Feature: Ancient theater of Delos island reopens after 2,100 years to stage play on refugee crisis

The ancient theater of Delos island came alive this weekend for the first time after 2,100 years to host a play, based on ancient Greek tragedies, that aims to raise awareness about the ongoing drama of refugees who cross the Aegean Sea.

The unique performance of "Hecuba (Ekavi), A Refugee on Delos", organized by the Cyclades Antiquities Ephorate and the Municipality of Mykonos, was staged on Sunday at the ruins of the ancient theater and performed for a small audience of some 100 spectators.

"These ruins are my homeland Troy, smothered in smoke, mud and blood. And I am Ekavi," were the first lines Despina Bebedeli, one of the most renowned Greek actresses today, said during the theatrical performance portraying the dethroned Queen of Troy.

Euripides' tragedies "Trojan Women" (Troades) and "Hecuba" written in the 5th century BC, follow the fates of the women of Troy after the city has been destroyed, their husbands killed, and their remaining families are about to be taken away as slaves.

The play presented by a troupe from the municipal theater company of Agrinio, a city in western Greece, under the auspices of Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, fused the two ancient tragedies to lend a voice to the current real-life refugee drama playing out in the Aegean Sea, organizers told Xinhua after the performance.

At the start of the performance, a letter written a few months ago by a Syrian refugee addressed to the UNHCR was read out: "We escaped to save our children from death after the loss of 200,000 lives."

The refugee, whose name is Hanan, now lives in Austria.

"I considered that it should be included at the start of the play to link the current refugee crisis with Ekavi ... Tragedy is always modern. War is an issue throughout the centuries. Ekavi of the past has many similarities to Ekavi of the present," director Nikos Karageorgos explained.

"I feel blessed that I had the luck to be the first actress after 2,100 years whose voice was heard inside the ancient theater of the holy island of Delos," Bebedeli added.

"I played this role on an island surrounded by a sea which is filled up with dead bodies, refugees, violated women, and orphaned infants, toddlers who drowned. This entire contemporary image was reflected in our play," she said, pointing out the scene when Ekavi mourns the loss of her grandson.

Spectators immediately saw the parallel drawn to Aylan, the young boy from Syria whose lifeless body was found a year ago washed up on a Turkish beach, lying face down. Aylan was among those who perished that day attempting to reach Greece by boat.

The shocking images of a policeman carrying his body encapsulated the plight of the refugees unfolding on Europe's doorstep since early 2015.

Both Bebedeli and Karageorgos, who is also the municipal theater's artistic director, expressed hope that the play would be hosted in several theaters across Greece, and abroad, to carry the message of the modern Ekavi.

Dimitris Athanassoulis, head of the archaeology service overseeing the archaeological site on Delos, said the performance marked the beginning of a joint bid by the Antiquities Ephorate, the culture ministry, and Mykonos' municipality to restore and revive the ancient marble theater.

"Antiquities always carry timeless messages. We hope that visitors will again embrace archaeological sites by transmitting such messages about the present, messages that concern people today," Athanassoulis said.

The terror of war, and the ordeal of today's refugees, concerns all people across the world. Therefore, the Cyclades Antiquities Ephorate chose "Ekavi, A Refugee on Delos" to be the first theatrical play hosted on Delos in two millennia.

"(We wanted) to stress the symbolism of this performance, and in addition, to turn the spotlights on this great ancient monument," Athanassoulis said.

In ancient times, the theater of Delos, a place of worship as the birthplace of Apollo and his sister Artemis, according to the Greek mythology, hosted feasts drawing large crowds from across Greece. It seated more than 6,000 spectators.

Following pirates' invasions and wars during the 1st century BC, Delos was gradually abandoned and fell into decline. Excavations during the 19th century unearthed the city, including the marble theater which broke its silence this weekend. Endit