircular passages can be discerned. Ephorate of Antiquities of divine building visitors may choice one of two These openings enhanced the perfect acoustics take part in them. One of them was Nero who, routes: either via the impressive central gate in which were necessary for a Conservatory. in 66 AD during his Greek tour, he thought it the Early Christian Walls, called “Arapoporta,” or Evidence from excavations indicates that the imperative to compete at the Actia games. So he through a network of narrow farm tracks which Conservatory was used until the second half of took part in music and tragedy competitions and surround it. the 3rd century AD. Many centuries of silence distinguished himself. The residents of Nikopoli passed until 1969, when the Conservatory came Mary Beloyianni, Phd. Archaeologist, Greek language teacher Responsible for educational programs of Diazoma Association seized this opportunity and in order to win favour When you get there, you see a classic, but to life once again hosting excellent theatrical and with the Roman emperor, which they hoped to imposing, building, which rests in its entirety on musical performances as well as other events, cash in sometime in the future, they changed the a built foundation and not in a naturally inclining which take place to this date. name of the town to... Neronicopolis. position and is made up of a stage, a semicircular The theatre of Nicopolis mostly followed Roman theatre structure. It was an impressive Greeks, Romans and Jews thronged its wide roads exchanging coins minted in the city, gathered in NICOPOLIS building, both at its time and many centuries later—even as a ruin it attracted the attention of the Agora and the baths, enjoyed themselves with the Actia Games, an “equal to the Olympic Games” Nicopolis is a precious example of a town with features from two ages, 18th and 19th century travelers who would journey all the way to Nicopolis to view the town competition of athletic, music and horseracing events, organised every five years, and entertained Hellenistic and Roman. Six kilometers separate the homonymous capital city of the Prefecture of Octavian ’ victory. of Preveza from the town which Octavian Augustus used to show off after his famous victory themselves at the town’s wonderful theatre. over Marcus Antonius at in 31 BC. On 24th June 1805, William Martin Leake, the British traveler, upon visiting Nicopolis, wrote The imposing building towered over the town, the The theatre site was the most suitable. in his diary. The notes that he and many others kept from different parts of comprise and the Ambracian Gulf, following the tradition in choosing the best position so that all the The Roman Octavian Augustus must have had the spectacular cities of the content of his work “Travels in Northern Greece.” From that book we learn that “for the senses could rejoice whilst the spectator’s soul and mind was “fed.” What was not adhered to however, Eprius in mind when, following his victory at Actium in 31 BC against his rivals Marcus construction of this great theatre, a part of the hillside was dug out and all the superstructure, was the usual way of theatre construction. The theatre of Nicopolis was constructed combining Antonius and VII, the last Greek queen of Egypt, he founded Nicopolis, the city of the stage structures and the passageways on each side of the stage were built with large, wide elements of Greek and Roman traditional theatre construction and this is what makes it so special. victory, and adorned it with beautiful buildings and exquisite works of art. On September 2 Roman bricks, stuck together with a generous amount of mortar and dressed with stone on

of the year 31 BC, a naval battle took place in this corner of south-west , in the cape of the façade. Despite the fact that the corridor in the upper part of the auditorium has collapsed Actium. It was a battle that would put an end to the Hellenistic Period and the period of Roman inwards and the stone stands have been removed, the theatre remains one of the best preserved Dominance would begin. Marcus Antonius paid the price for his frivolity and propensity for Roman theatres in existence and it should really be measured accurately and drawn up by an pleasure. Succumbing to the irresistible charm of Cleopatra, he did not hesitate to abandon architect.” But Leake went further than that. At his request, the architect Thomas Leverton his wise wife Octavia, Octavian’s sister, to live with the Queen of Egypt, giving her vast Asian Donaldson went to Nicopolis and recorded in an admirable way not only the wonderful theatre, lands and provoking the rage of the Roman Senate. The significance of the confrontation of but also the conservatory, the Nymphaeon with the West Gate and the northern baths. Valuable Cleopatra’s and Octavian’s naval might was enormous not only because the superficial and material for the architecture of the theatre is also provided by the images depicted by travelers. pleasure loving Marcus Antonius was punished for having abandoned his wise wife Octavia, Today’s visitor may view the peripheral retaining wall, the koilon (auditorium) which has now Octavian’s sister, to live with the Queen of Egypt, whose charms he found irresistible. He was been uncovered in its entirety, as well as the orchestra and the proskenion (the acting area) also punished for giving vast Asian lands to Cleopatra, thereby provoking the rage of the Roman Senate, and because he installed that Augustus shamelessly grabbed from which are being excavated. an hegemonic regime in Rome without neighbouring towns which gradually In its present condition, recognizable triggering any reaction by the Romans who became desolate since people were