Dodona: An oracle in the cradle of nature

According to the myth recounted by Herodotus, the oracle owes its foundation to a pair of black doves that started their journey from Thebes in Egypt; one of them flew to Libya, where the sanctuary of Zeus Ammon was founded, and the other to Dodona, where it sat on an oak tree and pointed out where the oracle’s precise location was meant to be, using a human voice.

For centuries, the sanctuary was open-air, with the sacred tree being the focus of worship and divination. The priests walked barefoot and slept on the ground in order to have direct contact with Mother Earth, while oracles were given on the basis of natural sounds, such as the rustling of leaves and the flight of birds on the branches of the sacred tree.

The first, small temple of Zeus was built in the early 4th century BC, but Dodona flourished most in the following century, thanks to king Pyrrhus, who implemented a grandiose building programme that gave the sanctuary its monumental character.

He expanded the pre-existing temples and had new ones, dedicated to Themis, Aphrodite and Hercules, as well as a series of impressive public buildings erected: the largest theatre of the time, with a capacity of almost 18,000 spectators, the Bouleuterion, the Prytaneion and the Stadium where the Naia, games in honour of Zeus, were held.

Although the sacred oak tree was cut down during Byzantine times, with the prevalence of Christianity and the establishment of a three-aisled basilica on the ruins of the sanctuary, the ancient site remains vibrant, with the restored theatre now hosting a variety of events, from performances of ancient drama and classical and contemporary music concerts to the renowned Dodona Festival.