Ancient Dodona

Dodona, at the foot of Mount Tomaros in Epirus, was the oldest Hellenic oracle; Herodotus thought it might go back to the 2nd millennium BC. Homer already describes it as an oracle of Zeus, and it was second only to Delphi in prestige. Priests and priestesses read the will of the god in the rustling of the leaves of a sacred oak. More than 4,200 inscribed tablets with questions to the oracle have been found here.

Around 290 BC King Pyrrhus made Dodona the religious centre of his kingdom and rebuilt it: a larger temple of Zeus, temples to Dione and Heracles, games and a festival with music and drama. The theatre dates from his reign and held about 18,000 people, one of the largest of its time. The Aetolians burned the sanctuary in 219 BC, Philip V of Macedon rebuilt it, and the Romans destroyed it again in 167 BC. Under Augustus the theatre was turned into an arena for animal fights, and the wall in front of the first rows was added to protect the audience.

The oracle was consulted until 391–392 AD, when Emperor Theodosius closed the pagan temples and had the oak cut down. Many finds from the site are in the Archaeological Museum of Ioannina.

Dodona is about 100 km (1 hour 40 minutes) from Preveza and 20 km (20 minutes) from Ioannina.