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A glimpse into the modern history of Sikyon’s ancient theater

Recently, the Diazoma association had the pleasure of being handed over by Tassos Polatoglou, a committed and passionate man of culture, a rare digital photographic material concerning the ancient theater of Sikyon.

Beyond their aesthetic value, these exceptional photographic documents enrich our knowledge of this beautiful theater, also informing us about its use during the last century.

We warmly thank Mr. Polatoglou for his kind gesture and we invite you to enjoy these rare photographic documents:

A few words about the ancient theater of Sikyon

The ancient theater of Sikyon dates back to the end of the 4th century or the beginning of the 3rd century BC. It was rebuilt in Roman times, probably after 146 BC. It was built on the foothills of the Hellenistic Acropolis, in the natural hollow of the hill, west of the old agora according to the architectural concept: koilon (caveat), orchestra and stage. As an edifice, it combines the use of two techniques: (a) building blocks of local limestone and (b) carving of some parts of the theater in the natural rock.

In 2009, the donation of € 1,000 by the Lykeion Club of Greek Women of Kyato allowed the opening of a “money box” to promote the ancient theater of Sikyon. This spontaneous gesture of students was followed by two program agreements. The first, which amounts to 200,000 euros, was signed in May 2014 between the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the Peloponnese region and the municipality of Sikyon and is entitled “Unveiling, protection and enhancement of the ancient theater of Sikyon”. The second, also worth € 200,000, followed in November 2017 and was signed between the Ministry of Culture, the Peloponnese region and the municipality of Sikyon under the name “Unveiling, protection and enhancement of the Ancient Theater of Sikyon (phase B) and the investigation of the ancient stadium of Sikyon”. As part of these agreements, DIΑZOMA commissioned in April 2016 from the architect-engineer Georges Biniaris a complementary study for the restoration and development of the Sikyon’s ancient theater, the purpose of which is to restore blocks of stone preserved to their initial location in various places in the koilon of the ancient theater, as well as the preparation of an architectural study for its restoration. The cost of the study was totally covered by the theater’s money box. Thanks to these synergies, the excavation work carried out by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Corinth is currently underway.