Dodona
| Δωδώνη | |
View of the bouleuterion in Dodona
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 Shown within Greece
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| Location | Dodoni, Ioannina, Epirus, Greece |
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| Region | Epirus |
| Coordinates | 39°32′47″N 20°47′16″E / 39.54639°N 20.78778°ECoordinates: 39°32′47″N 20°47′16″E / 39.54639°N 20.78778°E |
| Type | Sanctuary |
| History | |
| Founded | Second Millennium BCE |
| Abandoned | 391–392 CE |
| Periods | Mycenaean Greek to Roman Imperial |
| Cultures | Greek, Roman |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Ruined |
| Ownership | Public |
| Public access | Yes |
Dodona (Doric Greek: Δωδώνα, Dōdṓna, Ionic and Attic Greek: Δωδώνη,Dōdṓnē) in Epirus in northwestern Greece was the oldest Hellenic oracle, possibly dating to the second millennium BCE according to Herodotus. The earliest accounts in Homer describe Dodona as an oracle of Zeus. Situated in a remote region away from the main Greek poleis, it was considered second only to the oracle of Delphi in prestige.
Aristotle considered the region around Dodona to have been part of Hellas and the region where the Hellenes originated. The oracle was first under the control of the Thesprotians before it passed into the hands of the Molossians. It remained an important religious sanctuary until the rise of Christianity during the Late Roman era.
During classical antiquity, according to various accounts, priestesses and priests in the sacred grove interpreted the rustling of the oak (or beech) leaves to determine the correct actions to be taken. According to a new interpretation, the oracular sound originated from bronze objects hanging from oak branches and sounded with the wind blowing, similar to a wind chime.
According to Nicholas Hammond, Dodona was an oracle devoted to a Mother Goddess (identified at other sites with Rhea or Gaia, but here called Dione) who was joined and partly supplanted in historical times by the Greek deity Zeus.
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Wikipedia