Harry's Peloponnese Guide: Ancient Megallopolis

Ancient Megallopoli is encircled by the mountains Tageftos, Mainalos and Lykaion with the rivers Alpheus and Elissonas to the south and north respectively.

Built at the rivers junction, the ancient city was for a brief period, an important center attracting settlers from all over the Peloponnese.

There isn't a whole lot to see today except the ancient theater pictured below which was the largest in ancient Greece and held 20,000 spectators. Megallopoli is out in the middle of nowhere which adds to its charm. You wont have hoards of tour buses bothering you here!

Since Megallopoli translates to "Big Town" its not surprising they had the biggest theater. There is a bit more to its history after the Peloponnesian Wars. Essentially Megallopoli was an artificial town built as a counter to the power of Sparta by one of the ubiquitous leagues of ancient Greece. Thebes was running the show under Epamonidies for a brief 9 years. Settlers were moved here en-masse. And although superbly located subsequently was destroyed in war and never resettled.

Ancient Megalopolis

Megalopolis is on the great western plain of Arcadia, which is aobut 30km (18.6miles) long from north to south and about 16km (9.92miles) wide, and an average altitude of 427meters (1400feet), with a more temperate climate than that of the plain of Tripoli. It is also wooded and watered by the Alpheios river, and encircled by mountains.

The modern town, which is situated on either side of a tributary of the Alpheios-the Hellison-- is quite small, with a population of around 6,000 inhabitants. It is the chief town in its district and also the capital of the federated states of Arcadia. The appearance of the town is marred seriously by two large power stations (with pollution from the hydroelectric plant killing the oak trees), and like Tripoli, there is also a strong military presence. There is a second river to the north of the modern city, called by three names: the Elissonas, Barboutsiana, and Daria River. The city is singularly lacking in amenities for travellers, such as hotels or food, unless some of these have materialized very recently.

The ancient city, to the north 1km (.62 miles) is one of the most extensive and least touristic sites in the Peloponnese. It was built at the junction of the two rivers, and was an important administrative and military center during a period of general decline in Greece, during the early 4th century BC. Its name means 'Great City'.

The site is open Tues-Sun, 8:30am-3pm and is free. The construction of the city, from 371-368BC, was overseen by the Theban leader Epaminondas, and was one of the most ambitious of such projects during the Classical age. Intended to be the strongest link in a chain of Arcadian settlement, a strategic barrier designed to hold back the Spartans, it failed in this purpose, despite its nine km of walls. Its citizens, who had been imported from forty local villages, ended up returning home, the Spartans attacked it sporadically. In 362BC, after the breakup of the Arcadian confederation, half of the Arcadians allied themselves with the Spartans against Thebes. Sacked in 223BC by Kleomenes III, two thirds of the population escaped to Messenia. Within two centuries, it was ruined and abandoned. It finally disappeared after a Slav invasion.

The Theater of Megalopolis (left) was the largest in all of ancient Greece and, like Epidavros, acoustically excellent. It was built against a knoll, 100 meters from the river and dates from the 4th century BC. There are ten stairways and two diazomata , 59 rows of seats that accommodate around 21,000 spectators. The best preserved tiers are the lower ones.

The Orchestra has a diameter of 30meters. The stage, made of stone and adorned with fourteen marble columns, was added by the Romans. Trees look on from the rear of the theater.

The Thersilion (the assembly hall) is perhaps the most elaborate known example of a square hall, measuring 52.5 by 66.5 meters, with five concentric rows of columns, with 67 pillars placed in such a way that all present could see the speaker who stood in the center of the side next to the theater. It was intended to hold 10,000 people (or 16,000, depending on whom you read) the representatives of the Arcadian people.

The site beyond the enclosed area is vast, and enjoyable to wander around, with the soft contours of ruined walls, towers, markets, temples, gymnasiums slowly crumbling back into nature.