International Music     Festival at the Kourion Theatre

The ancient Hellenistic Kourion Theater which sits on the top of a hill overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, with the circular orchestra and the elevated scene fronts was constructed probably around the late 2nd century A.D.

The theater was restored several times under Emperor Augusts and later on in mid-1st century,  under Julius Cordus, who was serving under the Emperor Nero. It was in the early 2nd century A.D. that the Theatre took the shape and the dimensions that it still has, with some minor changes in the late 2nd century A.D. 

History buffs will find it interesting that in the 3rd A.D. under Caracalla reign 214-217 A.D., the first three rows of seats were ripped and the theatre was converted to an arena for gladiator contests. Chambers found under the Theater were probably used as storerooms or to meet the needs of the gladiator contests.

In the late half of the 3rd century the monument shifted again back into its initial use and the orchestra was remodelled, until the 4th Century A.D., when it was destroyed and let lapse into disuse.