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Theatre ruins at Astipalaia, Kos

As a writer (and a former archaeologist) a visit to the ancient ruins of Astipalaia on the island of Kos, Greece was a must while Joseph Robert and I were on holiday last week. Here, the Koan villagers from the 2nd century BC would have watched plays performed in the heart of Kefalos. Only the remains of 2 rows of seats and a few columns from the original theatre building are left. Here I am showing how the people of Kefalos might have watched plays, maybe even Hippocrates himself, who was born in Kefalos.

In those days, writers would submit their plays to be performed at theatres. Even though I primarily write short stories, poetry and novellas/ novels, if I had lived in ancient Kefalos, I might have written a play myself to be performed. Story telling is older than civilisation, with oral tradition extending back further than the earliest cities. What kind of plays might have been popular back then? Human drama is a good bet!

Ruins of an ancient Demeter sanctuary

Ruins of an ancient Demeter sanctuary

 

Posted by on August 18, 2014 in Writing and tagged , , , .

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About Leilanie Stewart

Leilanie Stewart is an award-winning author and poet from Belfast, Northern Ireland. She writes ghost and psychological horror, as well as experimental poetry. Her writing confronts the nature of self; her novels feature main characters on a dark psychological journey who have a crisis and create a new sense of identity. She began writing for publication while working as an English teacher in Japan, a career pathway that has influenced themes in her writing. Her former career as an Archaeologist has also inspired her writing and she has incorporated elements of archaeology and mythology into both her fiction and poetry. In addition to promoting her own work, Leilanie runs Bindweed Anthologies, a creative writing publication with her writer husband, Joseph Robert. Aside from publishing pursuits, Leilanie enjoys spending time with her husband and their lively literary lad, a voracious reader of sea monster books.

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  1. MD HARUN's avatar MD HARUN says:
    August 30, 2014 at 6:07 PM

    I like astipalaia. I woent going threr.

    Reply

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