Even today, the Cretan town of Lissos can only be reached by sea or a seemingly endless hike across the stunning landscape and mountains that surround it. Although previous excavations have uncovered rich discoveries, its isolated location has complicated access for many years and protected Lissos from the intrusion of modern tourism. modern. However, excavations at Lissos have continued decades later, shedding light on the remains of a Roman theater that may have been used for musical competitions, lectures and even public ceremonies. city council meeting.
Lissos Valley on the island of Crete. ( ksl / Adobe Stock)
Ancient city of Lissos
Located across the Mediterranean Sea from Cyrene, a major ancient Greek city in present-day Libya, Lissos was probably an important Mediterranean trading port on the island of Crete. Located in the fertile Ai Kyrkos Valley, the port of Lissos is protected by mountains and faces the southwestern Sea of Crete. An independent city and a religious center, Lissos also had a powerful trading and fishing fleet in the third century BC, according to Greek Reporter
Inscriptions and coins from that time reveal that the city was allied with King Magas of Cyrene and was a member of the League of the Oreians. The alliance included the cities of Lissos, Syia, Poikilassos, Tarrha, Yrtakina and Elyrus.
First excavated by archaeologist Nikolaos Platon in the 1950s, excavations in the ancient port have revealed relatively well-preserved structures from various periods in history. These include a rare temple to Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine, a notable Greco-Roman necropolis with two-story tombs, Roman baths, a residential area, and houses. Catholic worship, Live Science reported.
Ancient Roman theater discovered at the Lissos archaeological site. ( Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports )
Exciting new discoveries appeared sixty years later
More than six decades after the first excavation, archaeologists have unearthed an east-facing structure that appears to have been an odeon (or odeum), a type of theater where religious activities took place. music hall or a bouleuterion, where council members meet, according to Greek correspondents.
Katerina Tzanakaki, deputy director of the Department of Antiquities and the Museum of Prehistory and Classics at the Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania, is the lead archaeologist for the new excavation. The odeon “is used for lectures, literary and musical competitions, or theatrical performances,” she explained in an email to Live Science.
During the first phase of excavation, a part of the stage consisting of 14 rows of seats and two domed rooms was discovered. The Odeon belongs to the Roman period, which lasted from the first to the fourth century AD. This period also saw the temple of Asclepius transformed into a political center with mosaic floors and portraits of Roman emperors Tiberius and Drusus adorning the walls.
View of the Roman theater excavated at the Lissos archaeological site in Crete. ( Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports )
Historic damage caused by deadly earthquake
Most of the intact seats are located in the south and southwest of the theater. On the other hand, the northwest portion was quite damaged as rocks carried by the adjacent floodwaters passed through the building diagonally toward the east. The rocks were probably swept towards the building by the deadly earthquake that rocked the island of Crete in 365 AD.
The earthquake lifted the entire city several meters. The town would have been larger than it is today before being devastated by the earthquake. The theater will also be closer to the ocean. Restoration work on the building will depend on whether the archaeological team can find traces of the external wall that supported the odeon.
The Byzantine church of Panagia on Lissos beach is next to the Roman theater. ( Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports )
Alternative uses of the Roman Theater unearthed in Lissos
The theater’s proximity to the city center makes it likely that it was also used as a boulevard, a building where city council meetings were held. In an email exchange, Jane Francis and her husband George W. Harrison, Canadian classical archaeologists who were not involved in the excavation, told Live Science that given the size and age of the building, house, it is most likely an odeon. But because “it was designed and used as a covered theater, secondary use as a council house cannot be ruled out.”
Whatever the purpose, a statement from the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports emphasized how special the new discovery in Lissos truly is: “The discovery of a public service building in Central point of the old city, near the temple of Asclepius, adds. new information on the archaeological and historical horizon of the region.” Francis and Harrison concur, adding that “there are not many well-preserved theaters in Crete and even fewer eateries.”