features of the theatre are the peripheral were given 40 years of internal peace in leaving them. What should one admire retaining wall, the stage structure, the upper return. first, even in the ruins that have remained? part of the auditorium with the remaining Ιoannina Following his victory, Octavian transformed The impressive parliament-conservatory, parts of sockets, the peripheral alley wall Rome into a hegemonic regime without or the elegant Nymphaeum, which was in the upper part of the auditorium, the two Pedini provoking Roman resistance. Following decoratively supported by two water tanks vaulted side entrances in the upper part of the in the footsteps of Alexander the Great, to which the water conduit was connected? auditorium and one on the symmetrical axis he founded Nicopolis at the narrow inlet Or maybe the famous aqueduct which of the auditorium. The orchestra, the lower of the Ambracian Gulf, a city to symbolize brought water from the springs of River auditorium, the proscenium and the lower part the confrontation between two worlds and Louros some 55 kilometres away? of the stage are covered by deep deposits of Ιgoumenitsa the dawn of a new era in world history. But soil. what is a town, however wonderful the And if all that is not enough for buildings and excellent its city plan, without demanding visitors today, a few In Roman times, theatre buildings, like theatrical performances, at some point became Paramythia people to give it life? Octavian Augustus Plataria hundred meters to the north, there is a a part of Roman culture and the Romans put their own stamp on them by applying innovations in Nicopolis may have been founded as a “free” did not need to think hard. For him it was verdant hilly area known from ancient the rich tradition which they inherited from the Greeks. In contrast to Greek theatres, which were Greek town with Greek citizens who “co-settled” Sivota enough that there were neighbouring sources (Strabo, Suetonius, Cassius Dio) built on natural slopes, Roman theatres with their built infrastructure could be built on level ground. towns in Epirus and Aitoloakarnania. So, he as the Proasteion, Nicopolis’ sacred grove. This was the first innovation. A second innovation was the consolidation of the three parts of theatre from towns in Epirus and Aitoloakarnania, took the residents of twenty neighbouring It was here that Octavian Augustus left his conformation, i.e. the stage, orchestra and auditorium, in a single building. The auditorium consisted towns and led them to Nicopolis which then mark. First of all, with the Victory Monument of three tiers; upper, middle and lower. Along the length of the ridge in the auditorium there was but as has already been mentioned, became their town. He made sure that the he erected at the place where he set up usually a peripheral passage which was built at the same height as the stage for acoustic reasons. town which would ensure his posthumous camp. Here the spoils of the naval battle The orchestra became semi-circular and there were seats for officials around it. times had changed and with them habits and ideas. Parga fame, was built in an excellent geographical were distributed and the prows of defeated position of strategic significance, and had Cleopatra’s ships were brought. Then onto The rich architectural decoration with alcoves adorned with statues or even with great prospects for material prosperity as it the theatre, the stadium, the gymnasium Ammoudia Kanallaki templets made the façade of the stage impressive, which sometimes had as many as four storeys. included three natural harbours, and turned and the baths, following the rule of “a sound On the ground floor, three doorway-entrances allowed actors to enter or exit the logeion, the raised Filipiada Nicopolis into an enviable centre of art and mind in a healthy body.” platform in front of the skene on which actors would perform. To protect the proscenium from the cultural life. weather and the violent effects of time, a wooden roof protruded from the end of the façade. Above the Louros Apart from the buildings, the “venerable passages which led directly to the orchestra and were imbedded in the single theatre building, there Nea Kerasounta Kostakioi To achieve his goal, he employed site” was enriched with all good things, so was usually a gallery. Much significance was placed on making things easy for the audience, who Dodona the elite from the arts and sciences. that the residents would have a comfortable should not be inconvenienced so that they would visit the theatre frequently to watch performances Specialist knowledge, fine aesthetics and and rich life. Priviliges and tax exemptions which contributed to their amusement or entertainment. An intricate system of stairways and Gitana Archagelos Aneza Kanali a progressive spirit can be seen in every contributed to the great wealth of the town. corridors led to the various parts of the theatre achieving in this way the fast attendance and departure Cassope part of the new town. Magnificent public Up until the 3rd century AD Nicopolis was of the spectators from many passages. To protect the audience from the sun or the rain, there was buildings were erected within the 400 acres escaping time, poverty and decline. The a canopy which could be hunged if necessary. The canopy was hung from wooden poles stuck in Nicopolis of the town’s area, which were decorated Ambracian Gulf was rich in fish and could protruding stone bases around the outer wall of the auditorium. Roman conservatories, which were Mitikas with amazing works of art. Works of art feed its approximately 100,000 residents. used exclusively for musical performances and recitals, were similar to the Roman theatres. Preveza