Necromanteion of Acheron

If you are travelling to the southwestern region of Epirus and are looking to explore historical sites along the Ionian coastline, we have a special archaeological site recommendation.

The historical site of Necromanteion of Acheron is located 22km south of Parga and 13km north of Vrachos and is a historical site which dates back to the Hellenistic period (late fourth-third century BC). This sanctuary was an ancient Greek temple devoted to Hades, the god of the dead and king of the underworld, and his later captive and future queen of the underworld, Persephone, where devotees practiced magic involving communication with the dead.
The sanctuary is on top of a small hill on the outskirts of the village Mesopotamos at the meeting point of the Acheron, Pyriphlegethon and Cocytus rivers, which were believed to flow through and water the kingdom of Hades. For this reason, it was thought by devotees to be the door to the underworld and Homer’s Odyssey refers to it as the World of Souls.

You can travel to Necromanteion from both Parga and Vrachos on guided bus tours, which often include admission to Necromanteion (8e and 4e for student), or you can rent a vehicle out of either town, skip the taxis (30e one way), and drive on your own. Also available are boat tours (beginning around 20e) from Parga and Ammoudia which follows the coastline down, then at Ammoudia will take you up the Acheron river, where, after enjoying the river, you can catch a taxi to Necromanteion for a few euro (only 3km drive).