Summer in Greece is filled with cultural events and activities, however the most important is the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, one of the oldest festivals of Europe, that takes place at impressive venues and has a history that spans more than sixty years.

More recently, there has been attention cast on the younger audience in an effort for the organisation to cast off its classical profile.

Athens and Epidaurus Festival artistic director Vangelis Theodoropoulos presented ‘diversity’ as the theme of this year’s festival at a recent press conference. He said that the choice of a hermaphrodite, open to interpretations, was chosen to further reinforce ‘diversity’ as the unquestionable “right to be who you are and who you want to be”.

“The organisation’s target is to enforce the social character of the festival as a carrier of education and culture,” he said.

READ MORE: Athens and Epidaurus Festival program announced

Athens Festival

The Athens Festival takes place at numerous venues, including the world-famous Herod Atticus Theatre (Irodion) at the foot of the Acropolis. Events are numerous, and reflect the theme of diversity. A full programme is available at the Greek festival site. 

READ MORE: Six summer festivals worth travelling to Greece for

Epidaurus Festival

Since its inauguration in 1955 with Euripide’s Hecuba, the Epidaurus Festival, the foremost public cultural institution in Greece, has hosted numerous major Greek and world-famous performing artists. Beyond that, it essentially draws from a tradition of more than two thousand years ago, when Greek drama was performed at the same site, the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus – something that makes this theatrical experience truly unique for the audience. Performances are also staged at the Little Theatre of Ancient Epidaurus and the Ancient Stadium of Epidaurus. Coming up are Yannis Kalavrianos (19 & 20 July) presentation of Electra / Orestes; a Comédie-Française production directed by Ivo van Hove (26 & 27 July); and Aristophanes’ The Clouds, directed by Dimitris Karantzas (2 & 3 August). All shows have Greek and English subtitles.