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Greece: on the trail of Aristotle
Hellenic Festival
Often wrongly called the “Athens Festival”, this is the mother of all Greek summer festivals. Musical and theatrical performances take place in Athens and Epidaurus on the Peloponnese. The main Athens venue is the Herodes Atticus Roman theatre on the Acropolis’s south slope; better known as the Iródio, it’s a thrilling setting for a Greek musical extravaganza or symphonic concert. The great ancient theatre at Epidaurus, with hear-a-pin-drop acoustics, hosts ancient plays (in modern Greek), while the “Little Theatre” in the nearby coastal resort of Néa Epídavros is an intimate stage for contemporary Greek musicians. Athens events run from mid-June to early September, with Epídavros confined to July and August.