Ancient Theater of Aigeira

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A Remarkable Ancient Greek Theatre in the Peloponnese

The ancient theater of Aigeira is situated near the town of Aigeira at an altitude of 350m above sea level offering a spectacular view to the Corinthian gulf. Ancient Aigeira was one of the most important cities of Achaea and of the Achaean League and its inhabitants participated in the Trojan War. Built at an altitude of 350 meters above sea level, the ancient theatre is one of the most significant monuments of the ancient city.

The theatre is situated to the north of the acropolis and its construction dates back to the first half of the 3rd century, (around 280-250 Β.C.), when the Second Achaean League, under which Achaean cities were reorganized, was established. It was part of a large-scale building project, which included many more monuments in the ancient agora of the city, such as small temples around the theatre, which also revealed great finds during the excavations.

The theatre has a horseshoe-shaped hollow, partly carved on a natural rock, while the rest was properly formed on the ground and stone seats were placed. The stage (orchestra) was also carved in the natural rock, on the curbs of which a groove was built for the drainage of rainwater. During the Hellenistic period the Ancient Theater of Aigeira consisted of a two-storey building. A corridor divides the koilon into two parts and the total capacity of the theatre was 3,000 spectators, while its length reaches 30.70 meters. Later repairs during the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. were rather limited and involved only the drainage. The most significant attempt to reconstruct the monument is dated to the 3rd century A.D., during Maximinus Thrax’s emperorship. This reconstruction was of a major scale and aimed to the transformation of the Hellenistic theatre to a Roman one. Soon though, the renovation was interrupted and since then the theatre was never used again for performances, but as an area for the citizens’ assembly.

The theater of Ancient Aigeira was excavated in the early 20th century by Austrian archaeologists of the Austrian Archaeological Institute. The excavations stopped during World War II to start again in the 1970s. The theatre has now been completely revealed and fully studied. Restoration on the monument began in August 2011 and the operation was completed in December 2015. The restoration of the ancient theater is a sub-project of the larger project for the Restoration and promotion of the archaeological site of Paleokastro Aigon (Ancient Aigeira).