The ancient theater of Gytheio — Attraction in Municipality of East Mani

The ancient theater of Gytheio is a small preserved theater, located in the north edge of the modern settlement of Gytheio, on a slope of a hill, beside a military base. The theater was one of the most important archaeological sites in the area and it was built during the Roman period, at the 1st century A.D. The site was discovered and excavated by the Greek archeologist Dimitris Skias at 1891. The theater had simple stone seats in all rows except of the first row that contained backrests and was made of marble for the officials (the V.I.P.s).

During the Roman period there were thymelic performances at the site (The thymelic was song contest, dedicated to god Dionysos), which included a parade and sacrifices to the Roman emperors.

The fenced site that might look a bit abandoned today, hosts during the summer some cultural events, such as ancient drama performances, public speeches, and music concerts as part of the Festival of Gythio. However, the site still requires some serious renovation and restoration works as well as basic things like signs and historical explanation, in order to bring him back to...

Do not take it personally if a soldier interrogates you for being there. Having been in the military there in Greece myself, my Lieutenant would shout at us if we stood guard and did not interrogate anyone coming near the base.

So we had to scream "ALT!" to every muppet and his dog that drove to our ammunition depot to take selfies with his girlfriend :D

Just play along with the soldier and state that you are a friendly tourist. His job is to report back to his seniors. Its is all.... cough.......

This is the ancient theatre of Githio. Abandoned , locked, green that it is almost more than a meter high. No one care about it. So you can’t see the theatre but you can imagine it. Yes it is near by a military camp but no one will say you something, if you don’t take photos of the military camp. Of course if you start the photos.. of course they will have a word with you. It is common sense in all countries that photography and military places...