Early history Although the earliest inscriptions at the site date to c. 550–500 BCE, archaeological excavations conducted for more than a century have recovered artifacts as early as the
Mycenaean era, many now at the
National Archaeological Museum of Athens, and some in the nearby
Archaeological Museum of Ioannina. There was an ancient tradition that Dodona was founded as a colony from the city, also named
Dodona, in
Thessaly. Cult activity at Dodona was already established in some form during the Late Bronze Age (or Mycenaean period). A 13th century
cist tomb with squared shoulders was found at Dodona; it had no context, but a Mycenaean sherd of c. 1200 B.C. was also unearthed on the site, in association with
kylix stems. Archaeological evidence shows that the cult of
Zeus was established around the same time. During the post-Mycenaean period (or "
Greek Dark Ages"), evidence of activity at Dodona is scant, but there is a resumption of contact between Dodona and southern Greece during the
Archaic period (8th century BCE) with the presence of bronze votive offerings (i.e.
tripods) from southern Greek cities. Dedication to the Oracle of Dodona arrived from most of the Greek world including its colonies. Although an adjacent area there were few Illyrian dedication most probably because the Oracle preferred interaction with the Greek world. Until 650 BCE, Dodona was a religious and oracular centre mainly for northern tribes; only after 650 BCE did it become important for the southern tribes.
Zeus was worshipped at Dodona as "Zeus Naios" or "Naos" (god of the spring below the oak in the
temenos or sanctuary, cf.
Naiads) and as "Zeus Bouleus" (Counsellor). According to
Plutarch, the worship of Jupiter (Zeus) at Dodona was set up by
Deucalion and
Pyrrha. The earliest mention of Dodona is in
Homer, and only Zeus is mentioned in this account. In the
Iliad (circa 750 BCE), Achilles prays to "High Zeus, Lord of Dodona,
Pelasgian, living afar off, brooding over wintry Dodona" (thus demonstrating that Zeus also could be invoked from a distance). No buildings are mentioned, and the priests (called
Selloi) slept on the ground with unwashed feet. No priestesses are mentioned in Homer. The oracle also features in another passage involving Odysseus, giving a story of his visit to Dodona. Odysseus's words "bespeak a familiarity with Dodona, a realization of its importance, and an understanding that it was normal to consult Zeus there on a problem of personal conduct." The details of this story are as follows. Odysseus says to the swineherd Eumaeus (possibly giving him a fictive account) that he (Odysseus) was seen among the Thesprotians, having gone to inquire of the oracle at Dodona whether he should return to Ithaca openly or in secret (as the disguised Odysseus is doing). Odysseus later repeats the same tale to Penelope, who may not yet have seen through his disguise. According to some scholars, Dodona was originally an oracle of the
Mother Goddess attended by priestesses. She was identified at other sites as
Rhea or
Gaia. The oracle also was shared by
Dione. By classical times, Dione was relegated to a minor role elsewhere in classical Greece, being made into an aspect of Zeus's more usual consort,
Hera — but never at Dodona. Many dedicatory inscriptions recovered from the site mention both "Dione" and "Zeus Naios". According to some archaeologists, it was not until the 4th century BCE that a small stone temple to Dione was added to the site. By the time
Euripides mentioned Dodona (fragmentary play
Melanippe) and Herodotus wrote about the oracle, the priestesses had appeared at the site. Over 4200 oracular tablets have been found in Dodona, written in different alphabets, and dated approximately between the mid-6th and early 2nd centuries BCE. All the texts were written in Greek, and attest to over 1200 personal names from different areas; these were almost exclusively Greek, with non-Greek names (e.g. Thracian, Illyrian) making up around 1% of the total.
Classical and Hellenistic Greece . Though it never eclipsed the
Oracle of Apollo at Delphi, Dodona gained a reputation far beyond Greece. In the
Argonautica of
Apollonius of Rhodes, a retelling of an older story of
Jason and the
Argonauts, Jason's ship, the "
Argo", had the gift of prophecy, because it contained an oak timber spirited from Dodona. In c. 290 BCE,
King Pyrrhus made Dodona the religious capital of his domain and beautified it by implementing a series of construction projects (i.e. grandly rebuilt the Temple of Zeus, developed many other buildings, added a festival featuring athletic games, musical contests, and drama enacted in a theatre). During the late 3rd century BCE, King
Philip V of Macedon (along with the Epirotes) reconstructed all the buildings at Dodona. In 167 BCE, the Molossian cities and possibly Dodona itself were destroyed by the
Romans (led by Aemilius Paulus). A fragment of Dio Cassius reports that Thracian soldiers instigated by King Mithridates sacked the sanctuary ca. 88 BCE. In the reign of the emperor
Augustus the site was prominent enough to feature an honorary statue of
Livia. The 2nd century CE traveller
Pausanias noted a sacred oak tree of Zeus. In 241 CE, a priest named Poplius Memmius Leon organized the Naia festival of Dodona. In 362 CE,
Emperor Julian consulted the oracle prior to his military campaigns against the Persians. Pilgrims still consulted the oracle until 391-392 CE when
Emperor Theodosius closed all pagan temples, banned all pagan religious activities, and cut down the ancient oak tree at the sanctuary of Zeus. Although the surviving town was insignificant, the long-hallowed pagan site must have retained significance for Christians given that a
bishop of Dodona named Theodorus attended the
First Council of Ephesus in 431 CE. ==Herodotus==