431-492

A chronology of modern interventions in the theater of the Asclepieion at Epidaurus and the wider area to 1989

• Μπολέτης,  Κωνσταντίνος

At the end of antiquity, the theater of the Asclepieion at Epidaurus had the good fortune to be protected by surface fill created gradually by soil falling from Kynortion hill. The form of the monument admired by modern visitors has come from extensive restoration interventions whose goal was to restore the ancient footprint and enhance its didactic dimension, as well as ensure its safe reuse.The systematic excavation of the monument by the Archaeological Society at Athens, under the supervision of the archaeologist Panayiotis Kavvadias, began in 1881. The theater’s cavea came to light in a relatively good state of preservation from the standpoint of the preservation of its stone, with the exception of the final rows of seats and support walls. Disturbances to the regular arrangement and fitting of the preserved seats were owed to natural destruction and later to the gradual distortion of the monument’s original footprint. In contrast, the scene building was di scovered in a low-lying ruinous state. In all probability, the disintegration of the supporting zone of the epitheatron (upper part of the theater) (orthostates, crowning elements, etc.) was due to the pillaging of metals by removing ancient dowels. The loss of much of the stonework from the monument is attributed to a lime kiln establishment, traces of which were found by the excavator in the area of the scene.The rush to effect a quick restoration, in conjunction with then-imperfect knowledge of the structural arrangement of the monument, led in 1885 to incorrect resettings of architectural members in the structurally significant zone of the epitheatron orthostates. More specifically, the orthostates for nearly all the seats in the epitheatron were set in positions that entirely covered their underlying ramp, creating serious stylistic and structural problems. Included among the first replacements of architectural members were a number of preserved members from the proscenium, whi ch were later removed.By the end of the 19th century, the Archaeological Museum of Epidaurus had been built in its original form, as had a two-story building northwest of the theater for the support of ongoing works at the site. The latter building was demolished in 1958.The first systematic plantings of trees on the site date to the early 20th century. Contemporary beliefs about restoration, to which today’s most serious problems for the monuments on the Athenian Acropolis are attributable, had also directly influenced the first restoration of the theater’s western entrance gate (1906-1909). This structure preserved either complete stone blocks or large sections from these in 67 out of the 76 architectural members that had comprised it in antiquity, and certainly the temptation to recreate it was justifiably great. Abbreviated restorations of monuments in the Museum of Epidaurus also date to this period.The period from 1910 to the end of World War II was characterized by a defe rment of restoration works. The first “organized” (formal) performance of an ancient drama was given in 1938. Sixteen years later, the Epidaurus Festival began, and from the following year it was established as an institution for performances of ancient drama. Large-scale works were carried out between 1954-1963 by what was then the Directorate for Restorations (Ministry of Education) aiming at extensive reconstruction and architectural restoration of the monument in the form of consolidation works so that it could be made available for performances.More specifically, all the seats in the theater and eastern edge of the epitheatron were reset and secured, with completions of the final rows; the eastern parodos gate and support walls were rebuilt, and architectural members were carved for the reconstruction of a part of the proscenium. This last intervention was in the end not carried out, and the stone blocks were transported to the storerooms of the Asclepieion after their tria l placement on the stylobate. According to Anastasios Orlandos, who was at the time supervising work at the site, the failure to restore the proscenium was due in part to objections by directors presenting performances at the Epidaurus Festival. Within a short time during the second half of the 1950s, the Greek Tourist Organization’s (EOT) buildings were constructed at the Asclepieion and there were various interventions to facilitate the site’s operation. This period was characterized by intense behind-the- scenes activity and minor disputes between the Tourism Secretariat on the one hand, and the Restoration Service on the other. In addition to Anastasios Orlandos, another personality that rose to prominence during this period at Epidaurus was the architect Aris Konstantinidis.The consolidation and restoration program for the cavea came to an end in 1964 in the area of the topmost western row of seats in the epitheatron, leaving the work of its restoration unfinished. There en sued safety issues resulting from abandonment of the project, and there was inaugurated a period of varied internal activities and exchanges of letters, in parallel with the accomplishment of minor interventions from the late 1960s to late 1980s.In 1988, the year in which the Asclepieion was included in the list of World Heritage Monuments, questions and issues concerning the protection of the monument, which hosted large numbers of visitors and was also being given over for performances, was more timely than ever, due to the appearance and recording of now-visible forms of damage to the monument. In the same year, the theater was incorporated into the restoration program of the Committee for the Conservation of the Monuments of Epidaurus (ΕΣΜΕ), which had already begun for the major monuments in the sacred precinct from 1984.

