Things to Do in Greece

The Theatre of Dionysus is an impressive ruin on the southern slope of the Acropolis in Athens. You can climb up and sit in the semi-circle of marble seats ringed around the stage area. In its heyday, around the 4th century BC, the theatre could seat 17,000 people. You can still see names of the important people inscribed on the throne like seats in the front row (although this area is roped-off to conserve it). It was in this theatre that the plays of Sophocles, Euripedes, Aeschylus and Aristofanes were performed.

Dionysus was the Greek god of wine, agriculture and theatre, known to the Romans as Bacchus, hence the word Bacchanalia. The theatre is in the area of the Sanctuary of Dionysus, which also housed temples to the god. Excavations in the late 1800s rediscovered this important site and the Greek Government has recently announced its intention to restore the theatre.

Messene is a massive ancient city next to Mount Ithomi in the southwest of the Peloponnese, Greece. Ithomi is the name of the mountain that served as a natural fortress for the city. It was renamed Messene after a queen of the region. The area was once under the control of the Spartans and though it is less well-known than other sites, it remains one of the best preserved archaeological sites of ancient Greece.
Classic structures including the city walls and gates, and theater — as well evidence of daily life taking place in a once bustling metropolis: the agora, stadium, gymnasium, Asklepieion, sanctuaries and religious sites — are all very well intact. In addition, remnants of the ancient past from coins and pottery to art and sculpture have been excavated here. Until excavations began in 1895, most of the city lie buried under the earth, undisturbed and waiting to be discovered. No other settlement has ever been built on its site.

Second in size and importance to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, the Heraklion Archaeological Museum houses the most magnificent collection of Minoan art and culture in the world. The museum's exhibition contains more than 15,000 artifacts from all periods of Cretan prehistory and history, covering a chronological span of over 5,000 years, from the Neolithic era to Roman times.

As the Museum is still under renovation, its temporary exhibition is a curation of the most famous and representative items of the collection. Notable items include: the Prince of the Lilies' fresco, the Phaistos Disc, the snake goddesses from Knossos, the black stone bull’s head, the "Bull Leaping" and "La Parisienne" frescoes.

The various artifacts form a valuable record of the artistic, social and economic life of the island during the ancient period. You’ll find examples of pottery, jewelry, goldwork and metalwork (household utensils and weapons), and seal engraving - a miniature art where the Minoans excelled.

If the name ‘Kalamata’ sounds familiar to you, you’re not alone — it’s a city in southern Greece from which Greek olives get their name. It is both the capitol of the region of Messinia and the second-largest city in the Peloponnese. With its preserved Old Town and a number of museums and galleries, the city maintains its rich cultural history. The ancient Greek author Homer described a city called Pharai, which is believed to have been where the Kalamata Castle stands today.
The name Kalamata is derived from an icon of the Virgin Mary known as the ‘good eye’ (kalo mata.) The icon was believed to be miracle-working, and today can be found in the inside the city’s cathedral, the Church of Ypapantis. Throughout the ages, Kalamata has suffered wars at the hands of the Ottoman Empire and earthquakes in as recent as 1986, though today it flourishes as an important port city.

Erected in honor of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century A.D, the monumental gateway of Hadrian’s Arch remains one of the most striking remnants of ancient Athens. Located on the ancient road between the Athenian Agora and the Olympieion, the elaborate structure was supposedly built to honor the arrival of Hadrian in 131 AD.

The Arch, standing in front of the once magnificent Temple of Olympian Zeus (the Olympieion), formed a symbolic gateway between the old city district and the new Roman-built city, erected by Hadrian. Notably, two inscriptions feature on the sides of the arch: the western side, looking onto the old city reads ‘ This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus’ and the eastern side, facing the Olympieion, reads ‘This is the city of Hadrian and not of Theseus’. The exact meaning of the latter phrase is hotly disputed – some say it is simply naming the new city as that of Hadrian; others insist it was a deliberate contradiction of the former statement, indicating that the entire city was now ruled by Hadrian.

Today the main structure of Hadrian’s Arch remains remarkably preserved and is one of the most popular attractions of modern Athens. Towering at a height of 18 meters, the fully symmetrical Roman-style arch is an impressive sight – sculpted entirely from Pentelic marble, adorned with Ionic architraves and crowned with a row of Corinthian columns and pilasters.