The Dodoni Oracle in Epirus

The archaeological site of Dodoni lies 22 kilometers southeast of Ioannina in an amazing beautiful scenery. It is considered as one of the most important sites in Epirus and perhaps the oldest in Greece, established around 2500 B.C as indicated by finds dating to the Bronze Age (Early Helladic period). However it was only in the 4th century BC that a small temple was erected to worship Zeus. In the early 3rd century, King Pyrrus built the temple to Zeus as well as a gigantic theatre, larger than the one at Epidaurus, with 17,000 seats. The oracle of Dodoni was destroyed in 219 BC and since then it never regained its former importance. Today, the ancient theatre of Dodoni is still used for drama performances in summer festivals.

Dodoni is a site well worth visiting. The oracle is the site “Where tomorrow is predictable”. According to Herodotus, the Dodoni oracle, was established by two priestesses from Egypt, who were abducted by Phoenicians, and turned into two black doves. After a long journey, one of the priestesses arrived in Dodoni, sat on a branch of the “holy oak tree” and, speaking in a human voice, demanded that an oracle be established there. "The divine couple had their adobe in the Oak-tree, and from the rustling of its leaves and the flight of the doves (Pleiades) that nested in its branches the prophets, called Selli, who slept on the ground and never washed their feet so as to be in contact with the earth and draw their oracular powers from it, interpreted the will of the god to the mortals.
Outside the temple of Zeus the priests gathered under the sacred Oak tree and listened to the sound of the leaves as they shivered in the breeze and glimpsed at the future. People from the entire known world would make the pilgrimage in ancient times in order to consult the future-telling Oak tree and to attend cultural festivals that took place regularly at Dodoni.

The rest of the Dodoni site is not as visually exciting as the theater since only the rectangular foundations of the buildings remain to outline an enormous complex of temples, hostels, granaries and other buildings. Here once again a professional tour guide is indispensable to point out the history and use of each ruin. Dodoni is a complex archaeological site because it remained a vital center from about 2000 BC and flourished well into the Roman times. Thus there are many layers of history that the archaeologists have been excavating.
As a religious sanctuary Dodoni was adorned with all the riches that ancient people could afford, and excavations have unearthed a multitude of artifacts that date back to archaic times. Most of the important findings are housed at the National Archeological Museum in Athens, while some reside in the Archeological museum at Ioannina.