Dodoni

Dodoni is the oldest oracle in Greece — older than Delphi — and it is a place where the past feels close. The sanctuary lies in a bowl of mountains in Epirus, below the great mass of Mount Tomaros, and the first thing that strikes a visitor is the silence. A drive up from Ioannina on a spring morning ends at a site entered as the only visitor. The theatre is the grandest survivor — a vast semicircular theatre that once held 17,000 people, its stone seats still marching up the hillside. But the heart of the sanctuary is empty: where the sacred oak stood, where the priestesses interpreted the rustling of its leaves as the voice of Zeus, there is now nothing but a circle of stone and a grove of oak trees planted in memory. The oracle was already ancient in Homer's time — the Odyssey speaks of the 'Dodoni of Zeus' where the prophet priestesses slept on the ground and did not wash their feet. For over a thousand years, people came from across the Greek world to ask Zeus questions — inscribed on thin lead tablets that have been found by the thousand: 'Will my harvest be good?', 'Should I go to sea?', 'Is the child mine?' The questions of ordinary people, preserved in lead, are the most human thing found in any ancient site. In the silent theatre, reading a few of them as translated on the site's noticeboards, the conclusion is unavoidable: some questions do not change in three thousand years.

Dodoni was the oldest Hellenic oracle, sacred to Zeus and Dione, and it remained one of the most important religious centres of the Greek world for over a thousand years. Its origins lie in the depths of Greek prehistory — the site is thought to have been a place of worship since at least the 2nd millennium BC, making it possibly the oldest oracle in Greece. The god spoke through the rustling of the leaves of a sacred oak, and the priests and priestesses — the Selloi and the Peleiades — interpreted the sounds, the flight of doves, and the drawing of lots. The sanctuary's fame was such that Homer refers to it in the Iliad and the Odyssey, and it was consulted by kings, cities, and private citizens across the Greek world. The great temple of Zeus was built in the 4th century BC, and a magnificent theatre was added in the 3rd century BC, capable of seating some 17,000 people. The oracle reached the height of its prestige in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, when it rivalled Delphi. Its decline came with the Roman conquest: in 219 BC the site was sacked by the Aetolians, and in 168 BC it was sacked again, this time by the Romans under Aemilius Paullus, who destroyed the sacred oak and carried off the cult. The sanctuary was rebuilt but never recovered its glory, and it faded into obscurity in the centuries that followed. The thousands of lead oracular tablets found at the site — inscribed questions posed by pilgrims — are among the most remarkable documents of ancient Greek life. The site was excavated by the Greek Archaeological Service and the University of Ioannina from the early 20th century, and its theatre has been restored for use by the Ioannina Festival. Dodoni remains a place of extraordinary atmosphere, set against the dramatic mountains of Epirus.

Epirus is one of Greece's most distinctive food regions — a land of mountain cheese, rivers, and orchards. The local cuisine is built around feta and the region's other cheeses, slow-cooked mountain lamb and goat, and the trout of the Pindos rivers. The speciality of the region is the pies — pites, made with phyllo and stuffed with cheese, greens, pumpkin, or meat; the cheese pie of Epirus, with its tangy local feta, is a dish worth the drive alone. Ioannina, the lakeside capital, is famous for its silverware and its pasta (long, hand-pulled noodles from the village of Konitsa), and its lakeside tavernas serve eel, frogs' legs, and trout from Lake Pamvotis. Wash it down with tsipouro, the local spirit, and finish with a spoon sweet made from the region's quinces or walnuts. The traditional coffee and kaimaki (clotted cream) with honey and walnuts are the proper Epirus ending.

Spring (April to June) and autumn (September to October) are the best seasons — the mountains are green, the light is clear, and the site is quiet and atmospheric. Summer can be hot but the site is set among oak groves with welcome shade; the highlight of the season is the Ioannina Festival, which brings performances to the ancient theatre on summer evenings — sitting in the restored seats as the sun goes down behind Mount Tomaros is unforgettable. Winter is cold, often wet, sometimes snowy, and the site is nearly empty — a dramatic, solitary experience for those who can take the weather.

Dodoni sits about 20 km south-west of Ioannina, in the valley beneath Mount Tomaros, which is roughly half an hour's drive from the city. Ioannina airport 'King Pyrrhos' is the usual air gateway, and the Egnatia motorway passes a short distance from the site on its way west across Epirus. The metre-gauge Orient line once terminated at Ioannina, but its passenger services were discontinued in 2010 and no replacement has been scheduled, so there is no train.

Dodoni is 22 km from Ioannina, the elegant city on Lake Pamvotis — base yourself there and make Dodoni a half-day trip. Arrive early or late in the day, when the light is soft and the site is quiet; the theatre is best in the late afternoon, when the stone glows. Allow two to three hours, including the museum. The site is exposed in parts but the oak groves give real shade — wear comfortable shoes and bring water. Do not miss the oracular tablets — they are the soul of the place, and the questions they record (on marriage, money, travel, and paternity) are as moving as anything in Greek archaeology. Combine Dodoni with the Zagori villages or the Vikos Gorge — the dramatic mountain country of Epirus is among the most beautiful in Greece, and Dodoni sits at its gate. And one more thing: when you stand where the oak stood, listen to the wind in the leaves of the planted grove. For a thousand years, the Greeks believed that sound was the voice of Zeus. Standing there, you will understand how they could.