• History and Archaeology

• Αρχαιολογία
• Θέατρο
• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)

Για τη δημοσίευση αυτή συνδυάστηκε αρχειακό υλικό διαφόρων πηγών με κυριότερες τη Διεύθυνση Αναστήλωσης Αρχαίων Μνημείων/ΥΠΠΟ, το Γερμανικό Αρχαιολογικό Ινστιτούτο, την Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία, τη Διεύθυνση Προϊστορικών και Κλασικών Αρχαιοτήτων/ΥΠΠΟ, τη Δ' Εφορεία Προϊστορικών και Κλασικών Αρχαιοτήτων/ΥΠΠΟ, τον Ελληνικό Οργανισμό Τουρισμού και την Επιτροπή Συντήρησης Μνημείων Επιδαύρου (ΕΣΜΕ).Θα ήθελα να αναγνωρίσω την καθοριστική σημασία της υποστήριξης που μου παρείχαν όλοι οι παραπάνω φορείς και υπηρεσίες, και κυρίως η Επιτρ πή Επιδαύρου διά του προέδρου της, καθηγητή Β. Λαμπρινουδάκη. Άλλωστε, τη δεκαετία 1989-1999 μου είχε δοθεί η ευκαιρία να εργαστώ στο θέατρο της Επιδαύρου ως υπεύθυνος μελετητής και επιβλέπων των αναστηλωτικών εργασιών της ΕΣΜΕ. Η μεγάλη αυτή ευθύνη μού είχε ανατεθεί κατόπιν σχετικής πρότασης του μέλους της ΕΣΜΕ καθηγητή X. Μπού- ρα, του οποίου είχα την τύχη και την τιμή να υπάρξω μαθητής.Στη δρ. αρχαιολόγο Φ. Μαλλούχου-Tufano οφείλεται σειρά υποδείξεων που οδήγησαν στον εντοπισμό και την απόκτηση μέρους του παρουσιαζόμενου πληροφοριακού υλικού. Θ ρμές ευχαριστίες εκφράζονται και στον παλαιό πυρήνα του επιστημονικού προσωπικού της Επιδαύρου για την υποστήριξή του στην ολοκλήρωση της παρούσας μελέτης (ιδιαιτέρως στις αρχιτέκτονες Σ. Κυριάκη και Π. Αναστασιάδου και στην αρχαιολόγο Ε. Λεμπιδάκη), στον αρχιτέκτονα της ΔΑΑΜ Κ. Κυριακόπουλο, καθώς και στο σχεδιαστή μέσω Η/Υ Γ. Ασλάνη για την ψηφιοποίηση και ηλεκτρονική επεξεργασία του περιλαμβανόμενου εικονογραφικού υλικού. Οι προσωπικές μαρτυρίες παλιών φυλάκων, τεχνιτών αλλά και κατοίκων του Λυγουριού, που κατατέθηκαν με ιδιαίτερο ε νδιαφέρον για το χώρο, συνέβαλαν επίσης στην αποσαφήνιση επιμέρους λεπτομερειών ωστόσο, το συγκεκριμένο είδος πληροφοριών, που δεν τεκμηριώνεται σε γραπτές πηγές, παρατίθεται με κάθε επιφύλαξη.Αναλυτική διαπραγμάτευση των αρχαιολογικών και αρχιτεκτονικών ζητημάτων του θεάτρου του Ασκληπιείου της Επιδαύρου, με περιγραφές των επιμέρους τμημάτων του, παρέχεται στο Von Gerkan - Müller-Wiener 1961. Για μια συνοπτική επιστημονική παρουσίαση στα ελληνικά, βλ. Γώγος 2002., Περιέχει εικόνες, σχέδια, συντομογραφίες και βιβλιογραφία, Το άρθρο περιέχεται στο τεύ χος: Μέρος Α'-Μελέτες