Vacations in Greece
Vacation Net is a travel Guide - a network of sites that is offering Travel information about your favorite vacation spot and Greece .We travel to every location and island in Greece in order to make our travel guides as helpful as possible.
/ 0
Dodoni
The archaeological site of Dodoni lies 22 kilometres southeast of Yanina. One of the most important and perhaps the oldest in Greece, it was settled by the first Greek tribes around 2500 B.C., as indicated by finds dating to the Bronze Age (Early Helladic period).
Homer recounts that in the 18th century B.C. the valley of loanina and Dodoni was inhabited by a branch of the Thesprotian tribe, the Hellopes, Helloi or Selloi, a clan of priests and prophets dedicated to the service of Zeus of Dodoni. Some scholars maintain that the word "Hellene" may be related to "Helloi", given that the "ene" ending is rather common in the local dialect of the period. It was here that the ancients established their first oracle, which spoke through the rustling of a primeval oak tree.
At the start of the 4th century B.C. the first, small temple was erected to the worship of Zeus of Dodoni. It eventually formed the nucleus of the monumental buildings - the Vouleuterion (political assembly) and the Prytaneion - that were constructed in 350 B.C.
Later, in the early 3rd century B.C., with the rise of the Molossian king, Pyrrhus, the temple to Zeus was built and a gigantic theatre, larger than the one at Epidaurus, was erected. (17.000 seats).
The oracle was pillaged and destroyed for the first time in 219 B.C. by the Aitolians and never regained its former importance.
The prophecies at Dodoni took various forms, depending on the historical period. Initially, they revealed themselves in the flight of the oracle' s pigeons, later in the rustling of the leaves of the sanctuary' s oak tree. The final form was the most elaborate: A bronze statue of a little boy held some wooden batons in its hands; as the wind blew it caused these simantra to strike a row of contiguous copper cauldrons arranged nearby and the priest would interpret the sound of their vibrations as the will of the father of gods and men.
Today, the ancient theatre at Dodoni is used once again for drama performances in summer, and the site is open to the public every day.