The ancient theater is located at the foot of the eastern side of the Ohrid hill, under the Samoil Fortress, near one of the main entrances – Gorna Porta, from where an unforgettable view of Lake Ohrid is captured. It was built more than two millennia ago, around the end of the 3rd or the beginning of the 2nd century, in the period of late Hellenism, and was intended for showing dramatic, musical and poetic performances to the lovers of theatrical art. It is built on the reputation of the famous Greek stone buildings of this type, with rich architectural decoration, especially on the theater building which was decorated with a frieze of bas-relief plates which included scenes from the life of the gods. On two such marble slabs, which are now kept in the Ohrid Museum, the god Dionysus is represented in the company of the Muses.
Some of the then city leaders even rented their own seats in the theater and so, today we learn about Crisp and Topos as big fans of theatrical art because their names are still engraved in the stone blocks of the seats. Immediately after the Roman conquests of these parts in 148 BC. the theater, probably for an extremely short time, was adapted to the needs of the Roman way of life. The building was converted into a theater space with an arena for gladiatorial and wild beast fights, with several of the lower rows of seats demolished and replaced by several animal cages, and the honorary orchestra with an honorary seat built into a firewall. Later, an epitaph was built in the upper, outer zone, increasing the capacity of the theater to 5,000 spectators.
During 1999, the project for its complete discovery and putting into operation began, and since 2001, on the stage of the open reconstructed space of the ancient theater, again after twenty centuries, dramatic performances, musical performances and various other manifestations are held. The traditional international manifestation “Ohrid Summer” is performed on the stage of the open reconstructed space of the Ancient Theater from 2001. Apart from the Ohrid Summer as an honorary event, the site hosts numerous performers, both Macedonian and foreign.
It is more than certain that the historical, cultural and spiritual magic of Ohrid can hardly be described, you just need to be part of the ambiance.