During the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods of ancient Greece, the island of Lemnos had two main cities. One of them was the island’s present-day main town of Myrina, although the only ancient ruins found there today are that of the earlier prehistorical settlement, but the ruins of the historical city’s impressive Sanctuary of Artemis can still be seen at Avlonas a kilometer north of the town.
The other main city of ancient Lemnos was Hephaestia, which was located on a promontory on the northern coast of the island 24 km northeast of Myrina and also had a prehistoric past. In sharp contrast to Myrina, Hephaestia is today far from any inhabited area of the island, although it was settled up until Medieval times.
Only a few structures of ancient Hephaestia are part of the archaeological site currently presented to the public. The main building within the fenced-in site is the theater of Classical, Hellenistic and Roman Hephaestia. By Hellenistic times, it was already one of the oldest theaters in the world.
The masonry in the lower and outer parts of the theater date from the Late Roman period, and thus are older than the main parts of the Classical theater.
There are also traces of earlier Archaic buildings underneath the theater which predate it, most notably the ruins of a sanctuary.
There are other excavated areas in the surrounding fields, although these excavations appear to still be underway and are not yet signposted for the public.
Like Myrina, ancient Hephaestia maintained a sanctuary site, the Kabeirion (see our separate article for details).
Tips for the Visitor
The site is not literally off the beaten track, as there are some gravel and dirt roads and trails leading there, but it is very much off the paved track. If you are up for a hike, it can be a pleasant one, as there will most likely be very few vehicles crossing your path in that part of the island. One interesting place to hike to or from is the ancient Kabeirion sanctuary site, an 8-km trek around the bay separating the two sites.
At the time of our visit in April 2025, it seemed there was a project underway to create a larger archaeological park encompassing more of ancient Hephaestia than just its theater and what was under it, and there was already a visitor’s center constructed at the foot of the hill, although it was not yet in use. Hopefully soon there will be a larger site with more parts of the ancient city signposted for visitors to explore.
Like all the archaeological sites in Lemnos which have ticketed admission, the theater site is open 08:30-15:30 daily except Tuesdays and costs 5 euro.
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