Archaeological Park of Neopolis

Today, we visited the Archaeological Park of Neopolis, which was the western district of Ancient Syracuse that contains the most impressive ruins. As we entered the Archaeological Park, we first saw the Roman Amphitheater. Only the bottom level is left, but at one point it was one of the biggest amphitheaters in the Roman world. Next, we passed by the remains of the Altar of Hieron II. It was built in the 3rd century BC by the tyrant Hieron II and dedicated to Zeus. Then, we entered the massive stone quarries, where all the stone came from that used for most of the architecture in ancient Syracuse. One of the quarries is known as the "Ear of Dionysius", because the tyrant Dionysius I in the 4th century BC was said to have stood on top and listened to the conversations of his prisoners who were being imprisoned in the cave. We then proceeded  to see the Greek theatre, which was the second largest in the Greek world behind that which is found at Epidauros, Greece. Famous playwrights such as Aeschylus and Euripides had their plays performed there. In fact, modern dramas are still performed in it every summer. Behind the theatre is the base of what used to be a temple dedicated to Demeter and Persephone. Flanking this temple to the left and right are caves, in which the actors would have practiced before the plays. To the bottom right hand corner of the theatre are the remains of a temple dedicated to Apollo, to whom the entire sanctuary was dedicated as well. Afterwards, we headed back to Ortigia, and I finished my readings for a quiz tomorrow. Since I still wasn't feeling well, I decided to watch the Godfather Part I, which I thought was appropriate, since the Mafia originated in Sicily. It was my first time seeing Part I, and I absolutely loved it!