Archaeopolis photographic archive · Rhodes, 2018Rhodes, Greece · 3–4 July 2018
Realised two-day immersive public festivalA complete two-day experiential festival commissioned in Rhodes: theatre, reconstructed music, mythological dance, historical gastronomy, ancient dress and beauty, Hippocratic-inspired massage, sculpture, children’s workshops and traditional archery composed as one living cultural world.
Municipality of Rhodes & Region of South AegeanArchaeopolis contribution
Archaeopolis, operating at the time through the doitinAthens cultural-tourism programme, delivered the experience within the Rhodes festival of ancient Greek culture. The event was organised in the context of the Municipality of Rhodes and the Region of South Aegean, with creative design by Poeessa Themed Events and musical collaboration connected with the Seikilo team.
The production was designed as a continuous visitor journey rather than a row of unrelated demonstrations. Guests could hear reconstructed instruments, enter theatrical and mythological scenes, taste a documented historical menu, handle reconstructed vessels, wear historical dress, practise archery, watch a face emerge in clay and experience a Hippocratic-inspired massage accompanied by lyre and poetry.
Every activity was translated into public participation. Children made objects and entered myth through stories and games; adults encountered food, bodily practice, beauty, dress, music and craft through direct action. The result demonstrated how a municipality or destination can transform historical research into an accessible, high-capacity cultural festival.
The surviving archive combines 74 event photographs, the public festival film, contemporary programme correspondence and the preserved food dossier. Together they document both the visible atmosphere and the detailed production content delivered on 3–4 July 2018.
Festival film · primary audiovisual record
The public festival film records the realised programme in Rhodes: historical gastronomy, reconstructed music, dance and mythological performance, traditional archery, material culture, sculpture and public participation.
Public film record preserved through the Archaeopolis archive.
The complete visitor journey
Each programme field had its own performers, objects and participatory logic, but all eight were designed to work as one coherent day in the ancient Greek world.
A shortened performance in Ancient Greek joined actors, masks, historical dress and newly performed choral music.
Three musicians, two actors and three dancers moved between concert, ritual atmosphere and public participation.
Visitors tasted, discussed and helped prepare recipes using reconstructed cooking and table vessels.
A sculptor modelled a participant’s face live while explaining ancient tools, materials and sculptural practice.
A participatory workshop brought mythology and daily life into children’s hands through stories, movement and craft.
Visitors encountered ancient beauty materials and learned how garments were formed, worn and accessorised.
A carefully staged body-treatment experience interpreted ancient healing ideas through touch, poetry and music.
Reconstructed bows, arrows and quivers introduced equipment, posture, technique and embodied historical practice.
Project archive · 28 selected images
Twenty-eight selected views follow the programme from archery and the historical table to reconstructed music, dance, mythological performance, live sculpture and the people who made the experience possible.
Evidence register
Each case brings together official sources, contemporary coverage and the Archaeopolis project archive, with the origin of every record stated clearly.
Primary photographic record
Festival programme and organiser record
Historical gastronomy dossier
Public festival film
Public programme description