Our first day in Greece started late due to a late night departure from London but also finished late. Led by Leda Costaki, the group walked around Sindagma Square and the area near our hotel and then visited sites including the exhibits in the Sindagma metro, the Monument of Lysikrates, and the sites on the south slope of the Acropolis. Dr. Costaki emphasized the interaction of the ancient and modern Greek worlds. For example, she discussed the conflict that the archaeologists had with developers over the building for the Olympics, as the emergency excavations, while shedding light on the past, prevented progress in the present. She also accompanied us on our walk through the National Gardens up to the foot of Mount Lycabettus, which we climbed and atop of which we concluded the day. I speak for the whole group when I say that we were taken aback by the beauty of the view and that it was a great way to end our first day.

While I knew about the enormous size of the Theater of Dionysus, I was still impressed today by the site’s magnitude. Dr. Costaki mentioned that around 17,000 people could sit in the theater, and not until I actually sat in the bleachers, at the foot of the Acropolis did I comprehend the capacity of the structure. While amazed by the size, I had expected that it would be impressive. What I did not expect to find striking about the site was the vast amount of work necessary for the theater’s construction and the stunning surrounding environment.

Perhaps the most remarkable elements of the Theater of Dionysus for me were its marble seating and the retaining walls, as they demonstrate the effort that must have been needed to build the structure. While the site is not perfectly preserved, rows of seating are still apparent, as blocks of marble spread up the semi-circular slope around the theater. Some of the marble may have been reused from other structures, and therefore the builders would not have needed to import all of the material, but they still needed an extensive amount of marble that in most cases would have had to have been cut to fit into the seating. In addition to the regular rows, there were also impressive throne-like seats for priests. These were carved and smooth, and although I did not get a chance to sit in one of them, they seemed comfortable for a piece of marble furniture. However, not all of the impressive work that went into the building was visible from the stage. In fact, the retaining walls of conglomerate that separated the theater from the surrounding temples and sanctuaries were equally impressive. Before visiting the site I had no idea about the size of these walls, and since they are now exposed and not covered by marble as they would have been in antiquity, the modern viewer a gains a stronger appreciation of them.

The other aspect of the site that struck me was the surrounding environment of the theater. Until I sat in the theater, with the Parthenon peeking out over the Acropolis above me and the outline of the island of Aegina in the distance below me, I had no idea about how much the environment must have added to the viewing experience. The ancient Greeks also would have had a much better view of the surrounding mountains and sea without the curtain of smog over Athens that hangs over the modern city. Such a magnificent backdrop makes the theater more extraordinary, and I know that could not have felt the same way unless I had been sitting at the site today.